20000303-"The Latin character, open and creative, will contribute a lot to the development of the digital Economics in Spain".

"The Latin character, open and creative, will contribute a lot to the development of the digital Economics in Spain". This was stated at the University of Navarra by Francisco Román, director general of Microsoft Ibérica, who participated in the III Forum of Entrepreneurs and Students on "The digital Economics ", organized by the School of Economic and Business Sciences.

"Choosing between Economics traditional or digital is not an option because we are going through a transformation process. In the digital development , Spain is behind European averages, but the speed of recovery and the efforts to advance are important. The future is bright because the professionals are good, even if investments in infrastructure are still failing."

For her part, María Jesús Prieto, general manager of the Madritel Foundation, explained that "the digital Economics contradicts all the axioms of the industrial Economics . Before, economic value came from scarcity, and now it comes from abundance; we were used to the fact that any increase in quality implied an increase in price, and now we see that what is really useful tends to be free".

The risk of these technological advances," he continued, "is that, when they are consolidated, the danger is success, and we Spaniards have to be very attentive to this because historically we have been incapable of managing success. We were used to single-digit economic growth, and those of the digital Economics from 1994 to 1997 were 174%".

Regarding the training necessary to adapt to technological change, Prieto commented that "a feature of this Economics is that it is tremendously humanistic and social because the individual is once again the lord and master of his actions, he has control of all aspects. This can be seen above all in the increased capacity for continuous training : now we can access the intellectual capital of a teacher wherever we are, not depending on where we were born".

"We're back to writing thanks to email."

Regarding the dehumanization and insecurity that technology can bring, Microsoft's director explained that "the misgivings about the insecurity of the network are unjustified. Why would a person be more prejudiced about giving his issue from credit through the network than giving it to a waiter in a restaurant who takes the card and returns it for the owner to sign the bill? In any case, the systems are getting more and more secure."

One of the challenges of technologies," he added, "is to incorporate some warmth into communication. Without going any further, people have gone back to writing with e-mail. And this financial aid to improve individual-to-individual relationships. Rather than getting in the way, this technology financial aid to communicate".

Regarding the possibilities for all sectors to adapt to the digital Economics , the director of Madritel said that "we should try to ensure that anyone can have access to technological advances, doing everything in our power, even if it is complex. This is a fact: either you join or you disappear".

However, both executives have clarified that "at the end of the day, investment in technology is the minor aspect. What is important are the cultural changes. Technologically, few things are needed, but what is needed is a huge change in attitudes and adaptation".