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Marcos Flores

MEXICO - Telecoms & IT

Surf Safe

General Director, Delete Technology

Bio

Marcos Flores started his career in IT in Blanco Technology Group, a global leader in data erasure, in 2006. He has experience in data protection laws and best practices. Flores is often a speaker in data security events in LATAM and Spain and provides consulting services to governmental and financial institutions.

Delete Technology offers solutions to both the public and private sectors in managing sensitive data, helping firms meet global standards for cybersecurity.

What factors led up to the acquisition of Software Blanco and the subsequent rebranding as Delete Technology?

Blanco used to be a Finnish company until it was sold in 2014 and became part of a group from the UK. Delete Technology is now a fully Mexican company with a presence all over Latin America. The acquisition was a major step forward for our company. When we opened an office in Mexico, we were following the company’s general strategy. We became independent in early 2018 and came up with new ideas for the company, as doing business in Mexico and Latin America differs from Europe. In the region, companies are more concerned about receiving certain services rather than just the software. We have a wide range of services, which has helped us form better relationship with our clients.

What are the main characteristics of your average customers?

Our customer profile is divided between private corporations, financial institutions, and the government. We have a greater focus on the latter, as the Privacy Act opened many doors for us. The government is required to follow a strict set of norms and compliances when erasing data. This was the first segment that we started to serve in Mexico. Financial institutions are another important target for us, as they have to abide by many international regulations. The banking system in Mexico is dominated by foreign companies, and most of the top banks are international. The few Mexican banks that are owned by Mexicans also need to comply with these norms, so that is a great market for us. The third customer base is corporations listed on the stock exchange that need to comply with international regulations.

How well prepared are Mexican companies when it comes to cybersecurity?

In the last several years, Mexico has invested a great deal of money in cybersecurity. Private companies, government entities, and banks are now familiar with the risks, and hackers have shown what they are capable of. Now, securing customer data is a large issue for companies, and they are investing accordingly. We see a great deal of excellent qualifications from people leading IT security departments. In Latin America, Mexico is the leading country in this regard. We do need to start developing applications, software, and hardware in the region related to security in order to improve. Most of the technology comes from the US, Europe, and Israel. These areas are developing many solutions, while national security agencies typically prefer the local development of this technology when possible. This is a gap that needs to be closed in the region.

How do you plan to continue expanding in Mexico?

Mexico is our biggest market, while Colombia our second-biggest market and it is growing significantly. Even though Brazil is the largest country and economy in the region, it does not have the latest technology or an established data protection law. That makes it difficult to convince people that they need our product. Due to security reasons, Colombia has been investing significantly in technology, especially cybersecurity. That is why it is a great market for us; the more rules and regulations there are in place, the more popular our software is.

What are your plans to expand your services and products in the region?

In Mexico, we have covered most of the market. Our next challenge is the change of administration. Many contracts will come to an end in 2019, and we seek to renew those. Hopefully, we can retain the trust of our customers on the government side. Mexico is a steady country in terms of income for the company, and we are focusing more on Latin America, specifically Colombia, Chile, and Brazil. We have distributors in the region, though the next step is to open offices in these locations. We are currently the leading company in Latin America, as we have been operating since 2006.

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