“The threat to cyber security is greater than ever”, warned Pilar López Álvarez, Microsoft Spain president, during ‘Desayunos Esade’, organised by ESADE Alumni in conjunction with CriteriaCaixa. She explained that “most companies are not ready to respond to a cyber attack that could bring them to a complete halt. Fortunately, we are making progress and cyber attacks are being detected faster and faster. Not long ago, a company would take 200 days day to detect a cyber attack, but Microsoft has reduced the time necessary to a matter of hours. Companies must learn to protect themselves and design a global security scheme that includes correct corporate management, threat detection, data protection and unified monitoring.”

The president of Microsoft Spain believes that the key to future leadership is tech intensity, an approach that “consists of investing in technologies to differentiate and boost the competitive edge of each company”. In her opinion, this equation only has room for distinguishing factors because “everything else is simply a commodity” and alliances are essential. “At Microsoft we believe they are the best way to grow and develop technology, on condition that bonds of trust are forged. We believe trust is an essential factor. It is an integral part of privacy, which is a basic right; of the liabilities involved in tech development, from the viewpoint of transparency; of fairness and inclusion; and of security.”

Tech intensity

“Tech intensity means creating an identify for oneself based on cutting-edge technologies, developing an entrepreneurial approach to them that fosters an acceptance of risks, and seeking experiences and knowledge beyond the realms of the company,” explained Pilar López Álvarez during her talk on the ESADE campus in Madrid. “According to a recent Microsoft survey, 83% of companies think they will have to adopt a tech intensity approach if they want to be successful in the future”.

According to the Microsoft Spain president, the future will be characterised by “technologies related to the cloud, data, A.I., IoT and blockchain”, and the companies that undergo digital change in order to “connect with their customers, boost talent, optimise their business and generate new e-products and e–services”. “It’s not a matter of what technology can do, but what we should do with technology. In other words, we must decide how we want to change society, which direction we want it to move in, and then decide which technology we need”, she concluded.

Pilar López Álvarez, Microsoft Spain president, was accompanied during ‘Desayunos Esade’ by Mario Lara, director of ESADE Madrid.