“We understand the environment and the digitization needs of SMEs very well” Vicente Hernández, acens

Tell us about yourself: who you are, what you do and how you got to where you are today

My interest in computing came about thanks to my father. He was a civil engineer, and he bought a Commodore 64 for professional use, which I ended up using. When I was 7 or 8 years old I started programming in BASIC with this Commodore 64 and when I was 13 I was programming in C with Borland Turbo C on a 386 clone.

Then I started my studies in computer engineering and in the third year of the degree, by chance and as a hobby, I founded Veloxia Network with some friends, a company offering hosting services and domain registration. We developed a distributed control panel that was very innovative for those times as it had automated and immediate customer registration processes from the web.

I wanted to learn programming as soon as my father told me that if I knew how to program, I could develop my own video games.

The market grew rapidly, and our demand exceeded our supply capacity. Veloxia was acquired by acens in 2008 and, although I left the company, two years later I moved to Madrid and had the opportunity to join the pre-sales department as an engineer.

I eventually took over as head of the department, which at acens is closely linked to the sales department, and I have recently taken over as sales manager at acens.

acens has been in business for over 25 years and since 2021 has been part of Telefónica Tech. How have you experienced this evolution and growth?

It has been an intense learning process. During the first few years we were doing something unusual in the IT field. However, in a short period of time, the transformation of sales in the Telefónica Group has been remarkable, with a significant shift towards IT services, driven by the global transformation of the Group and especially by the evolution of its sales force, possibly the largest in Spain.

In December 2024, Vicente took over the commercial management of acens, part of Telefónica Tech.

What does acens becoming part of Telefónica Tech mean for our customers?

It is a sign of reliability and quality thanks to our ability to offer comprehensive and customized solutions in advanced areas such as connectivity, cybersecurity, big data, AI and cloud management, and thanks to the attention and support we offer our customers.

Constant investment in innovation, although less visible to the client, is also essential. We have teams dedicated to the development and continuous improvement of products and services, which allows us to strengthen our portfolio of solutions and anticipate market needs.

In your new role, what are the main challenges?

Adapting to the position involves a significant change in the type and level of interaction, as well as managing the delegation of responsibilities within my team.

The main challenge would be to clearly define the services and products we have to offer in order to provide solutions to our clients, who trust us to guide their digital transformation.

It is essential to understand and anticipate their needs and to accompany them at every step of the process, from identifying solutions to implementation and ongoing support, demonstrating our commitment to their long-term success.

We offer SMEs agility and tailored solutions, both in terms of cost and sizing.

How has the cloud evolved? Did you think at the beginning that it would have such a significant impact?

When I started at Veloxia, I had no idea how virtualization would speed up the outsourcing of IT services. Initially, we focused on infrastructure for websites, but today we work mainly with business infrastructure for our customers.

How would you assess the current state of the cloud in Spain and what impact do you think it will have over the next 20 years?

The current state of the cloud in Spain shows robust and sustained growth, driven mainly by the growing need for security and the reduction in investment in local infrastructures. This change has allowed Spanish SMEs to overcome traditional barriers and adopt cloud solutions, facilitating growth of more than 20% per year.

The current state of the cloud in Spain shows robust and sustained growth, driven mainly by the growing needs for security and cost reduction.

Over the next 20 years, cloud technology will continue to evolve, and computing capacity will increase significantly, enabling advances that we are not yet able to conceive of. We could see the emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which would be a disruptive change for humanity. AGI would transform our society in unimaginable ways, opening up new opportunities and challenges for businesses and technology in general.

As a regular reader of science fiction, I think that any future is possible.

What is our commitment to the companies we help on their journey to the cloud?

We at acens are very familiar with the environment and the digital transformation needs of SMEs. Our proposal offers SMEs not only agility but also solutions that are adjusted in terms of both cost and sizing.

Since 2021 acens is part of Telefónica Tech.

The relationship with many of our customers goes back more than a decade. They have evolved and grown with us, facing several changes in technology together, and today they continue to trust us to keep advancing in their IT transformation. Telefónica Tech's advanced capabilities and technologies also allow us to offer additional tools to help our customers remain efficient and competitive.

We are very familiar with the environment and the digital transformation needs of SMEs.

What unique aspect of our proposal would you highlight?

What really makes us different at acens is the service. There are many companies selling Cloud infrastructure on the market, but what makes us different at acens is how we respond and support our customers when they have problems or difficulties. We have an enormous capacity.

And any professional achievements that you are particularly proud of?

I feel particularly proud of the development of my team. Although my formal objective is to achieve sales targets, I know that I can only do so with a team capable of making it happen. Seeing how each member of the team grows, learns and perfects their work is one of the most rewarding achievements of my career.

We have an enormous capacity to offer solutions tailored to the customer that they are often unaware that they even exist.