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María Garaña, President of Microsoft Spain, features this new session of Desayunos ESADE.

All the experts agree that technology is a key factor in terms of competitivity. However, in recent years, our country’s technological capital has been minimal. "The technological industry exports very little", explained María Garaña, Chairwoman of Microsoft España, during the lecture she gave this morning at Desayunos ESADE. "Some of the principal barriers have been the limited proximity between technology and senior management in companies, the absence of analysis regarding how it positively affects a company’s results profile and the lack of public-private collaboration".

However, María Garaña went on to state that, “two factors are occurring that are enabling technological advance in our country". On the one hand, the speed with which technology is entering into homes (consumerization) is contributing to it gradually making its way into different areas of companies; and on the other cloud computing, or rather the vision of technology as a service , is making technology providers concentrate on generating customer confidence with regard to privacy and confidence in information management. "That has brought with it a change in the business model, given that the relationship with the customer begins at the very moment the contract is signed. From then on, privacy, security and technical support become the key factors", highlighted María Garaña.

These factors can bring about an advance in the technological industry in our country. However, the president of Microsoft España reminded those present "we need to focus on piracy, because it seriously affects us as country". Investors look for profitability, and the fact that Spain is always in the first position of the worldwide rankings on piracy, with figures of 48%, "can act as a dissuasive factor".

Alliances for a new business model

Currently a convergence is taking place between three industries: the technology, the telecommunications and the media industries. According to María Garaña, "there are increasingly more points of contact between the mobile telephone, television and technology industries", and this convergence can produce new business models, such as the vertical integration or alliance models, the latter being that which Microsoft has decided on. Today, one has to be closer to the whole chain and intervene in the manufacturing processes to indicate parameters that can contribute to the optimization of services.  Summing up, María Garaña highlighted, "it is a matter of creating alliances with operators and the device manufacturers to undertake shared investments".

María Garaña was appointed chairwoman of Microsoft España on 1st July, 2008. Born in Madrid, the chairwoman of Microsoft España has a degree in Law and Business Administration, a Diploma in International Trade from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University. Before joining the Spanish subsidiary, Garaña worked as Microsoft’s South Cone Regional Director in Latin America, with responsibility for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Prior to that, she was Business and Marketing Officer for Microsoft México.

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For further information:
guillermo.angulo@esade.edu