In a candid new video series, SIATSA, a Mexican technology infrastructure company with nearly four decades of experience, is pulling back the curtain on the often-overlooked consequences of outdated technology in mid-sized businesses. Titled 'El Costo Invisible' (The Invisible Cost), the series features conversations with executives from finance, manufacturing, and the automotive and industrial equipment supply chain, all converging on a shared diagnosis: technology infrastructure in these companies is falling behind the pace of the businesses it is meant to support.
The series, hosted by Arlet Delgadillo, Business Development at SIATSA, provides a platform for industry leaders to discuss the real costs of operating on technology decisions made years or even decades earlier. These costs rarely appear on a budget line; instead, they manifest in slow response times, unreliable data, and integrations that fail at the worst possible moments. The conversations highlight a systemic issue that many companies face but few openly address.
Carlos De Alba Gutiérrez, a financial strategy consultant, warns that an ERP is not a one-size-fits-all solution. 'There are many types of companies where an ERP won't solve your problems. Before bringing in any ERP, verify that it's really what you need, the devil is in the details.' His insight underscores the importance of aligning technology investments with actual business needs, rather than adopting trends.
Daniel Alameda Picazo, founder of DAP, a custom manufacturer of electrical components, points to a lack of foresight in Mexican industry. 'Almost every plant I've visited follows the same pattern: they work under urgency. It's only once something has already failed that everyone starts running.' This reactive approach, he notes, leads to costly downtime and inefficiencies that could be avoided with proactive planning.
José Francisco Flores Alcalá, a data scientist and senior project leader, emphasizes the critical role of communication in project success. 'If there isn't good communication among everyone involved, that's where projects get delayed, and not just within one company, it can involve several.' He describes the tracking documents his teams use to consolidate input across design, manufacturing, and testing, ensuring no department works from outdated information.
Jesús Adrián García López, an electrical design engineer at Wheelabrator Group, highlights the underestimated cost of human error and the lack of organization in maintenance. 'There has to be some kind of structure, an organization that helps technicians know exactly which part is where. A lot of what goes wrong comes down to human error.' He also notes that during equipment startups, a rush-ordered part can cost up to fifty percent more while the machine sits idle, a hidden expense that many companies fail to anticipate.
Sergio Iván Torres Valdés, a product engineer at Bocar Group with over 13 years in Mexico's automotive industry, points out that many companies lack the resources of larger tech firms, but that is exactly where innovation can make a difference. 'In manufacturing in Mexico, the development side feels a bit abandoned, we rely heavily on clients to bring in what's new.' This reliance on external input stifles internal innovation and keeps companies dependent on others for technological advancement.
This pattern is one that SIATSA has spent nearly 40 years addressing. Its service model spans IT as a Service (ITaaS), Data Center as a Service (DCaaS), and AI as a Service (AIaaS), enabling mid-sized companies to operate with the technical solidity of a large corporation without absorbing its cost structure or complexity. Rather than leading with a product recommendation, SIATSA starts with a diagnosis of the client's actual operation: legacy systems without current documentation, IT teams stretched thin on incident response, and integrations layered on integrations that no one fully understands anymore.
Fernando Regidor, CEO of SIATSA, explains the motivation behind the series: 'For almost 40 years we've watched the same pattern play out in Mexican companies: the business keeps growing, but the technology underneath it falls behind, and almost no one is willing to say so out loud. With 'El Costo Invisible,' we're not selling a solution. We want more executives to have this conversation before the cost of avoiding it becomes too high to ignore.'
The series not only sheds light on the hidden costs of outdated technology but also serves as a call to action for executives to reevaluate their infrastructure strategies. By sharing these insights, SIATSA hopes to foster a culture of proactive technology management that can drive competitiveness and resilience in the Mexican market. For more information about SIATSA and its services, visit SIATSA's website.
