For the technology executive, the lack of future-proofing lies not only in the technological infrastructure itself, but also in the ability of companies to effectively integrate emerging technologies.
It’s a paradox. This is how Martin Schroeter, CEO of Kyndryl , describes some of the findings of the Kyndryl Readiness Report 2024. “While 90% of senior executives consider that their technological infrastructure today is at the forefront, less than 40% feel that they are not prepared for the opportunities or risks of the future. This is what we call a paradox, but it is also a starting point for how to build a business case for investing in infrastructure because if you want to take advantage of AI, keep the bad guys out (cybersecurity) or prepare for a new regulatory regime, then you will have to start with the infrastructure,” the executive comments to AméricaEconomía .
In this way, this discrepancy poses a critical challenge for companies in a context where digital transformation is essential for competitiveness. In this sense, for Schroeter, who was in Peru last week to participate in the APEC CEO Summit, the lack of preparation for the future lies not only in the technological infrastructure itself, but also in the capacity of companies to effectively integrate emerging technologies. In this line, AI - which is revolutionizing all sectors - becomes a central axis of this transformation. However, Schroeter points out that it is not just about implementing tools, but about having a robust and resilient infrastructure that can withstand both new technological demands and the risks derived from cybercrime and changing regulatory frameworks.
“All of this is very important because for any business problem, whether you want to improve the experience of your customers or employees, reach new users or understand them better, move faster, manage your supply chain, whatever, technology is at the heart of how you are going to address it. It is not going to solve 100% of your problems, but it is part of 100% of all the challenges that companies face,” says Kyndryl’s CEO.
The challenge of regulation and cybercrime
Another finding in the Kyndryl report is in the area of risk. 64% of respondents identified cybersecurity (or bad guys , as Martin Schroeter refers to) as the first latent risk, and in second place, with only three points difference (61%) is regulation (or good guys ).
“There is no doubt that the bad guys are the number one risk, but regulatory regimes and the pace of policy are not far behind. Some would say they are too fast, but it is difficult for any business to keep up with technology and the pace at which it is moving and it is particularly difficult for regulators as well, but we all have to collaborate to try to figure out how we are going to get the most robust regulatory regime so that each of the participants – us as a commercial business, the government, with its role in protecting citizens’ data and so on – can play a role and get to a better place. It is quite clear from the data that cyber and resilience are the most important thing. I don’t think that is going to change. If we had asked for five years, I don’t think it would have been any different either,” he says.
In Latin America, although the pace of regulation in different industries is different, they all aim to modernize infrastructure to ensure competitiveness. The same is true in countries in Europe and Asia, which face the same challenges regarding the adaptability of their infrastructure to new regulations.
“If you ask a bank in Europe today, how do they feel about the regulatory regime? They will all say that it is moving too fast because they are dealing with DORA [European Union regulation that seeks to improve operational resilience and cybersecurity in the financial sector]. If you were to ask a supply chain company in Japan about regulation, they would say the same thing, because it is moving fast and the Japanese government is changing. Latin America is in the same place as everyone else. It depends a lot on the industries that are being served from those countries, I don’t think that Latin America is in a weaker or stronger position,” said Schroeter.
Regarding cybersecurity, Kyndryl has taken a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity and resilience, highlighting the importance of having a cloud infrastructure that can isolate and mitigate the effects of attacks. “The existential risk for a company is not whether or not they get attacked, because the likelihood of that is quite high. The existential risk is that they can’t get their services back online in a reasonable amount of time so that their customers aren’t really affected. We ’re completely cloud-based because that helps with cybersecurity, but we’ve also built into that cloud environment a zero-trust approach. So even if the cybercriminal does get in, they can’t go anywhere and we have ways to block and isolate them. We have a lot of tools to help us get ahead of problems ,” Schroeter explains.
Another major challenge for the tech industry is digital readiness and access to skilled human talent. Rapid technological evolution demands that companies not only hire technically savvy staff, but also invest in training and practical experience. “We need to not just build résumés and award credentials, but also create ways for the next generation to gain real-world experience,” says Schroeter.
To achieve this, Kyndryl has invested in India, where they have brought cyber skills training initiatives to remote villages where women are at the heart of the economy. “In a village, the bad guys go after women’s phones because that’s where the money is. So they need to be educated and we have invested with the government to create a program that allows us to train one hundred thousand women in villages on how to be more aware of cyber security. That has now led us to also build another education system for the children in those villages while they go to school,” she concludes.
