For two decades, Latin American companies and government agencies have invested heavily in hypervisor-based virtualization technology. And, for much of that time, it worked great.
But market dynamics and applications have changed, limiting the usefulness of hypervisor technology for next-generation applications.
Given this evolution, what should LATAM organizations do next to ensure a cost-effective cloud environment that meets the needs of edge computing, AI and other emerging applications?
During a recent Partner Talk at our booth at Google Cloud Next ’26, we assembled a panel to answer these questions. Panelists included Marcio Talhacolo, CEO of Informo Technologia; Thiago Ferrari, CEO of THS Technologia; and Anirban (Oni) Chakravartti, SVP and global head of sales (Enterprise) for Rakuten Symphony. The panel was moderated by Padmarajan (Raj) Narayanan, our global head of presales and solutions (Enterprise).
So, what does the next era of infrastructure look like for LATAM organizations?
One of the main themes was that organizations that depend on hypervisors will be challenged to keep up with cloud-native containerization software. The first reason is licensing costs. “The traditional hypervisors … are three times more (expensive) than last year,” Talhacolo said. This rapid rise in cost throws off the careful budgeting these companies have undertaken and means that other technology priorities will have to be delayed.
Based on his work with Fortune 100 companies, Oni added that beyond budgets, organizations are looking to optimize their environment to improve efficiency. The main question these organizations often face is where to start optimizing: with the hardware, with the software, or by adding AI?
Oni added: “One thing is for sure, customers would like to see a much more efficient data structure, plane, networking, everything. An end-to-end solution is much more attractive commercially.” He continued: “AI will play a critical role, infrastructure will play a critical role, and obviously, the software too, which is zero touch.”
All of the panelists agreed that edge compute is, or will soon become, essential. But edge computing requires connectivity, and the vast size of Brazil means some remote regions are not connected. This, of course, limits cloud access in those regions.
There’s also a challenge in meeting the needs of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), which mandates data sovereignty for all government agencies and companies that do business with the government.
This decentralized edge infrastructure must be built and that means remote skilled workers, who are hard to find. Choosing zero-touch management makes this easier, but there is still a shortage.
As with other new technologies, buyers in the region are risk-averse and do not want to try new technologies that may not yet be fully proven.
Even with the issues with hypervisors and the opportunities of edge compute, is it time for LATAM organizations to embrace change? The consensus is that change is needed – and in some eyes, needed quickly.
Ferrari said: “Companies have to act very quickly… whoever acts faster tends to have much better results.”
Some companies may already be behind. Talhacolo said: “The edge is not a future of the cloud. The edge is something that the customers need to use because their workloads run better on the edge.”
And lastly: “(Companies) have to adopt edge no matter what, because if they want to compete in the competitive market, they have to have the data processed at the place where the action is happening. That's the only way to be competitive in the market,” said Oni.
The panelists agreed that hypervisors were too costly and offered limited functionality compared to cloud-native solutions. They also agreed that adopting edge computing is a must for all LATAM organizations. As for when to adopt this technology, the panelists all felt an urgent need to embrace these solutions as soon as possible.
To hear more about the panelists’ thoughts on these topics, watch a video of the panel session here.
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