Lanzamiento de ELPaaS™, Plataforma-como-Servicio para COBOL e IBM CICS

Contactos para Prensa:

Daniel A. Cabrera Víctor Ruiz
Top Exec Partners SHM Consulting
DCabrera@TopExec.org vruiz.shm@gmail.com
www.TopExec.org
Soluciones Inteligentes y Consultoría

Heirloom Computing lanza ELPaaS™,
Plataforma como Servicio para COBOL e IBM CICS

ELPaaS (Enterprise Legacy Platform-as-a-Service) ayuda a que las empresas aprovechen su alto valor de confianza en las aplicaciones empresariales en múltiples nubes.

San Francisco, CA – 11 de abril, 2012. – Heirloom Computing, la empresa de software de Silicon Valley cuya misión es permitir que las aplicaciones existentes participen sin problemas en las infraestructuras de cómputo en la nube, anunció la disponibilidad de su plataforma ELPaaS, en conjunto con Top Exec Partners, agente autorizado para la representación comercial de soluciones de Heirloom en América Latina.

Los desarrolladores pueden comenzar a utilizar ELPaaS de inmediato al registrarse gratuitamente en la página http://www.elpaas.com. Con ELPaaS, los desarrolladores pueden crear y desplegar un ambiente ampliamente administrado en tan solo unos minutos. ELPaaS utiliza la solución de Heirloom Elastic COBOL IDE ((http://www.elasticcobol.com) que puede correr “como-servicio” o por anticipado, para empaquetar, publicar y desplegar de forma rápida diferentes aplicaciones para las nubes seleccionadas.

Las aplicaciones creadas para ELPaaS pueden además ser ejecutadas, sin cambio alguno, en otras plataformas basadas en la nube, sean públicas o privadas, entre las que se encuentran CumuLogic, CloudBees, Public Cloud de HP, Cloud Foundry, Stackato de ActiveState, Jelastic, Elastic Beanstalk de Amazon, Amazon EC2, OpenShift de RedvHat y Windows Azure de Microsoft.

“Muchas empresas tienen una inversión masiva en aplicaciones heredadas que son literalmente la columna vertebral operacional y el gran diferenciador de su negocio.” Dijo Gary Crook, presidente y director general de Heirloom, “El tener la capacidad de aprovechar los sistemas de alto valor de confianza, en entornos de cloud computing, es una atractiva alternativa a los costosos métodos de alto riesgo, tales como la reescritura o el reemplazo."

Catherine Renaud, presidente y directora general de Software Creations, Inc, comentó al respecto: “ELPaaS de Heirloom nos provee una plataforma sólida para correr nuestro Spa y Estética Virtual (http://www.virtualspaandsalon.com) el cual es un negocio de muy rápido crecimiento. Con los altos niveles de automatización y administración que ofrece ELPaaS, podemos proporcionar la infraestructura de plataforma necesaria para los nuevos clientes en cuestión de minutos.”

“La tecnología única detrás de ELPaaS, la cual está basada en un ambiente patentado de ejecución, significa que las aplicaciones existentes en COBOL y CICS pueden ser ejecutadas al 100 por ciento sobre la plataforma Java.” dijo Mark Haynie, director técnico de Heirloom, “Esto no sólo significa que nuestros clientes pueden dirigirse a la nube de su elección, sino que también permite a las empresas consolidar su infraestructura de aplicaciones existente en una plataforma abierta estratégica y de confianza, para cargas de trabajo de altas transacciones.”

Dale Vecchio, vicepresidente de investigación en la firma de analistas de Gartner, Inc. comentó: “Aún cuando las aplicaciones COBOL sigan siendo viables durante bastante tiempo, hay alternativas que se pueden utilizar para comenzar a modernizar estas aplicaciones. Una evolución gradual de estas tecnologías distribuidas permite que la modernización se produzca a un ritmo manejable y con mejor posición para la cartera de aplicaciones de cómputo en la nube.”

“En las empresas actuales, Java es una de las plataformas de despliegue predominantes para aplicaciones.” dijo Michael Soby, presidente de CumuLogic. “Estamos emocionados de trabajar con Heirloom para ayudar a los clientes empresariales con la adopción de tecnologías basadas en la nube y las ofertas de Plataformas-como-servicio (PaaS), así como con la transición de aplicaciones heredadas hacia las nubes impulsada por la oferta de CumuLogic PaaS.”

