Microsoft believes that technology transforms and can help improve people’s lives, and that is why it invests in initiatives that help expand access to information and supports social projects all over the world. One of these is the Bahia Southern Lowlands Environmental Protection Area Mosaic Program for Development and Growth Integrated with Sustainability (PDCIS). Supported by the Odebrecht Foundation in partnership with public and private partners, PDCIS has the challenge of transforming a rural area with major environmental heritage into a prosperous and dynamic region, encouraging young talents to stay in the rural region.

In April, Microsoft expanded its partnership with the Odebrecht Foundation and donated approximately U$ 1.5 million in computer software licenses to the projects supported by the program. A portion of the resources will be directed at the Hit the Net project, the result of joint investments by Odebrecht S.A., Microsoft, Semp Toshiba, Cisco and Telebrás. The initiative has already benefitted approximately 4,800 youth from the Southern Lowlands and seeks to transmit information and basic computer skills for daily use, in addition to promoting accessibility, leveraging Internet use and also implementing educational projects that contribute toward specialization and the generation of jobs and income.

The licenses will further allow for the expanded use of the Indicator Panel, a Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) platform installed in 2013 by the Odebrecht Foundation at the institutions associated with PDCIS. The tool consolidates information into three systems that allow for the real-time monitoring of the program’s main performance indicators. It allowed for third party administration of the servers, reducing costs and boosting performance.

The Odebrecht Foundation was the first non-profit institution to install the platform and Microsoft currently cites it as one of its success stories. “We reduced the manual work of collecting information and optimized the leader’s action, allowing for the analysis of previously consolidated information,” explained Cristina Weber, responsible for Information Technology at the Odebrecht Foundation. “We also improved the integration between the institutions, since the results are available to everyone,” said Weber.

For Juscelino Macedo, Coordinator of the Manioc and Produce Business at PDCIS, BI is a tool that is easy to access and use. “Our Members are quite enthusiastic about using it, since it generates results in a simple and updated way,” said Macedo.