Last week AVG took part in Latin America’s largest and most important telecoms, IT and Internet event – Futurecom. It is the first time AVG has exhibited and presented at the event and we wanted to enter the show with some significant news and noise, which we achieved.
Brazil has been a strong market for AVG – a large base of users taking advantage of the AVG Free products on both Windows and Android. There has also been a strong presence in the AVG Business products for over a decade through our partner Winco, who became the first AVG Latin America office after we acquired them in July 2014. As with most technology companies, we see Brazil as a key market for our continued expansion strategy. Futurecom has allowed us to share some of this strategy and announce local partnerships and products developed specifically for the local market.
The first announcement of the week was the launch of AVG Family Graph – a new product from our Location Labs business unit. Knowing where our kids and loved ones are is becoming part of everyday life. In fact, when a parent communicates with their child 72% of them start with “where are you?” I can even hear myself saying it, as it’s usually the first question out of my mouth. This becomes a serious conversation in countries with crime issues that involve kidnap and ransom scenarios.
AVG Family Graph provides the ability to locate family members’ phones regardless of their mobile operator through a simple and easy to use app. If a family member is in trouble, there is a panic button that alerts all the other family members of your location. Of course, we hope that no one needs to use the panic button, and for most parents just knowing where their kids are at any given moment will give them peace of mind. AVG is looking to partner with carriers in Brazil to provide the app to families while giving carriers the advantage of knowing your family a little better. This way, carriers can customize services to meet the demands of a connected family.
The second of this week’s announcements was the news that our security and performance products, AVG AntiVirus PRO for Android and AVG Cleaner for Android, are now featured in the Samsung Galaxy’s Latin American app store, and are also featured in the gift section of the store. Both apps will be available with a 90-day trial, after which time customers in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru will be given the choice of upgrading to keep the enhanced features or migrate to the free protection or performance features.
Our last announcement of the week was our partnership with Conecta, one of Brazil’s leading mobile insurance companies. When you purchase a new phone, the sales people often ask if you want to insure it. In order to help protect your new device, AVG is providing Conecta customers with anti-theft and anti-virus protection. Customers who purchase a Conecta mobile insurance policy will receive a complimentary one-year subscription to AVG Internet Security and AVG AntiVirus PRO for Android.
With more than 60 smartphones stolen every hour in Brazil’s four largest cities, the anti-theft functionality within AVG AntiVirus PRO for Android might come in handy!