###

Acerca de Heirloom Computing

Heirloom Computing prove soluciones innovadoras de software que permiten a las compañías desarrollar, desplegar y modernizar las aplicaciones empresariales que son críticas, con la finalidad de que puedan aceptar las propuestas de valor atractivas de las diferentes plataformas informáticas modernas. Para información adicional, por favor visite: http://www.heirloomcomputing.com

Acerca de Top Exec Partners

Top Exec Partners es agente autorizado de Heirloom Computing para la comercialización de las soluciones de ELPaas, Elastic Cobol y demás soluciones de Heirloom en la nube, para toda América Latina y el Caribe. Para más información, favor visite nuestro sitio web: www.TopExec.org/CobolJavaCloud o comunicarse a: Answers@TopExec.org

Hotels’ Wake-up Call: Illegal Downloads

What’s as bad as bedbugs for hotels today? Like bedbugs, this threat is invisible when guests check in and the consequences may not be evident until long after the guest leaves. It’s extremely costly, with loss of revenue and legal costs. (Yes, it’s so nasty that lawyers are involved.) It’s a growing trend: video downloads on your network.

It started off innocently enough. Once upon a time, hotels had a nice revenue stream from pay-per-view films. Travelers who wanted to relax in their room had a few options: the regular TV programming, the book they may have brought, or splurge for a pay-per-view movie.

Then the internet revolution came about. Hotels began offering internet access in response to demands from business travelers and others who wanted to keep up with emails and their favorite websites. Then the availability of high quality video downloads and new devices with higher resolution began to change the game. Instead of paying for pay-per-view movies, guests could download videos for free on their own notebooks or iPads.

What does this mean for hotels? Colliers PFK Hospitality Research reports that hotel revenue from pay-per-view films has shrunk by 39%. Their study shows that in 2000, each hotel room would collect approximately $288 in pay-per-view revenue annually. Today, the average hotel room collects only $175 annually. The likely cause of this decline in revenue is the many alternatives found on the Internet for videos, gaming and other on-line entertainment.


Even more ruinous, many of these downloads are illegal downloads of copyright protected movies. Hollywood is becoming aggressive in pursuing perpetrators. Film producers are hiring law firms such as one known as The U.S. Copyright Group to issue subpoenas to internet service providers and get the names of individuals who downloaded these films. For hotels, that ISP address is under their name, and is their responsibility. Fines range from $1,500 to $2,900 or more per incident, or defendants could face even larger fines in court. While this type of tactic may not bear up under the scrutiny of higher jurisdictions or legal reviews, the risks remain the same, whether for an individual or a hotel management group: downloading of illegally-obtained copyrighted materials may be bad for your health and your wealth, if the lawyers have their way with you. (To see what one company is doing to offer hoteliers a sound solution go to: www.hotelpeertopeer.com)

Naturally, for hoteliers there’s the ongoing challenge of finding a way to provide the guest with good service, ample access to the Internet and still protect the institution from legal problems. Hotel IT administrators: this is your wake-up call. Make sure you are blocking illegal downloads on your network. Secure your network and sleep well at night: just don’t let the bed bugs bite.(that’s another worry for hoteliers, but not the topic of this post, by the way).

Thanks for reading, commenting and/or tweeting (www.Twitter.com/Smoothwall).

© Smoothwall, Inc., All rights reserved, 2011.

Opportunities Missed? The "Vision Thing" in Latin America

I had the opportunity to speak with an executive for a major IT systems company headquartered in the USA recently about Latin America. It was a very professional and pleasant conversation, between two people who know the region, speak the major languages and understand how much progress the territory has experienced in the past few years (and decades). The result of our conversation? A bit of sadness, a bit of frustration and a lot of head-shaking as to "why?"

What caused these reactions? After all, this was a conversation about a well-established company that has major activities in the USA, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. This is a leader in serving customers with sophisticated and complex technology services, and doing so with a great deal of excellence, commitment and long-term staying power. Well, the reality is that somehow, the company is nearly uninvolved in Latin America.

To be fair, the firm does have some projects in the region, and has bought into some existing operations in different parts of Latin America. Nonetheless, when a particular deal came along that would have opened up new capabilities, delivered a strong client portfolio and was to be had at an attractive price, involving two of the most vibrant economies in South America, the judgement was made by a CFO to "kill the deal". The reason? It was in Latin America, plain and simple.

