Observations on Latin America and IT Evolutions

Having worked in Latin America for many years within the IT industry, I can honestly say, that much has changed. From the early days of the IBM compatible PC, to the Local Area Network (LAN) running Novell Netware, to Client/Server architecture, mainframes, databases and now, most recently “Cloud Computing” (also known as Software-as-a-Service), there have been many changes.

At the same time, it remains as important as ever, in this writer’s opinion, that Latin America gain access to and use the latest technology to leapfrog some of the challenges and disadvantages that have historically affected or slowed down the region’s progress. Even in the days of rampant software piracy (which remains a popular phenomenon today), when providers of PC software had no means other than police raids and legal lawsuits to attempt to slow down the pirates of the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America, it was always in the short-term best interest of economic and operational progress that IT solutions be brought to bear on the competitive and productive challenges present in Latin America economies. This remains true today --- for the short and long-term best interests of Latin America.

What has changed significantly in the past several years is the importance of and predominance of the connected computer and the networked user. This is probably the most important evolution in Latin America’s and the world’s use of IT solutions in the past ten years. In effect, it means that the typical user, at nearly any level of the organization, is far more productive when he or she is connected to the network and is able to fluidly interact with his or her colleagues and the critical data that moves commerce, politics, education and any number of other professions forward on a day-to-day basis. Without your network connection, your email, your web browser and your on-line data, how can you be productive and get all of your work done? This is all the more so, when companies and individuals rely on being mobile or connect via the “cloud” to complete their tasks.

But while this phenomenon of the Internet and the connected computer user is a fantastic advance for each of us, it also poses multiple risks, and cries out for companies, executives and individual users to change their habits, get educated on security risks and take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their organizations with best practices and best technologies for securing the network, while keeping it fluid and productive for all users. This is one area where Latin America seems to understand, but prefers to go slow when it comes to getting educated and taking the steps needed to protect their networks and critical data.

Is this meant as criticism of all of Latin America? Of course not! Is it meant as an indictment of all users in region? No, certainly not! But in the greater scope of the Latin American markets that I know so well, there is an urgent need for more education and orientation as to why security solutions are required --- not just for virus attacks or spyware, common-enough threats --- but also for the more pernicious and potentially damaging effects of people (inside the company) stealing trade secrets, or competitors infiltrating company data bases, or employees bogging down the system by clogging up the bandwidth with personal IM chats, video down loads or other unauthorized use of the company’s network.

It’s also a matter of explaining in black and white (or pesos or reais or dollars) what it costs when a network is off-line for any period of time, or when important data is lost and irretrievable, or mobile workers (salesmen, inspectors, auditors, etc.) are unable to get connected securely to the home office to input their results, download critical information or upload reports, as needed.

According to an article, “Make Your Business Safe and Secure”, by Amy S. Choi, from Business Week’s Small Business magazine, too many companies are careless about protecting their data. “Data breaches cost companies an average of US$300,000 in losses a year, according to the Computer Security Institute. So if you’ve got employees working remotely, make sure they use a virtual private network (VPN) and a strong password when connecting to your network.” http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0213_security/9.htm Is that something that Latin American organizations can afford to ignore?

The bottom line is that this IT Evolution that continues to move forward in Latin America and the world will constantly put stress on networks and organizations to protect them securely while keeping them fluid and operational for day-to-day productivity. The speed of these challenges, just as the vicious economic and political cycles that all of us are confronting in 2009 and beyond, is something that makes it vitally necessary for security solutions to be at the top of the list for what gets taken care of BEFORE the problem(s) arises, not afterwards. Like riding a bicycle or motorcycle, you put on the helmet before you go out to ride, not after you’ve struck your head on the pavement. This is what security solutions are all about --- preventing the damage and making sure that your network and your data are protected always, at all times, well in advance of the emergency.

How do you see your organization confronting these issues? Does your firm protect its intellectual assets vigorously? Are your users and systems protected at all times? Does your IT staff protect the company from internal threats, as well as external threats? Do you think Latin America is ahead of or behind the curve when it comes to network security? Let me know, and thanks for reading.

Note: this blog posting was written for posting in Latin America in both Spanish and Portuguese. Interested in seeing them in “local” language versions? Then, check out these blogs, when you have a chance. It won’t be long till you see this posting there, as well.

http://sonicwallblog.blogspot.com/

http://sonicwallbrasil.blogspot.com/

© Daniel A. Cabrera, SonicWALL, Inc. All rights reserved, 2009.