Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency: IBM Opens IT Security Operations Center in Costa Rica

HEREDIA, Costa Rica, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, IBM celebrated its 10 year anniversary in Costa Rica with the opening of its latest Security Operations Center (SOC). Through an initial investment that includes infrastructure and education, the center will allow IBM to address the growing security needs of its clients in the region.

"We would like to thank IBM for its confidence to reinvest in an operation that will create more quality jobs for its citizens," said Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis. "The announcement of a new IBM Security Operations Center reinforces the international image that Costa Rica is a strategic target for high-tech investments and is evidence of the commitment made since the first day of this government to dedicate ourselves to proactively executing a directive in favor of new, quality jobs -- the main objective of our visit to the United States.  This is a tribute to the quality of human talent in the region."

With this new center, the first in Costa Rica, IBM adds to the existing services offered in the country including cloud, business analytics, project management, human resources, financial services and more. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the security center of operations team will monitor the latest security events experienced by IBM clients, assess their potential impact on the business and ensure that IBM clients' infrastructure is configured to handle the latest threats. As a result of this analysis, IBM will help to protect people, data, applications, transactions and the infrastructure for all businesses in the region.

"The new IBM Security Services center complements the other services we offer here, including cloud, business analytics, project management, human resources, finance, administration and consulting, among others," said James Rutledge, Vice President of Strategic Outsourcing for IBM Latin America.  "This center not only positions Costa Rica as a regional leader in IT, it also recognizes the talented and skilled IT professionals that bring world-class services to our clients in the region."

"Companies like IBM clearly demonstrate the evolution that the services industry is undergoing in Costa Rica as companies here move forward to manage more complex and sophisticated processes," said the Minister of Foreign Trade, Alexander Mora. "This progress is made possible by the talent and skills of our country's workforce. We are succeeding in creating new world linkages and providing more value that will help us bring more Costa Rican companies into the dynamics of world trade. We remain committed to attracting high-value investments that leverage this platform which offer benefits to both parties."

Since IBM opened its Costa Rica operations, the company has created new jobs and development opportunities for employees while helping build low income family housing and teach eco-friendly practices.

IBM has also introduced several educational initiatives, providing student scholarships through a program sponsored by Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), university courses focused on key subjects like security and cloud computing, and reading companion software for 12 educational centers that are designed to help citizens improve knowledge of the English language.

"Multinational companies such as IBM support Costa Rica's development. Considering IBM, there has been great collaboration with the academic community and an interest in promoting joint programs. As such, Costa Rica can rely on courses and specialties that align to the needs of IT companies," said Gabriela Llobet, Director General of CINDE.

Today IBM has the world's largest security services practice, with more than 6,000 skilled security services professionals, all of who have a unique handle on the threat landscape. Through this latest facility and its 10 SOCs located in the United States, Poland, Japan, Brazil, Belgium, India and Australia, IBM manages and monitors 15 billion security events every day for more than 4,000 clients.

SOURCE Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency