This week, The Lisbon MBA hosted a Sector Panel dedicated to Technology.

 

 

Microsoft, Cisco and Ericsson, three major companies that have shaped the Portuguese technological landscape since the Dot.com era and whose continuous positive impact in businesses is felt all over the world, were present at this week’s sector panel through some of their top market leaders – we had the pleasure to have with us Alberto Silva, Marketing and Operations Director at Microsoft, João Ribeiro, Service Delivery Leader for Service Providers at Cisco, and Luís Muchacho, Networks Pre-Sales Lead at Ericsson.

 

 

To kickstart the topic, our moderator Paulo Cardoso do Amaral, professor at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, introduced a central question: “The challenges and opportunities of tech: what is happening today in technology, and what will be happening tomorrow?”
The panelists then shared the main trends present in their businesses as well as the strategies their companies are putting into place.

 

 

Alberto Silva, Marketing and Operations Director at Microsoft and former Lisbon MBA alumnus from the Class of 2010, introduced the topic by focusing on two key areas of today’s panorama, Hybrid Work and Cybersecurity. As the leader of the “Modern Work and Security Business Group”, Alberto Silva shared some important highlights on how technology has advanced these two areas, posing that technology as made “hybrid work, work”, and allowed for a shift in the working patterns and interactions, with hybrid work being the future. On the other hand, how cybersecurity threats have become more sophisticated and have risen worldwide, as companies continue to move their operations to the digital world.

 

 

João Ribeiro, Service Delivery Leader for Service Providers at Cisco and former Lisbon MBA alumnus from the Class of 2018-2020, provided a detailed outlook on the incumbent and emerging technologies that are taking place in every business, such as the natural movement from current “lift & shift” operations to cloud-based operations, such as Cloud-Native Platforms.

 

 

Luís Muchacho, Networks Pre-Sales Lead at Ericsson, shared insights on today’s 5G landscape in Portugal, showing its importance in businesses today, such as the digitalization of maritime ports, as well as what it is hoped to be done in the market in the not-so-far-away future of 2030, by “making the unimaginable possible”.

 

 

Students addressed the panelists with questions regarding the opportunities for 5G in Portugal, the best strategies to merge both people and technology in the actual panorama, and how sustainability is being approached by technological companies.

 

 

It was an insightful and futuristic panel. We thank Alberto Silva, João Ribeiro and Luís Muchacho for their excellent contribution and support.