Cloud Committee Concludes

Leading names within the telecoms industry met last week in Latin America to discuss the future of the Cloud, and its effects for the continent.
Representatives from ¬¬¬¬Cable Vision – Federico Juarez Valdez, CIO, Telefonica Media Networks SA - Pedro Luis Planas, CTO LA, Grupo GTD - Cristian Eyzaguirre, CIO, Telefonica Media Networks Latin America - Javier Izquierdo, COO and COFETEL (Federal Telecommunications Commission) - Rodrigo Gutierrez Sandez, CIO – General Coordinator of Organisation and IT among others met in Mexico to discuss the advantages of moving to the cloud and how best to implement change at the NGT LA summit, an event hosted by GDS International.

The Information & Communications Technology (ICT) market will have a strong transformation over the next 10 years. Fixed and mobile network improvements, new infrastructure and application delivery models, along with more intelligent devices will change the way that consumers and businesses use technology, and ultimately the way they do business. It is still extremely important for service providers to set a roadmap for users to follow in order for them to be well prepared and to be successful in the current market transformation.
North America has already looked to the cloud to clean their data, reducing costs and implementing flexibility, but companies in Latin America are seemingly lagging behind; now these companies are seeing for themselves the opportunities for the taking.

Moving to the Cloud is a paradigm change, and much of the Telco and MSP market is fully aware of this. The issue is how to mature the approach to migrate from physical assets to virtualization, which stalls after a certain point, and then to an elastic infrastructure that can scale up and down on demand.

“To eLeading names within the telecoms industry met last week in Latin America to discuss the future of the Cloud, and its effects for the continent.
Representatives from ¬¬¬¬Cable Vision – Federico Juarez Valdez, CIO, Telefonica Media Networks SA - Pedro Luis Planas, CTO LA, Grupo GTD - Cristian Eyzaguirre, CIO, Telefonica Media Networks Latin America - Javier Izquierdo, COO and COFETEL (Federal Telecommunications Commission) - Rodrigo Gutierrez Sandez, CIO – General Coordinator of Organisation and IT among others met in Mexico to discuss the advantages of moving to the cloud and how best to implement change at the NGT LA summit, an event hosted by GDS International.
The Information & Communications Technology (ICT) market will have a strong transformation over the next 10 years. Fixed and mobile network improvements, new infrastructure and application delivery models, along with more intelligent devices will change the way that consumers and businesses use technology, and ultimately the way they do business. It is still extremely important for service providers to set a roadmap for users to follow in order for them to be well prepared and to be successful in the current market transformation.
North America has already looked to the cloud to clean their data, reducing costs and implementing flexibility, but companies in Latin America are seemingly lagging behind; now these companies are seeing for themselves the opportunities for the taking.

Moving to the Cloud is a paradigm change, and much of the Telco and MSP market is fully aware of this. The issue is how to mature the approach to migrate from physical assets to virtualization, which stalls after a certain point, and then to an elastic infrastructure that can scale up and down on demand.

“To effectively implement these solutions, it is necessary to understand the real-time network and applications performance, risk, and quality of business service that impact user satisfaction and productivity. This understanding must bridge across all physical, virtual, and cloud environments, from the mainframe to distributed platforms.” Kenneth Arredondo – SVP and GM Latin America, CA
The NGT LA Committee believe that by maximizing telecommunication companies' Cloud Computing services, capabilities and flexibility will be increased, time-to-market can be vastly reduced, and operational risks and costs can more easily be controlled. The committee hope that by implementing this they will see greater opportunities for offering new services and improving profit margins.

At this stage cloud computing is still relatively new. IT companies, for the most part, must implement their cloud solutions alone, but with meetings such as the NGT LA summit more and more cloud aggregators and integrators will begin to emerge.
ffectively implement these solutions, it is necessary to understand the real-time network and applications performance, risk, and quality of business service that impact user satisfaction and productivity. This understanding must bridge across all physical, virtual, and cloud environments, from the mainframe to distributed platforms.” Kenneth Arredondo – SVP and GM Latin America, CA
The NGT LA Committee believe that by maximizing telecommunication companies' Cloud Computing services, capabilities and flexibility will be increased, time-to-market can be vastly reduced, and operational risks and costs can more easily be controlled. The committee hope that by implementing this they will see greater opportunities for offering new services and improving profit margins.

At this stage cloud computing is still relatively new. IT companies, for the most part, must implement their cloud solutions alone, but with meetings such as the NGT LA summit more and more cloud aggregators and integrators will begin to emerge.

