Perhaps best known as a leader in the telecommunications sector, Telefónica has remained steadfast in its mission to fully support its more than 300 million customers by developing and providing cloud services that are designed for large enterprise and small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) as well as SoHo and consumer markets.
Large telecommunications organizations such as Telefónica have experience with data center operations, systems integration and complex software systems, giving them a leg up in what has become a fiercely competitive segment of the industry.
With 313.8 million customers globally, the 85-year-old, Madrid-Spain-based company is one of the world’s leaders in the telecommunication sector, providing communication, information technology and entertainment solutions, with presence in Europe and Latin America.
Recognizing the massive potential that can be derived from “big data,” Telefónica Digital recently established “Telefónica Dynamic Insights,” a new global business unit dedicated to identifying and unlocking the potential opportunities for creating value from big data.
Cloud Computing recently had the opportunity to catch up with Marcelo Caputo, CEO of Telefónica USA, to discuss why the telecommunications company is expanding on its already established business model and its most promising development that is yet to come.
CC: Considering the number of vendors on the market today, what makes Telefonica (News 
- Alert) USA a strong cloud computing provider?
MC: Telefonica has more than two decades in the data center business, from managed hosted services to today’s cloud computing solutions. We are one of few companies that can say we have witnessed the progression in the industry, not only from the technological innovation but from a business aspect as well. Our Miami-based 176,500 square-foot data center (as part of our fully-owned worldwide Data Center network) was deployed during the dot.com bubble in September 2001 when we had the chance to mature along with our customer through the evolution and challenges required to deliver what we call today a good cloud solution. Today we service multinational corporations headquartered around the world because they trust in us their IT and cloud needs. We feel very confident as one of the top providers that we have a solution to meet stringent needs.
CC: What would you identify as the most promising development for Telefonica USA around cloud computing today?
MC: I would have to say that our global presence as Tier 1 provider gives our cloud offering a strategic advantage. This advantage comes from the lessons learned from our other global offerings. Over the decades we have learned that no platform can stand on its own, that there must be a true level of support in place to enhance the overall experience. Cloud offerings are no different: yes there is a certain level of self-automation expected, but it is important to have the correct service level implementation and overall foundation in place. Take, for example, our Global Service Management Centers, which allow for a single point of contact for our customers or our unique Data Center Network that interconnects our data centers throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Europe. This is a foundation upon which we can build.
CC: What can we expect from Telefonica USA in 2013?
MC: We are very excited to be launching the new Telefonica Channel Partner Program at ITEXPO (News - Alert) East 2013 in Miami. We would like to officially welcome all our channel partners to enjoy from this amazing program to best serve their multinational demands in the U.S. We are grateful to see the interest of multiples channel partners to work with us, and we feel very lucky to represent them with all their multinational customers.
CC: What does Telefonica USA offer their channel partners?
MC: The program will offer very competitive plans and our goal is to take all our partners to a higher level, where they will be able to provide Telefonica multinational services such as cloud computing, international connectivity, worldwide Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and many other exciting services.
CC: What other services beside cloud computing do you see Telefonica USA offering to meet today’s communications demands?
MC: Telefonica has been a top player in the international connectivity industry where we operate in 44 countries with 21 full networks allowing us to provide one of the most complete state of the art international MPLS networks with more than 300 destinations in all continents. Much like we are doing with our digital services, Telefonica has put a vast effort into developing solutions aligned to our customer’s demand for cloud computing services, offerings focused on leveraging the infrastructure, M2M platform, security services, financial services and the development of our new content delivery methods that will allows us to meet customer demands for access to video content on an ever- expanding range of devices.
CC: To summarize, why is Telefonica is smart choice for businesses looking to deploy cloud computing or cloud communications?
MC: Our focus is all about being where our customers are, and providing the services they need. We have the scope, expertise and scale required to ensure that all the parts of our global business are always connected. This is our highest priority.
Edited by Brooke Neuman
