Crystal Ball

What is the role of the Mexican market within Oracle’s global strategy?

Mexico is one of the most important countries in Latin America, and worldwide it is among the countries with more potential growth in terms of adoption of technology. However, this is not new. Oracle has a 30-year history in Mexico and has been a benchmark for various technological trends over the years. Mexico is the second-most important country in Latin America after Brazil, and, therefore, sets the trends for other markets in the region. Many clients from other countries come to Mexico for reference visits and to grasp what is being done locally. The proximity of Mexico with the US is also significant in terms of infrastructure and software applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human capital management (HCM), among others. Mexico is a reference country for Latin America and Oracle worldwide.

What kind of solution do you offer to SMEs?

Previously, Oracle solutions did not have an offering for SMEs, which were left behind in the world of technology, lacking the CAPEX to invest and regularly update their technology. Today, the SME segment is the fastest growing in terms of cloud service adoption in all of Latin America. In the region, there is a great imbalance between the companies at the base of the pyramid and those at the summit. Oracle has traditionally oscillated between the large- and medium-scale companies, but now we also cover the base. The SME sector is growing because of the ability to offer services in the cloud that reduces operational costs. The cloud allows innovation and constant transformation, whereby SMEs become more competitive in the market. With our new approach, small companies can have a world-class solution in the cloud, one that can make a difference.

What main areas of opportunity have you identified to transform the Mexican market?

The growth in the adoption of technology in the Mexican market lies in customer service, technological infrastructure, and ERP and HCM enterprise applications. There are other solutions such as business analytics, supply chain management—which goes hand in hand with ERP and business intelligence—and transportation management. We have a great solution suite that yields results for the hospitality and transportation sectors, which again, is a reference for Latin America. This private sector solutions suite is used by distribution, logistic, and transport systems. Grupo Bimbo, Mexico’s largest bakery company, has just started a worldwide logistics solution implementation.

What is your vision as the new Managing Director at Oracle? What kind of transformation are you looking to instill in Mexico?

Oracle Mexico is part of a larger strategy and purpose at a Latin American level. It has a global framework but is essentially a regional initiative. The purpose is for technology to be associated with people as end users. Oracle is recognized as a B2B company, but now we also want to be a B2C company. Starbucks makes use of Oracle solutions. Four pillars are being determined in Latin America: the people, our customers, technological innovation, and our communities. We ask ourselves how we can help companies grow, reduce their costs, and differentiate themselves in the market. We do this with a mixture of people and technological innovation. Finally, we are concerned about how we can support communities. Start-ups are part of the growth of any community, and we provide them with the knowledge that promotes growth. This will result in improving the economy of Mexico. We are investing in a center in Guadalajara with a capacity of 4,000 people.