GUADALUPE DURÁN DE PONCE
General Manager, Microsoft Ecuador
Microsoft has been in Ecuador for 18 years and our business model has been successful. We create companies that then propel business in the country. Microsoft’s model is indirect in its approach; we are giving opportunities to local companies to offer value-added to the market. Microsoft invests more than $9.5 billion in R&D on a worldwide level. We aim to create tools that support local industries as they develop and innovate using our software. You can develop on top of our tools and then we can sell the solutions. Microsoft has heavily impacted the Latin American economy. For every dollar Microsoft earns in Latin America, the local economy makes $12. We believe that people should have access to technology, especially while studying. This technology needs to be interoperable. When conducting research, students must have access to every kind of technology in order to increase the opportunity to innovate and create new ideas. In schools, we uphold Microsoft’s policy to provide free products so that students can be exposed to as much technology as possible. The private sector supports various technological solutions. However, there has been a very strong shift over the past four years, and the private sector is becoming more conservative in its outlook. The public sector is starting to invest a lot more in ICT. We are seeing the public sector look for technological support as it works toward becoming more automated.
José Antonio Olivares
General Manager, IBM del Ecuador
I believe that the Ecuadorean market has yet to reach the maturity levels of others in Latin America, but it is growing aggressively and faster than other countries. I am convinced that the market will reach the maturity levels similar to other countries in Latin America such us Colombia and Peru. This trend is apparent even when we interact with other companies; the level of conversation is different than it was three or four years ago. The qualifications of the people involved in technology are also very different from what they were before. The market demands more specialization, dedication, services, and consultancy. We have a portfolio that allows us to offer a complete solution for our clients, from being a supplier to being a long-term strategic partner. IBM is able to deliver long-term, value-added proposals designed to help companies transform their business, become more competitive, offer better services, and therefore attract investments to the country. Considering the competition in the Ecuadorean market, there’s no other company that can offer what IBM Ecuador has. We are able to enhance the quality of life that has been lost in many places because of the rapid growth of cities. By 2015, 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and we are already experiencing collapses in many parts of the world due to a lack of water, unstable electricity supply, and heavy traffic.
Juan Carlos Cisneros Burbano
General Manager, Juan Carlos Cisneros Burbano
Our main goal is to share with the public how to increase the number of broadband subscribers in Ecuador. We want many new projects, especially in revenue control or anti-fraud management. The main opportunity here is broadband mobile access. The main opportunity is to jump from the current situation to having huge coverage in order to supply broadband access everywhere, including some rural areas that are very expensive to cover. Not only Alcatel-Lucent, but all the operators in general should work toward that goal with a new business model, trying to equalize the top market with these new requirements. In Latin America the same opportunities exist in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina. For Latin America in general we need to promote not only technological innovation, but also the economic means to make the most of these opportunities. Additionally, opportunities exist in movies, pre-paid TV, and gaming, areas that require strong bandwidth and represent new opportunities, not only for service operators and infrastructure suppliers, but also for software developers, cloud technology, and services. There is a new policy to link all public services to one cloud system, which means health, education, and other public institutions could be managed from one cloud across the entire country. This is a good starting point.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
You may also be interested in...
ECUADOR - Energy & Mining
Gonzalo Uquillas Vallejo
Interview
General Manager, Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC EP)
ECUADOR - Real Estate & Construction
Tommy Schwarzkopf
Interview
Founder, Principal, & CEO, Uribe Schwarzkopf
