Intelligent CIO LATAM Issue 14 | Page 32

EDITOR S QUESTION

HOW SHOULD LATIN AMERICAN CIOS DEAL WITH THE IMPACT OF INFLATION AND THE FLUCTUATING DOLLAR ON THE ECONOMY ?

infrastructures and countries like Costa Rica in recent months .
In Latin America , we must add a significant devaluation of the most important currencies such as the Argentinean , Colombian and Chilean pesos and the Brazilian real , dragging the continent into uncertainty about what to buy , what to use , and how to finance everything from software and cloud services to machinery and infrastructure .
The real dilemma is how to leverage business with technology and deal with unstable costs , at least for IT decision-makers .
IDC , in its State of the Market : Inflation Impact on IT Spending and the Cloud Study , sums it up :

We have seen the current crisis grow in stages . It started with the pandemic , followed by the shortage of chips for all kinds of machinery and equipment , and it grew with the container crisis and the global supply chain .

In addition , the hydrocarbon , fuel and food markets destabilized with the Russian invasion of Ukraine , further affecting the unemployment and inflation problem that had already arisen . All these are issues happening on an unprecedented global scale .
• The underlying demand from enterprises and service providers for IT investments remains strong . Supply is a crucial constraint on near-term market growth , including infrastructure investments .
• Consumer spending is showing early signs of the negative impact of inflation on the global economy , along with supply chain disruption . IT services may be affected by increases in labor costs .
• IT leaders worldwide anticipate that general inflation and industry supply chain issues will alter cost assumptions but are considering increasing their ICT budgets rather than delaying technology investments .
We can also mention the concern generated by the cyberattacks that have damaged companies ,
So we asked three experts in the field to give us their views on this outlook .
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