Avoiding Disaster for Energy Independence

Latin Americas’ goal for energy independence is tied to its offshore oil and gas reserves. Experts from the illustrious O&G LA 20 committee believe that the offshore sector will become even more important in the future as the industry shifts to deeper waters.

A spokesperson for the committee set to meet in Rio de Janeiro, early next year chaired by Juan Carlos Zepeda, President CNH, Tomas Vargas, Vice President BPZ and Guimar Vaca Coca, MD Americas Petrogas stated this week “There is an apparent need to expand on the offshore services available. Whether it’s deploying workers on and off rigs, improving offshore safety, or making sure subsea construction is done as efficient as possible, marine servicing has expanded thoroughly throughout the Americas.”

But rapid expansion in offshore developments comes with tremendous risk. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlighted how susceptible deep-water drilling has become, and how difficult a leak is to suppress at such depths. But oil extractors are left with no choice but to drill to such depths, as the global demand for crude increases, whilst shallow wells become exhausted.

Drilling deeper – to lengths greater than a mile – requires technically demanding drilling and complex equipment and seriously reduces the room for error. And as those who witnessed the spread of crude throughout the Gulf of Mexico, it also makes stemming the flow and repairing crippled riser pipes and underwater wells that much more challenging.

The catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico bares stark comparisons with the Lusi mud volcano in Indonesia, which many commentators have suggested was triggered by deep exploratory drilling in an environment with little-to-no room for error. In the Lusi case, those drilling failed to seal the well, which eventually led to the blow-out of catastrophic proportions. Like the Gulf of Mexico spill, both deep drilling adventures have caused a catastrophic impact on the environment.

With demand increasing, and supply dwindling, simple math dictates that more catastrophic spills and blow-outs are likely on the horizon. More drilling will take place in environmental hot-spots and difficult areas, where accidents like the Gulf of Mexico spill - major, hard to stem leaks - are likely to happen with more frequency. Safety regulations should be evolving to adjust to this new reality, resulting in better legislation for equipment like blow-out valves and shut-off triggers, and the necessary equipment in place to tackle a sprung leak.

And it is with this in mind, Latin America must tread carefully whilst securing energy independence. It will be imperative for those attending the O&G LA 20 in Rio de Janeiro to outline the safest practices whilst expanding its energy quotas.

Chile Earthquake Shocks Telecom Industry to up its Game

As telecommunication companies across Latin America attempt to increase product and service offerings, few regions are seeing the execution of these plans more pronounced than through the restructuring of Chiles’ communications infrastructure.

This has allowed for a significant buzz around the NGT Latin America Summit 2010 due to the convergence of Chief Technology Officers from the likes of Telefonica and Global Crossing. Other topics of discussion develop how competitors to Telefonica and America Movil are able to provide services when broadband infrastructures are dated and hinder the development of applications customers will require.

A feel good story is brewing as well. Chile has had the most strenuous year the region has seen, but has also given themselves a great position for growth and prosperity as the New Year approaches. The ability for Chile to hop and skip up to a modern communication infrastructure has allowed for a fresh market to be developed leaving an opening for more Telecom companies and suppliers to fill the void.

The benefit is also seen through the use of top tier technologies and eco friendly solutions. Not only will Chile see a powerfully modern city but their rugged rural communities will see the benefit and have the capabilities for strong mobile and broadband internet services, not to mention the effect this has on an education system.

With Mexico hosting the NGT LA 2010 executives are also focusing on how best to develop all regions in Latin America and provide state of the art mobile services that can juggle the requirements of a streaming population. This is why leading executives like Gustavio Marambio the CTO of Telefonica Chile, Israel Madiedo the CTO of Cablevision and Antonio Casucci the SVP voice Services at Global Crossing Latin America are meeting at the Fairmont Mayakoba in Mexico.

The closed door meeting of competitors and colleagues to inform themselves on what the most viable technologies available are, and to look at the future growth of Latin America, is a bold step that justifies the growth the region is currently experiencing.

Convergence of Industries Proves Beneficial to Financial Institutions

It is well know that as a region, Latin America is seeing great growth in their markets and with it the broader use of technology is also. The concept of internet banking has boomed within the Latin American region, with over 70 percent of retail banks now offering internet banking to clients.

The financial institutions of Latin America are taking the opportunity to capitalize on the convergence of the Telco and IT industries by developing services for more mobile customers. Is the region capable of making the transition to a mobile focus?

