ERP Summit Colombia: 4th edition brought together more than 1,300 participants

The fourth edition of the ERP Summit Colombia 2024 was successfully held last Tuesday 22 October at the Ágora Convention Centre in Bogotá. The event closed the 2024 editions of the ERP Summit, after travelling through Brazil, Peru, Spain and Mexico; bringing together more than 1,300 experts and more than 30 renowned exhibitors from the sector.

The ERP Summit Colombia kicked off with the participation of Saúl Kattan Cohen, Colombia's High Councillor for Digital Transformation, who officially opened the event by highlighting the importance of digitalisation for the country's economic future, reaffirming the government's support for an intense day with the different players who make real progress in social change through technology possible.

‘We have to see technology as a facilitator for transforming a society, a facilitator for transforming companies for municipal or regional government, it is also a facilitator for transforming people,’ said Saúl Kattan Cohen, Colombia's High Counsellor for Digital Transformation.

Kattan said that people must be made aware of digital security, ‘the government and companies must improve digital security, cybercrime is the third largest economy in the world, where unprecedented business is generated, attacks such as the one carried out on the health sector , to the judicial sector, are sensitive information that must be prioritised and made aware of.’

Another point he discussed was the human factor, ‘we have to think about training people with employability, who from anywhere in Colombia can work with large technology companies, this would generate a great impact on the country, and that many people could be removed from violence and are productive people because it improves the quality of life, it trains people and they belong to the digital ecosystem, it changes the history of Colombia, it improves GDP, through technology,’ he added.

‘I'm convinced that if we use the levers of technology correctly, we'll have a more developed country,’ concluded the Presidential Advisor for Colombia's Digital Transformation.

Marcelo Sinhorini, CEO of Grupo Portal ERP, said: ‘The presence of the Senior Presidential Advisor at the opening of the fourth edition of ERP Summit Colombia 2024 affirms the country's commitment to the advancement and expansion of the business sector with the adoption of new technologies for Colombia's economic growth.’

María Lucía Ramírez, director of digital economy at MinTIC, also took part in the opening of the event, talking about the programmes that the ministry generates in the territories. With the right tools, there is greater technological introduction, higher income and more productivity.

‘From the national government, MinTIC's Mauricio Lizcano is investing close to a billion pesos in digital education, with programmes that offer employability opportunities such as Talento Tech. It's a way of contributing to the democratisation of technology, reaching the territories and the business fabric,’ said María Lucía Ramírez, MinTIC's director of digital economy.

Colombia is in seventh place in the OECD's Digital Government Index (2023). This index compares the use of data and digital tools to achieve a comprehensive transformation of the public sector.

In addition, companies in the IT sector and the hiring of digital roles: Between 2018 and 2021, the hiring of digital roles increased by 24 per cent according to the World Economic Forum - Digital Skills 2023. Contribution to national GDP The Digital Industry has increased its weight in the country's GDP, reaching 4.6 per cent in 2022.

Luciano Itamar, Editor and Co-founder of Grupo Portal ERP said: ‘It was an honour to welcome Dr Kattan to the opening of our event and to hear him speak directly about the size and giant potential for the digital transformation of companies in Colombia, further confirming the unquestionable role of software at that time.’