bmobile has invested heavily in creating one of the most resilient and secure Cloud solutions in the Caribbean. This technological leap will be critical for businesses seeking to grow and will also be essential as more organisations, including the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GoRTT), seek greater digitisation.

While digitisation allows organisations to benefit in terms of data, speed and efficiency, it also brings inherent risks if not managed properly, as evidenced by recent ransomware attacks in the Caribbean Basin. To help businesses better understand secure Cloud solutions (and the availability of world-class facilities here in Trinidad and Tobago), bmobile partnered with the TTMA to host a webinar as part of the 2022 Trade and Investment Conference (TIC).

The virtual meeting, Creating More Resilient Businesses through Cloud Solutions, allowed several local and international experts to demystify Cloud solutions and showcase how businesses of any size, including SMEs, can benefit from Cloud services.

Tanya Muller, Senior Manager of IT Infrastructure, TSTT, welcomed attendees with several case studies to emphasise the urgency of implementing Cloud solutions. “One client of ours was the victim of a ransomware attack which froze their critical financial data. Thankfully as they had been backed up to our Cloud, we were able to restore their data and have them operational soon after. Another client suffered a hardware failure on their internal servers. Still, as they were backed up via our offsite Cloud facilities, we were able to have them back in operation in just an hour too,” Muller highlighted. For customers that already have on-site servers, Muller noted that TSTT could house those on behalf of customers in a secure, climate-managed facility that can extend the life of those servers. Doing so can also significantly reduce in-house expenses consumed through IT staffing, maintenance and electricity usage.

Muller also highlighted the primary benefits of the bmobile Cloud solution to attendees. According to Muller, customers considering Cloud solutions would be interested in three things: availability, flexibility and continuity. “We are always available and fortunately for our customers we had 100% availability over the past 11 years. In terms of flexibility, we can also scale as needed starting off storing data for ten customers, but if you now have three hundred, we can scale that for you within minutes without you needing to buy more servers.” Continuity is also vital. “Our Disaster Recovery (DRaaS) service can back up your data easily to avoid events as we shared from our customers’ stories.”

Muller noted that the bmobile Cloud service is not only designed for large businesses, but most SMEs can also benefit. “Data and customer information is important today, and we can automate information that you normally write down manually. From the hairdresser to the hardware, we have solutions and apps that can be designed around your needs to make your life easier by making management of your business easier,” Muller added.

TSTT’s data centre and facilities are rated and inspected annually and hold several international and independent certifications, some of which are unique in the Western Hemisphere and the Caribbean. The TIA-942 Rated 3 certification merits the annual physical inspection of the facilities. The DCOS-3 rating is given on review of the operations, maintenance and personnel management aspects of the company’s Cloud and data centre operations. Extensive background checks are also conducted on staff.

Mauricio Pennini, Senior Business Development Manager, VMware, emphasised that not even TSTT has access to the data it hosts for its clients. “The data is more secure in the Cloud, than it is in your own facility,” he added. VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control with headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

Sean Koon Koon, Manager of IT Networks and Cloud, TSTT, also noted the extensive security measures that the company puts in place - that go well beyond what many companies can do in-house. “We have designed our Cloud with collaboration and security architecture at their core. Using the Governance, Operations and Technology framework, the bmobile Cloud solution is built to be used by large clients like the GoRTT, which can share space but have those spaces differentiated by Ministry and be accessible in multiple locations while remaining secure,” he added. “Or be used by smaller clients just as securely.”

Joseba Calvo, Managing Partner, EPI Latam, also shared insights with virtual attendees. “In terms of certifications, TSTT has certifications to mitigate what we often call Murphy’s Law. And these reliable Cloud services will become more critical in the coming years. The number of internet users is projected to increase from 3.8 billion in 2019 to 5 billion by 2025,” he highlighted. As a result, businesses poised to benefit are those with secure and reliable Cloud services, supporting their client databases, apps and operations. EPI is the global certification agency that verifies quality and provides independent audit services with specialisations in the ICT and Data Centre sectors.

Attendees also had the opportunity to ask direct questions of the team of experts assembled by bmobile and explore the Cloud solutions for their businesses. The event was hosted by Khamal Georges, Senior Manager – Corporate, Environmental, Social, Reputation Management, TSTT.