A few days ago we were at the Westin Camino Real in Guatemala City to participate in TechDay IT Now, the technology event with the most history and reach in Central America and the Caribbean, with over 20 years of history and a 2026 tour covering 8 countries in the region.
We arrived in two roles: a stand where our team spent the day in conversation with IT directors and decision-makers, and a keynote session where we put a question on the table that too few organizations take seriously enough.
A question most companies are not asking
Luis Rugamas took the stage with a clear premise: most organizations in the region already have the data they need to make better decisions. The problem is not a lack of information. It is that this information lives trapped inside systems that employees cannot query quickly, directly, or naturally.
The session was called “Private AI for smart companies: talk to your data, decide better, and transform your business.” This is not a future concept. It is something we are already implementing with companies across the region: AI systems that operate directly on an organization’s internal data, securely and under control, without that information ever reaching public tools.
Employees can ask questions, run analysis, and get answers using natural language. No file exports. No relying on a model that does not know your business. No assuming that your confidential data stays where it should.
The problem no one wants to face
One of the points that resonated most in the room was the Samsung case in 2023: employees who leaked confidential source code by using a public AI tool because they had no private alternative available. This is not an extreme case. It is exactly what happens when a company adopts AI without a clear policy on where their data lives and who has access to it.
The answer is not to ban AI. It is to implement it correctly: on top of your own data, within your own infrastructure, with controls that you define.
The conversations that matter
Beyond the keynote, what we value most about these events are the conversations that happen at the stand. IT directors, CIOs, operations teams. People facing the same challenges around automation, integration, and security as their peers across the region.
TechDay Guatemala is not a sales fair. It is where people go to understand what is happening in technology and what decisions make sense to take today. That is exactly the kind of conversation we like to have.
We continue on the tour
TechDay IT Now covers 8 countries in 2026: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Honduras. Guatemala was a very important stop for us. The energy of the event, the quality of the conversations, and the caliber of the attendees confirmed that this tour is worth every commitment.
We remain committed to participating at every stop. If your organization is evaluating how to implement AI responsibly, without compromising your operational confidentiality, this is exactly the conversation we want to have with you.
Luis Rugamas, CEO of Echo Technologies