This week, the Orión data center, owned by the IFX company, began operations in Guatemala, with an investment of more than US$25 million. For a period of three years, they have a plan for another US$100 million investment in the country, explained Augusto Dumit, corporate general director (Chief Revenue Officer of IFX Networks) of IFX Networks.
They are even in the process of acquiring other data centers in the country.
IFX is a regional provider of managed services and infrastructure for companies, which has already operated in Guatemala for several years. Its most recent investment is in the aforementioned data center, which has an infrastructure of five thousand square meters.
The executive explains that the company has five solution segments: network services, cloud, data center, cybersecurity and managed solutions, and talks about the company’s plans in the country and the conditions in the business climate.
What is the new expansion they installed in Guatemala?
We already operate in Latin America and Guatemala. Now we are launching Orión, a new data center. Behind this new project there was planning, a vision of making a strong commitment to the digital future of Guatemala and the region.
Orión is the most modern data center in Central America and its installation responds to the market’s need for an efficient, new, state-of-the-art data center that can even operate artificial intelligence, as we are already doing here, from Guatemala.
This is a milestone in technology for IFX, but also for Guatemala, and positions and strengthens the new technological hub of Central America with this commitment to the Orión data center.
What already operate from Guatemala?
The company has been operating in Guatemala for seven years, but Orión’s dream was born a little more than a year ago and in record time we achieved investment and planning approvals to, in one year, achieve the construction of this data center.
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How much have they invested in the country?
In one year we made an investment of US$25 million to make Orión operational.
This generates a very large impact in terms of labor. The generation of indirect labor was 150 people and, directly, more than 50 engineers and solutions architects, who we have hired in the region, but in Guatemala in particular to put this data center into operation.
Orión is the 27th data center within the constellation and federation of data centers that IFX has in Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina.
We have operated our own cloud since 2008 and this allows companies, multinationals, corporations and government companies in Guatemala to have a safe, reliable and efficient environment, to operate cloud services and to be part of the ecosystem that gives them peace of mind so that they can take care of their business and leave the technological services part in the hands of an expert.
They mention that they are looking to turn Guatemala into a hub. What capacity does the corporation’s new data center have?
In this first part it has eight rooms with 20 racks each, that is, it has space for 160 racks; It has a capacity of 2.5 megawatts; operates with next-generation Schneider technology, Fortinet cybersecurity services, and NetApp storage and application services. We also have as an ally a very important player, Microsoft.
We already have clients from the financial and banking services, retail and insurance companies, and they also serve as operational support or business continuity in the event of natural disasters for other Central American countries, and this converts and positions Guatemala as this new technological hub that we are foreseeing for the future.
In the medium term, investments and expansions in offices are planned and we are already thinking about the construction of the next data center.
Within the expansion plans in the country, how much investment do you estimate to make and in what terms?
I’m going to mention raw data. For the Latin American region we are thinking, as a group, of an investment in the next three years of more than US$500 million.
These US$25 million that the construction and start-up of the first stage of Orión cost are numbers that impact the real economy of the Guatemalan market.
On the other hand, IFX is looking very favorably on the acquisition of new companies. In the strategic plan, in addition to organic growth such as the construction of this data center, we have managed to acquire a dozen companies in Central America, where, of course, in Guatemala we are also looking at purchases of companies in this latitude.
How much could be invested in Guatemala in that three-year plan that you mention?
The three-year investment for Guatemala would exceed an extra US$100 million, in terms of infrastructure and technology, apart from the US$25 million that was already invested in this data center.
What positive aspects did you observe to decide to settle and expand your investments in Guatemala?
There are three elements that are important when making a critical infrastructure investment decision like the one IFX is currently making in Guatemala.
The first is economic stability, where we observe a very stable macroeconomy over the last 25 years, with a strong currency like the quetzal.
The second important element is the demand we received from clients in Central America, and particularly in Guatemala, and that is why it was also the race against time to be able to have the Orión data center rooms available, so that they can install their technology and generate these layers of digital services that allow them to operate continuously.
And the third important element is the ease of finding human talent that allows adding Guatemalan talent to the entire IFX team that allows it to operate under the standards of processes and procedures that the company has and that require highly qualified labor, including solution architects, people specialized in cybersecurity and telecommunications engineers.
This makes it easier for a multinational to invest in a reliable way, taking into account these three elements: macroeconomic stability, market demand and human talent, which allows us to make this investment without shareholders putting the future of investments for this country at risk.
What challenges does Guatemala have to continue working on for the business climate and investment attraction?
In all countries it is a process of continuous improvement so that investors feel comfortable.
I think that today we look at those three elements that I mentioned as key, but we must never neglect and we must work to continue strengthening everything that has to do with legal security and physical security so that both the companies and the employees or collaborators of the companies that work in these countries can feel that they are in a country that invites investment and growth.
Today we see several Central American countries that are betting on this change of vision in their future, opening up to the world and, of course, connecting with other latitudes, with other geographies, taking care of the investor and giving them this legal security and physical security, which is something that can never be neglected because the moment this happens it scares away the investor and, obviously, there are always countries, markets and latitudes that are waiting to receive that foreign direct investment for growth and job creation.