With new forecasts from ABI Research indicating that in 2015 about 244 million people worldwide will carry out financial transactions using their mobile phones, the answer seems to be yes. This, coupled with the Gates foundation announcing a grant of 12.5 million dollars in support of mobile banking initiative in the region, allows for the popularization needed for financial institutions to make the most of this change.

The help of the Gates foundation allows people who previously couldn’t afford to sacrifice potential earnings to visit a branch and open an account the chance to develop savings through mobile accounts.

A hurdle for financial institutions is the need to adapt applications as there is more than one way to develop the right combination. An attendee of the FST LA Summit Rodolfo Gasparri, CIO of Banco Mercantil explains "It's a balance that one must do, what level of security and retrieval of information required, ie, measuring how long until the functionality is guaranteed, usually they are beginning to segment and define critical applications”.

The new information that Intel is acquiring McAfee for $7.68 billion in cash is good news for IT directors and managers at major financial institutions, because smart phones will automatically be installed with security software when coupled with Intel hardware. This leaves consumers feeling safer about sharing personal information and carrying out financial transactions over their mobile devices.

The topics of integrating technology service to ease the transition of mobile banking, as well as enterprise level services, are of major interest to industry leaders like Kelson Corte, CIO of Banco De Brasilia, Mario Gaete, CIO & COO of BCI, Stuart Pallant, CIO of Americas at Standard Bank and Laura Rodriguez, VP of Technology at Banco Meridian SA who are attending the FST Summit from the 1st through the 3rd of December in Mexico.

Mobile banking is not the only place seeing growth. Trading communications are also seeing increased benefits for the financial industry when prioritizing and speeding up market transactions.

The IQ/MAX is known for its ability to provide maximum resiliency and reliability, the turret supports redundant network connections to help increase productivity and provide unparalleled trading support. The system also allows traders to prioritize information in order of importance to enhance speed of transactions, and the benefits have been seen by the likes of Laura Rodriguez of Banco Meridian.

The increase in Latin America’s presence from an economic standpoint is developing niche markets for the implementation of technologies that financial institutions are embracing. The future of this area is bright and with potential still needing to be fulfilled it will be exciting to see the impact technology will have for those outside of Latin America.

Latin America Finds Growth

Latest reports from Brazil suggest that the economy’s growth is reaching sustainable levels in Latin America. Inflation is expected to end above centre of the government target, but despite this growth the market seems to be maintaining a sustainable pace and not overheating. The first Quarter of this year has seen the biggest economy growth since 1996 when the government implemented its current methodology. Growth is fantastic for the economy but fears among the consumer of increasing prices and security threats have lead to the meetings of some of the continents leading names in finance in Latin America.

The Growth seen has boosted the countries ranking within the global arena and has allowed there voice to be heard in negotiations over economic and financial reform. Over 50 leading executives from the finance industry including Banco Azteca - Juan Arevalo, CIO, Banco Santander Brazil - Claudio Prado, CIO, HSBC Mexico - Ignacio Vera, CIO, Standard Bank - Stuart Pallant, CIO for Americas, will be meeting at the FST LA summit to discuss how to maintain sustainable growth and how playing with the ‘big boys’ will affect the way they do business.

Europe, Asia and the U.S. still recovering from the global crash many economies across Latin America have rebounded. The demand for Latin America commodities such as Mexico’s oil, Chile’s copper and Brazils Iron Ore means that economists predict a period of sustained growth. On Tuesday Brazil revealed the biggest economy growth since 1996 when the government implemented its current methodology in the first quarter of this year of 9%. At last Latin America is having their voice heard and finding themselves with a greater persuasive power.

Where Latin America has differed from other countries is there debt management while enjoying the political and global positioning the have paid back $15.5 billion over the last 5 years and last year agreed to purchase $10 billion in IMF bonds to help it finance programmes. Latin America is now even offering advice to Europe suggesting that the continent adopts reform to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

Attendees to the latest FST LA summit will be discussing the latest in technology trends and investment opportunities to ensure continuous, but more importantly safe growth, it seems that governments and industry leaders have at last learnt the lessons from the economic crash. With the increased pressure that comes hand in hand with success within a global market it has become crucial for financial services to be implemented through efficient process networks. Business Process Management’s systems have become increasingly vital for business operations, driving profits and removing bottlenecks. The right systems and management programs will be key to continue the success that Latin America is beginning to see.