Brazil’s Positivo closed its first contracts to supply servers for edge computing projects, one of the areas its newly created Positivo Servers and Solutions (PSS) division is focusing on to grow and diversify its operations, was reported to BNamericas.
We think we are very well prepared to enter this segment. We have ongoing partnerships and are now participating in some projects, including for a local operator, PSS CEO Silvio Ferraz de Campos (pictured) told BNamericas.
For this carrier project, Positivo manufactured and delivered approximately 60 Supermicro Edge Servers to an integrator who was responsible for implementing the project for the carrier.
Company names cannot be disclosed for contractual reasons.
Other deliveries are also underway, according to De Campos. The bet is on the micro and far-edge format, i.e. servers connected to antennas or network cabinets.
These are servers that need to be smaller, sturdier and more resilient, as they can be exposed to the elements, the executive said.
Overall, however, De Campos sees the edge ecosystem developing more slowly than initially anticipated. That’s because he believes 5G hasn’t quite taken off as expected yet.
Additionally, issues of investment timing and the economic and political environment are holding back this “wave of edge computing,” he added.
SUPERCOMPUTER
Supercomputers are another area that Positivo Servers and Solutions is betting on.
The company supplied servers for Latin America’s largest supercomputer, Pgaso, owned by Brazil’s Petrobras. The equipment was transported in 32 trucks.
Pgaso entered full force last December in a project created by the French IT multinational Atos, winner of a Petrobras tender, with Supermicro-branded servers and Nvidia GPUs.
California-based Supermicro is a leading manufacturer of servers used in these high-performance computing (HPC) projects. In Brazil, Positivo is the exclusive licensee of Supermicro.
The Brazilian company produces the equipment in its plants in Ilhus (state of Bahia) and Manaus (Amazonas), thus obtaining tax benefits and logistical efficiencies, marketing them as Supermicro.
Atos is responsible for the integration and assembly of equipment for most supercomputer projects with Petrobras. Positivo also supplied the equipment for most of Petrobras’ other supercomputers, except for the one for which the tender was won by Dell rather than Atos.
PSS is now working with both Atos and NVidia to be the supplier of another Petrobras supercomputer.
We have the servers ready for the next one [supercomputer], along with Nvidia. Petrobras is conducting studies for this new project, gathering technical information and technical details before launching the tender. I believe there may be other suppliers. We’ve always had competition in these processes, but we were first in time to market, said De Campos.
In addition to Petrobras, PSS has an HPC project under development with the Brazilian federal police, the executive said. These projects are few because they are large and complex, he added.
PSS is also betting on the hybrid cloud, with Nutanix hyperconvergence equipment. As with Supermicro, all Nutanix servers are manufactured in Brazil by Positivo.
Energy and healthcare companies have invested heavily in Nutanix technology, De Campos said.
MICROSOFT
On another front, PSS has developed a hybrid cloud product for SMBs in collaboration with Microsoft’s Azure HCI (hyperconverged infrastructure).
A first proof of concept was done with the Brazilian Senac in February. Positive also has 10 to 12 other pilot projects underway with small and medium-sized businesses, according to the executive.
The business model is infrastructure leasing, also known as hardware-as-a-service (HaaS).
Positivo Group reported revenues of 5 billion reais (US$1.0 billion) for the full year 2022, up 48.4% from 2021. Net income increased 51% to 306 million reais for the year and soared 227% year-on-year in 4Q22 alone, reaching 137 million reais.
Overall, Positivo Tecnologia forecasts 5.7 billion reais in opportunities related to government purchases in 2023.
We are confident in our ability to deliver a year that should feature an improved mix, with an emphasis on servers, payment solutions and value-added services, as well as improved consumer performance and increased Infinix penetration [smartphone] line, Positivo CEO Hlio Rotenberg said on the company’s 4Q22 results call.
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