SIATSA's 'El Costo Invisible' Series Exposes the Real Price of Old Tech

MEXICO CITY — SIATSA, a Mexican technology infrastructure and AI company with nearly four decades of experience, has launched 'El Costo Invisible' (The Invisible Cost), a video series featuring candid conversations with executives from finance, manufacturing, and the automotive supply chain. The series aims to expose the true, often overlooked costs that outdated technology infrastructure imposes on mid-sized Mexican companies.

Hosted by Arlet Delgadillo, Business Development at SIATSA, the series brings together five industry voices who share a common diagnosis: technology infrastructure in many mid-sized companies is falling behind the pace of the businesses it is meant to support. The real cost of outdated infrastructure rarely appears on a budget line; instead, it manifests in slow response times, unreliable data, and integrations that fail at critical moments.

Carlos De Alba Gutiérrez, a financial strategy consultant, warns that ERP systems are 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,' he says. His perspective underscores the need for careful evaluation before making significant technology investments.

Daniel Alameda Picazo, founder of DAP, a custom manufacturer of electrical components, points to a cultural issue in Mexican manufacturing: 'In Mexico, there's a lack of foresight. 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 leads to higher costs and operational disruptions.

José Francisco Flores Alcalá, a data scientist and senior project leader, emphasizes the importance of communication in project management. '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 explains. His teams rely on tracking documents to consolidate input across design, manufacturing, and testing, ensuring no department works from outdated information.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 cost of human error and lack of organization. '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 says. He also notes that during equipment startups, a rush-ordered part can cost up to fifty percent more while the machine sits idle, an often underestimated expense.

Sergio Iván Torres Valdés, a product engineer at Bocar Group with over 13 years in automotive manufacturing, observes that many companies lack the resources of larger technology firms. 'Many companies don't have the resources that some technology companies do; that's 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,' he says, pointing to the need for homegrown innovation.

The series aligns with SIATSA's nearly 40-year mission to address this infrastructure gap. The company offers IT as a Service (ITaaS), Data Center as a Service (DCaaS), and AI as a Service (AIaaS), enabling mid-sized companies to access the technical solidity of large corporations without the associated cost and complexity. Rather than leading with product recommendations, SIATSA starts with a diagnosis of each client's actual operation, identifying legacy systems without current documentation, overstretched IT teams, and convoluted integrations.

'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,' says Fernando Regidor, CEO of SIATSA.

As Mexican mid-sized companies face increasing pressure to digitize, the insights from 'El Costo Invisible' serve as a crucial reminder that the price of outdated technology is not just financial but also operational and strategic. By bringing these issues to light, SIATSA hopes to encourage more businesses to proactively address their infrastructure challenges before they become crises.