Analysis: National IT Strengths & Weaknesses
Analysis: National IT Strengths & Weaknesses
El Salvador has many strengths, but many more weaknesses in its information technology landscape. It is still a developing nation in Central America that has faced much diversity in its recent history. The Civil War in the nineteen eighties was obviously a significant setback for the country's development. In the nineteen nineties El Salvador showed promise with economic stability and steady gains in multiple industry sectors. By this point in the country's history, many experts believed that it was headed for sustained growth and economic prosperity superior to that of other Central American nations. Once again, in the late nineties, natural disaster struck the tiny nation twice. First there were a series of strong earthquakes that caused massive destruction and killed hundreds and then there was hurricane Mitch, which caused floods, mud slides and killed thousands. Since then, with the aid of many international organizations such as the World Bank and IMF rebuilding has begun. Basic needs and infrastructure are in the process of being rebuilt, including the country's telecommunications system.
Looking toward the future, El Salvador's strengths can be found in the low cost of its labor. The major drawback preventing IT companies from using this cheap labor is that most of the labor is unskilled. El Salvador's labor market is more appropriate for textile manufacturing factories where workers can easily be trained to operate various machinery or be used in manual textile operations. A potential solution to this problem is through the use of knowledge sharing, which has come about ironically due to the country's troubled past.
Migration, mostly to the United States, has been occurring especially since the Civil War and continues today. Although the migrants enter the United States typically with only an elementary or high school education, they often continue their education's in the United States. Some attain university level education and continue to live in the United States, while others may return to their home country. Those that stay attempt to share their knowledge through Internet knowledge sharing portals. One example of this phenomena are a group of Salvadoran physicians in Houston, Texas that have created an Internet portal to share medical information with doctors in El Salvador.
El Salvador continues to face many challenges in its immediate
future. They include overcoming the setbacks it has been dealt and
working to create the type of prosperity that existed only a decade ago.
The country is slowly overcoming telephony infrastructure problems, unskilled
labor problems and attracting knowledge sharing. This process will
likely take many years before visible results can be obtained.
Countryside near the San Miguel volcano