While this discussion went on to other elements about why Latin America is such a strong regional opportunity for high-tech firms (and many others), it remained on my mind, causing just a bit of consternation. After some thought, it seemed apparent to this writer, that the company in question simply has a problem with the "vision thing" (to paraphrase a recent leader of the free world and a leader of a major computing company known by its initials). Latin America is just a "rounding error" in the total numbers generated by this particular IT company. It's not a vital piece of future business, nor is it an essential element in the strategic growth of the organization --- yet. Could that be ready for a change or will this reticence continue and multiple opportunities be missed?

Evidently, at present, they just don't seem to register the phenomenal growth, quarter-to-quarter going on in Brazil, the excellent economic security that has been re-established in Colombia, the strong growth in Peru, the stable, steady-eddy performance in Chile, and even the re-bound in Caribbean nations, and yes, Mexico, too has begun to recover from its dose of swine and economic flu in the past two years.

A key question then, is what is the "vision thing" and what does it take to make a business sit up and take notice of Latin America? Well that's perhaps a post for another time on this same blog, but suffice it to mention that based on my many years of experience in the region, there is a lot of business to be found, profits to be generated, and plenty of customers (and partners) who will commit deeply and for the long-term to your business just as soon as you show your seriousness, commitment, persistence and willingness to work with the "locals". It's a matter of seeing the forest and the trees, or perhaps better said, having "vision" and being willing to use it to see the brilliant future in doing business in Latin America.

Want to learn more about doing business in Latin America? Contact me: DCabrera@TopExec.org

Want to comment? Please do so on this same blog (below).

Thanks for reading.

(c) Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2010.

Brazil Boom Raises Questions, Expectations

I recently attended a seminar in Miami about the upcoming elections in Brazil, set for early October, 2010. Foregone conclusion? Dilma, (as she is known), the current chief of staff of President Lula, will win the election for president of this remarkable country. All five of the renowned speakers, from academia, former government officials, investment banking and various vantage points agreed, the candidate of the PT (Partido do Trabalhador) party is going to win. The questions, then, begin to crop up:

1) Will she have the charisma and political savvy to handle her own party (PT) and the coalition party (PMDB) with the same effectivness as Lula has over the past eight years?

2) Will the country, and the president-elect-to-be, know how to handle the vast financial resources (cash flow) that the country generates today with commodity, agriculture, manufacturing and other productive sectors of the country PLUS the enormous revenues that will result from the production of new deep-water oil and natural gas finds in the oceans off southern Brazil in the coming years?

3) Will the corruption that has touched nearly all parts of the Lula administration be tamped down, or will it wash over the new administration in damaging ways as yet unforeseen?

4) Can the nation step up to the vast infrastructure development needs that the FIFA World Cup (2014) and the Olympic Games (2016) will require to host the world? Will this investment be well-managed and the results beneficial to the long-terms needs of the country, or will something less satisfactory result?

5) Does Brazil's "South/South" foreign policy, intended to exclude, in some ways, the northern hemisphere's long-time power elites (the USA included), and specifically focused on the powers developing in the southern hemisphere (India, South Africa, and others) portend something that is disconnected from "Western" values? Does the USA even understand the personality of Brazil, as a sovereign nation, as it plays the Iran card, the Venezuela card, and numerous others that seem to flaunt a different point of view and policy than that espoused by the USA?

6) Will the growing middle class which seems happily engaged in new levels and means of consumption be satisfied with a "status quo" leadership and "status quo" policies in Brazil, or will it force changes in trade policy, tax policy, foreign affairs policy, energy policy and others that will create a rich, long-term future for the nation? Will the population in general continue to expect more of the same from the country's leadership, or demand something better and more strategic for the country?

These and many other questions confront all who do business with Brazil, those who deal with political and policy issues on the world stage (where Brazil is shining brighter and brighter), and all those who consume in one way or another the many, many products that Brazil now exports to the rest of the world. Believe it or not, Brazil is a powerhouse, and the rest of the world needs to understand now more than ever that it's not just a future star, but a super nova, creating more heat, energy and impact in the world than ever before.

Comments? Comentários? Por gentileza, escreva. Please, write your thoughts, and thanks for reading.

(c) Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, 2010, All rights reserved.

Seguro como o Titanic?

terça-feira, 3 de novembro de 2009

This post was originally publised in Nov. 2009, at http://sonicwallbrasil.blogspot.com and is re-posted here for those interested in Network Security issues in Latin America, and as an example of the author’s writing skills. (Original text in English, translated by native Brazilian speaker)

Seguro como o Titanic?

por Daniel Cabrera, do Marketing da SonicWALL América Latina

Muita coisa tem acontecido no Brasil ultimamente, e a maioria é notícia boa. O mundo agora nota o país latinoamericano e seu líder, mais conhecido como Lula, que completa o restante de seu segundo mandato no cargo. Como um especialista no Brasil, que estudou sua história, cultura e muito mais, é ótimo para mim verificar que o país está caminhando com os próprios pés, especialmente quando a primeira década do novo século está terminando.

A Copa do Mundo, em 2010, acontecerá no Brasil. Os Jogos Panamericanos foram realizados no país em 2007. Os Jogos Olímpicos serão organizados no Rio de Janeiro em 2016 - será a primeira vez que o evento acontecerá na América do Sul. Para completar, a economia brasileira superou a crise financeira que afeta o hemisfério Norte desde 2008 e mostra todos os sinais de que irá continuar com o crescimento nas exportações, índice de consumo, descobertas de petróleo e praticamente todos os tipos de crescimento que se possa imaginar.

E o que isso tudo tem a ver com o Lula? Bem, a piada que tem circulado é que, considerando todas as coisas boas acontecendo ao Brasil, e que o Sr. Lula de alguma forma conseguiu escapar de uma série de desastres políticos, incluindo a renúncia de diversos membros de seu partido por acusações criminais, ele conquistou a reputação de presidente “Teflon”. A brincadeira é que, se Lula fosse o navio Titanic, o iceberg teria afundado!

Mas se Lula fosse o Titanic e o iceberg fosse um grupo de hackers corporativos, o navio teria sido completamente segurado por meio de equipamentos UTM (Unified Threat Management) da SonicWALL. De nenhuma maneira algum intruso, vírus, ataques ou nada parecido teria penetrado o escudo da rede de Lula com o RFDPI (Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection) e as capacidades multifuncionais dessa embarcação.

Se Lula fosse o Titanic e o iceberg fosse ataques de spam prontos para afundar as operações de rede e a produtividade do Titanic, os marinheiros e passageiros teriam sido poupados pelas soluções de Segurança e Anti-Spam de E-mail da SonicWALL, que podem eliminar até 80% do spam de e-mail. As soluções da SonicWALL evitam até 98% que os spams cheguem ao e-mails e servidores da rede. Lula e o Titanic teriam navegado a pleno vapor, em velocidade total e sem serem atrasados por um bloco de gelo, não?

Se Lula fosse o Titanic e o bloco de gelo fosse um ataque de criminosos, tentando espiar as redes de voz, videoconferências e outras conexões remotas para o Titanic; a equipe toda, incluindo o capitão, teria navegado em águas calmas e se comunicado eficientemente naquela noite congelante. Ninguém tem acesso à suas comunicações protegidas pela SonicWALL, pois nossa tecnologia dá segurança a todas as comunicações remotas, formando um “túnel” criptografado específico para quem está se comunicando com a cabine de comando, e para os locais de acesso do usuário.

Então, se há um fornecedor que precisa se comunicar apenas com o setor de compras (é preciso de muito para alimentar um grande navio, sua equipe e passageiros), ele pode ter comunicação remota segura apenas com uma parte individual do navio. Se for um membro da equipe que tem o controle do navio, seu acesso é limpo e seguro para todas as partes do comando (rede) e ninguém pode roubar ou interceptar seus comunicados. O mesmo vale para voz, videoconferência, comunicação por VoIP e trocas de dados. O Titanic continua a navegar seguramente pelos icebergs e outros perigos.

Finalmente, se Lula fosse o Titanic e enfrentasse o perigo eminente de um iceberg se aproximando, no caso de falha dos procedimentos de saída, botes salva-vidas ou invenções do capitão para garantir a segurança dos passageiros, sem dúvidas um CDP da SonicWALL, específico para disaster recovery teria rapidamente permitido a recuperação das informações e a volta das instruções e planos do Capitão Lula. Com o clique do seu mouse e a designação dos arquivos perdidos, o CDP recuperaria os dados e colocaria o navio de volta em seu trajeto para enfrentar quaisquer emergências da jornada.

Navegar nos mares das redes hoje em dia requer muita segurança e, por extensão, muita proteção contra os icebergs que flutuam ao nosso redor. Por que não proteger a si mesmo e a seu navio com tecnologia que pode carregá-lo seguramente, mesmo através das piores ameaças e catástrofes tempestuosas? Então, não finja que está se protegendo, defenda-se com a SonicWALL e navegue com segurança pelos mares!

