According to a study conducted by ProColombia, Colombia is the fourth largest market in Latin America in the IT industry, after Brazil, Mexico and Chile, making it an attractive country for foreign investment and also sparking interest developing alliances to grow the market.
Likewise, an analysis of the aforementioned investment promotion entity has identified export opportunities in software for agribusiness, education, energy, financial services, retail, health and transport, in destinations such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico, among others.
This development leveraged by Covid-19 pandemic and forecasting that by 2025 this sector will represent 5% of Colombia’s GDP and 30% of this country’s total exports according to FEDESOFT, places Colombia as an important player in the digital transformation of Latin America.
Reasons to deploy an edge computing model in Colombia
1. Colombia has companies specialized in infrastructure projects such as Grupo ZFB, that develops the first layer that technology deployment requires, that is, they are building the necessary data center infrastructure to make it work, displaying Zetta DC Complex the only data suites wholesaler in Colombia.
2. The country has developed tariff policies through Free Trade Zones positively impacting capital-intensive companies in the IT industry, allowing profitability’s margin optimization, by generating significant savings in CAPEX investment, supported by less taxes on equipment acquisition.
3. According to a study published in FEDESOFT "National Tour 2021", the skilled workforce is a growing resource since 44% of students enrolled in IT attend professional level careers and 48% study in a technological program.
4. Colombia has a favorable and strategic geographical location in the continent and its proximity to submarine cable points allows connectivity through the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.
Experts point out that Edge Computing has three advantages compared to current systems and it has to do with speed, reliability and cost. The 5G network will be a reality thanks, in part, to edge computing which allows low latency processing.
Although progress is currently advancing in testing plans, Colombian government seeks to leave 50 pilot points for this type of connectivity as a base in the country. It is known that this technology will allow data computing increase, which supports the operation of so-called emerging applications.
Colombia stands out as one of the countries that has promoted the most data centers deployment that will allow 5G network implementation, which plays a key role in digital transformation to grant scaling applications, and implementing disaggregated transmission structures, with higher density, faster and reliable.