In August 2016, the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games were taking place in Brazil and, a few days before the flame of the Olympics was lit, Laércio Albuquerque was appointed general director of Cisco in that country. However, the universe of the company was unknown, at that time, to the Brazilian executive.
“Laércio, you have to go out and talk to 40 journalists from all over the world, since Cisco is the main supplier to the Olympics,” his collaborators warned the newly appointed CEO during the first days of his assignment. Today, Laércio Albuquerque, vice president of the firm in Latin America, remembers this anecdote with a big smile.
“Without knowing anything (about the company), one day before (the meeting with the journalists I learned everything) thanks to a great team that helped me prepare. From that moment I understood that Cisco is the largest technology provider for business,” he says, in an interview with Forbes Mexico.
Cisco is a global technology company that specializes in networking and communications solutions, as well as offering cloud services and internet technology.
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Albuquerque comments that today the technology company is experiencing a great change due to new technologies and, especially, Artificial Intelligence. “We are living in the most exciting moment of technological innovation: AI. Cisco has witnessed technological changes for decades, the arrival of the internet that changed the way of processing data, and the way of doing business, later applications arrived, which once again revolutionized business, and now we are with Artificial Intelligence” .
“Artificial Intelligence will be a reality and not a wave”
For Cisco, the arrival of AI is a watershed, as it transforms its business into innovations with this technology, which is why they are now renewing their way of working with their clients. In addition, they have made cybersecurity a fundamental pillar of their advances and innovations.
“Our priority is the security of our clients’ data (…) so, we are working on how to help companies by working their data with AI through connections in the infrastructure.”
In this sense, Cisco will provide tools to its customers with AI, in addition to modernizing its infrastructure. “Nowadays there are few networks that can support the new technology, we want clients not to be distrustful that their database could suffer a cyber attack.”
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To combine work with AI and cybersecurity, Cisco has four main pillars: observability, security, collaboration and solution.
Nearshoring
Within Latin America, Mexico is Cisco’s main country of operation in the manufacturing sector. And that the main production centers in the country use equipment and services from the technology company in their global operation, explains the executive.
In this sense, Cisco is prepared for nearshoring or relocation of production chains from Asia to Mexico, taking advantage of the geographical and cultural proximity to the United States. This strategy will allow the company to optimize its operations, reduce costs and improve delivery times.
Laércio Albuquerque describes himself as a lover of technology. At the age of 16 he had his first exposure to this science as an intern at a company. Since then he has not stopped working. And, although it is surrounded by technology and innovations, it ensures that no automation will replace the warmth of a hug.
“Technology is wonderful, but it will never automate the warmth of a hug,” says the executive, while remembering his daughter and the importance of human beings in the face of technology.
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