Obrigado pela leitura.

(c) Daniel A. Cabrera C., TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2010.

This post was originally published in May, 2010, on http://sonicwall.blogspot.com, and is re-posted here for those interested in Network Security issues in Latin America, and as an example of the author's writing skills in Spanish.

Porque el Canal es Vital – Protección de la Conexión

Recién estuve en Panamá, participando en un evento de seguridad informática, patrocinado por Info Security, una empresa argentina que se especializa en estos temas y Rofcorp, un mayorista panameño de productos de seguridad. Desde luego, SonicWALL, líder en soluciones para la seguridad dinámica de la red global, aporta mucho en estos foros. Mi participación era exponer el tema de Servicios Gestionados de Seguridad, lo cual despertó gran interés en la audiencia.

Además de mi participación en el foro, interactuaba con los asistentes ante sus preguntas e inquietudes sobre el tema de cómo mejorar la seguridad Y la productividad de sus redes (un matrimonio muy importante entre la necesidad de proteger contra las amenazas mientras rinde la productividad necesaria para mantener la rentabilidad de una organización), tuve la oportunidad una noche de cenar justo al lado del Canal de Panamá con mis anfitriones, el Sr. Ricky Fletcher begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, y su señora, Nilyan, de Rofcorp.

¡Qué obra tan maravillosa! ¡Qué tecnología tan básica, que aún opera con elementos originales de los primeros años del siglo veinte, desde hace casi cien años! Los buques entran cada sección del canal (hay una palabra específica que es “esclusa”) donde el agua entra (para subirlos) o desocupa el espacio (para bajarlos), y una vez que el nivel del agua esté igual al nivel del agua en la dirección del movimiento del barco, se abre la gran puerta que separa cada esclusa y así avanza el barco hacia la siguiente conexión en su viaje al Pacífico o al Caribe. Es verdaderamente una maravilla observar la rapidez y la eficiencia de estas transacciones que ocurren 24X7, con tráfico bi-direccional de barcos, buques, veleritos y otros medios de transporte flotantes.

El Canal de Panamá produce más de US$2.2 mil millones de dólares anualmente (2009) en tarifas para la República de Panamá, lo cual representa un porcentaje muy importante de la economía nacional (favor ver más sobre Panamá). Desde la transición de los EUA a Panamá, el canal ha sido una parte fundamental del patrimonio de este país, y contribuye un gran porcentaje de los ingresos financieros de la nación. Inclusive, hay tanto tráfico marítimo que depende de esta conexión, que el canal no da abasto, y muchas veces los buques están esperando su acceso varios días o más antes de poder transitar el istmo. Por eso, Panamá está ampliando y construyendo otro canal, con aún más capacidad, sobre todo para los buques masivos que ahora transportan petróleo o automóviles y no caben en el canal actual. Con la ampliación del nuevo canal (más ancho de banda) habrá aún más ingresos, más comercio, más tráfico vía esta conexión tan importante.

¿Qué tiene que ver esto con seguridad informática? Pues imagínese que la conexión del canal dejara de funcionar, por cualquier motivo operacional, o por acciones bélicas que impidieron el comercio marítimo. El efecto inmediato en la República de Panamá sería una fuerte caída en los ingresos económicos. ¿El impacto? Grave, económico y negativísimo para el país. Asimismo, las empresas transportadoras, los productores de autos y todo tipo de mercancía tendrían que asumir más costos, por el viaje extenuado vía los mares de Tierra del Fuego. Mejor dicho, el impacto sería nefasto en términos económicos. La productividad de Panamá y del mundo sufriría por falta de conectividad.

Si me sigue la analogía, se puede imaginar también una conexión incapaz de dejar pasar todo el tráfico en tiempo real que necesita la “empresa” de Panamá. Esto sucede actualmente, porque no hay cupo suficiente en la conexión que es el canal. Por eso la ampliación que está progresando actualmente, igual en cierta forma al crecimiento de ancho de banda que el Internet ofrece cada día más, y por casualidad los usuarios demandan para sus trabajos cotidianos también. ¿Y qué de la red de su empresa? ¿Tiene el rendimiento y la capacidad que necesita para todo su tráfico? ¿Está protegido contra las amenazas que circulan vía los “mares” de la red global? ¿Qué tal si el Canal de Panamá permitiera entrar barcos pequeños, llenos de piratas u otros criminosos que quisieran impedir el tráfico para cobrar tributo, robar mercancías o hasta causar peores problemas? Estos serían análogos a los virus, malware y spyware que amenazan las redes de cómputo, y esto también podría ser un problema masivo para el Canal de Panamá.

