Speeding Up Innovation in Latin America with Cisco’s ‘Internet for the Future’

Co-author: Max Tremp, Senior Director Sales Engineering & Trustee Board of Directors for the Cisco Foundation

In the next decade, we’ll see technology that will unleash new possibilities and generate state-of-the-art benefits to society. But many of the world’s regions, including Latin America, do not have the infrastructure in place to support this new era of digital innovation.

In December, Cisco announced plans to build the ‘Internet for the Future,’ with the launch of the Silicon One architecture, Cisco 8000 Series platform, and new, flexible business model options. These breakthrough innovations will help make ideas like drone delivery, autonomous cars and remote surgeries a reality across the world.

Supporting the Internet for the Future

Cisco’s next generation of internet infrastructure combines our new silicon architecture with the next generation of optics. We listened to our customers and heard that they wanted more flexibility, lower costs, and hardware and software they can trust.

Our new technology does all of this and more. We designed these tools to save businesses a significant amount of money on both operations spending and cost of ownership. New flexible consumption models allow businesses to choose only the components and functionality they need and save even more. All this technology is scalable and designed to support the ‘Internet for the Future,’ which will be hundreds of times faster than what we experience today.

Accelerating innovation across Latin America

A decade ago, Latin America was not investing in infrastructure. A 2017 McKinsey report found that Latin America’s spending on infrastructure as a share of GDP—2.4% between 1992 and 2013—was the lowest of any area in the world. The region’s current infrastructure was not designed to support the kind of high-bandwidth traffic that is now commonplace.

Today, video accounts for 70% of internet traffic globally, and this traffic is increasing. Cisco’s ‘Internet for the Future’ has the potential to greatly increase the speed of innovation across Latin America, helping the region support this type of high-bandwidth traffic and more.

According to the latest Digital Ready Index released by Cisco in January 2020, Latin America remains in the “Accelerate” phase. Cisco’s Digital Readiness Index holistically measures a country’s level of digital readiness. The Index provides guidance on how countries can improve their overall readiness to foster an inclusive digital economy.

The majority of Latin American countries have already begun their digital journey. But to move from the “Accelerate” phase to the higher “Amplify” phase, these countries still need to ensure basic human needs, develop people skills for the digital economy, create a business-friendly environment where start-ups and innovation are encouraged, and increase business and government investments. These factors will aid countries in transitioning to a successful digital future.

Latin America must also advance its infrastructure. Cisco’s innovative new technology makes it easier and more cost-effective for Internet Service Providers to invest in the region’s infrastructure and build internet highways that can accommodate the high-speed, high-bandwidth traffic that today’s businesses and consumers require. This investment will bring 5G to the region faster, and all that 5G can enable. Virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and adaptive and predictive cybersecurity are just a few of the technologies that will get a boost from 5G.

Closing the gap

The next wave of digital transformation will have a real impact on the quality of life in Latin America, bringing better access to telemedicine, safer roads with autonomous vehicles, and faster, more robust graphics for gaming, communicating, and streaming of all kinds.

However, Consumers are not the only ones who will benefit from this technology.

Mining is expected to represent an unprecedented 12.5% of Latin America’s GDP this year. The manufacturing and transportation industries also contribute to a significant portion of the region’s GDP. Cisco’s new internet building blocks will allow these and other key industries to leverage fresh internet-based technologies, like augmented reality, to make their businesses safer, more efficient, and more profitable. According to McKinsey’s report, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and mining industries have the highest potential to benefit from automation. Now, it will be easier for businesses in those industries to move forward with digital transformation and automation, improving operations and increasing the quality of life for employees and their communities.

With our new technology, Cisco can help Latin America bridge the gap between today and the future. A state-of-the-art infrastructure will bring Latin American businesses and people further into the digital era – and it’s closer than ever before.