Obviamente, el Canal de Panamá es vital, tal como es la conectividad de la red de su organización. Por eso, la protección de esta conexión es importantísima. La única forma que permite una completa productividad (throughput) con protección comprensiva (Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection) en el “canal” de su empresa es con un dispositivo UTM-Firewall Inteligente de SonicWALL. Todo el tráfico pasa velozmente vía su red, y todos los “buques” (IP data packets) reciben una revisión completa, con un escaneo completo de todos los elementos para eliminar “piratas”, “secuestradores” o “espias” que quisieran pasar sin detección. Aún cuándo podría extender esta analogía, creo que debe estar claro que el mundo prospera cuando el Canal de Panamá está funcionando 100%, con eficiencia, sin demoras, y desde luego sin bloqueos o trancones de cualquier índole. De igual manera, SonicWALL ofrece soluciones para la seguridad dinámica para la red global, de la cual dependen empresas en el mundo entero. ¿Quiere saber más para asegurar protección a su conexión? Háblenos, y con gusto le enseñaremos cómo proteger la productividad Y la seguridad de su conexión a la red global. ¡Qué viva el Canal de Panamá, y qué viva la conexión con protección!

(c) Daniel A. Cabrera C., TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2010.

Food Shortages in Venezuela

This post was originally drafted in October, 2009.


My travels haven’t taken me to Venezuela in a number of years, yet I remain involved in business activities that include this Andean nation. Recently I was able to spend some time in California and Colombia with folks from that country, and from its neighbor, Colombia. Naturally, our focus was on doing business, dealing with barriers created by the Chavez government in Venezuela, and building our ability to service those sectors still semi-functional in that country.
Anecdotally, here are some of the issues and problems that, while well documented in the press, simply amaze me, and generate simple questions, like “why”?

Thirty eggs today cost about US$3.50 in Colombia. In Venezuela, if you can get them, those same 30 eggs will cost US$20.00. Why?! Supply (or lack thereof) and demand (plenty of).
Venezuelans who travel abroad and buy food stuffs to carry home, (canned or dried goods, etc.) will be warned by the airlines prior to flying from the USA to return to Venezuela to reduce or eliminate the types and amounts of food they are carrying, as the authorities will confiscate them. Why?! People are hungry and Venezuela cannot produce enough for its population today.

Businesses that do legitimate transactions and obey all the protocols and regulations, in order to win and complete their contracts can find at the last minute, the Venezuelan government will “award” these contracts to investor nations, such as China, in the ultimate quid pro quo for hard currency investments from Sovereign Investment funds, which Venezuela seeks for political reasons, mostly. Even huge multinationals with decades of experience and commitment to doing business in Venezuela are left out to dry in these kinds of situations. Why?! Could it be politics?
Employees of major multinational firms in the computer industry are leaving the employ of these firms, when their requests to be transferred out of Venezuela are not forthcoming. No need to ask why, under the circumstances.

Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s clear that Venezuela, for all its heralded oil wealth is simply unable or unwilling to produce or import sufficient food for its own population. Further, in the words of a Colombian colleague, who has consistently and frequently traveled to Caracas over a thirty-year period, the situation has gone from bad to worse to far worse in the past several years. He refers to all aspects of the city and its environs, as well as crime rates, water and electricity shortages, and so forth. When it comes to doing business, what used to be a “process” to repatriate US dollars from the Bolivars earned locally, has now become an impossibility. You may be a millionaire in Bolivars, but you cannot pay your bills to vendors/partners/suppliers who request hard currency (US dollar, Euro, etc.) payment. Only those willing to ship dollars in suitcases surreptitiously can get their bills paid, it seems in today’s Venezuela.

As one who has specialized in Latin American business for nearly 30 years, this is a sad reality, and one that surely will have to change some day, if the Venezuelans who seek a better country have any hope for the prosperity and productivity that exists today in neighboring Colombia. Why?! I suppose that politics trumps common sense and supply and demand economics. Go figure.

Thanks for reading.

©Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, All rights reserved, 2010.