We know that 2021 has been a busy year for many of us. But before everyone takes a well-earned holiday break, we wanted to share some exciting news with cybersecurity professionals in Latin America: As part of our commitment to Latin America, Cisco Umbrella has opened a new data center in Ciudad de Querétaro, Mexico. Located just north of Mexico City, this data center will enable multilayer protection through unified DNS-layer security, Cloud-Delivered Firewall (CDFW), and Secure Web Gateway (SWG). Because of this, customers in Mexico and across Central and South America can use this new Cisco Umbrella data center to enjoy a superior internet experience and unparalleled cybersecurity.
A Data Center That Unlocks the Full Capabilities of Cisco Umbrella
At Cisco Umbrella, our global cloud architecture plays an important role in empowering our customers as they embark on their Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) journey. Because of this, we carefully choose the locations of our data centers to provide global coverage that reduces traffic latency and maximizes resilience. And thanks to Anycast routing, traffic will always be routed to the closed data center, automatically bypassing degraded or unavailable links. Our facility in Ciudad de Querétaro is paired with our Miami, Florida facility for automatic failover, though customers can manually configure IPsec tunnels to another Cisco Umbrella data center if desired.
Cybersecurity teams in Mexico and across Latin America will also be pleased to know that the connectivity speed offered by Cisco Umbrella rivals – if not surpasses – that of direct internet access. This is due, in part, to our peering arrangements with over 1,000 ISPs, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers. These arrangements allow Cisco Umbrella to utilize both the shortest and the most reliable route between users and their web-based applications.
We’re excited to have this new Cisco Umbrella data center as a part of our global cloud architecture. While the facility is quite close to the Mexico City metropolitan area, we strategically chose a location outside of nearby seismic and flood zones. This makes the facility more resilient, giving our customers peace of mind when it comes to the long-term performance of networks connected to this data center. The facility also meets information security industry standards and complies with ISO 27001 and SOC2 standards.
Investing in Cybersecurity for Our Latin America Business Partners
At Cisco Umbrella, we understand that Latin America is an important region for our global customers and partners. So providing a robust, reliable, and ready-to-use cybersecurity solution to our partners in the area is a critical part of our mission to power an inclusive future for all. This new Cisco Umbrella data center is a sign of our continued investment in Latin America, as well as a promise of things to come as we continue to expand our global cloud architecture.
In the last 12 months, our team has opened 9 new data centers globally, bringing our total global data center count up to 36 at the time of publication. What’s more, we have plans to open several new data centers at various locations around the world before the year is out. This will enable businesses to usher in 2022 with increased network performance and a robust suite of cybersecurity solutions at their disposal.
The Perks of a Sustainable Data Center
When establishing this new data center, we wanted to make sure that it would serve as an asset to local enterprises without causing unnecessary strain on the infrastructure of one of the most important business and economic hubs in Latin America. So, we’re proud to announce that our new data center – located in an Equinix facility – uses one of the first data center cogeneration systems in Latin America. The energy used to power the building and our equipment comes from what would otherwise be wasted heat.
Powering the new Cisco Umbrella data center using energy obtained through cogeneration helps to improve the resiliency of the facility, as the data center will be less vulnerable to fluctuations in the power grid. Our facility also places less of a strain on power resources, which was an important consideration for our team. While we want to provide enterprises across Latin America with a cybersecurity solution they can count on, we don’t want to do so at the expense of the region’s infrastructure.
Finally, choosing to power this new data center using energy obtained through cogeneration is part of Cisco’s larger commitment to environmental sustainability. As part of our mission to power an inclusive future for all, we’ve promised as a company to move towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our value chain by 2040. We’ve made great strides towards this goal over the past 15 years, and this data center represents a next step in that journey. At Cisco Umbrella, we believe in providing our customers with cybersecurity solutions that don’t come at the expense of the environment. Our new facility allows enterprises across Latin America to enjoy top-tier performance while also sustaining the health and vibrancy of the region for future generations.
Ready to Take Advantage of These Benefits?
If your enterprise has a location in Latin America, there’s no time like the present to upgrade your cybersecurity stack. Learn how you can use the SASE functionality provided by the new Cisco Umbrella data center in our on-demand webinar: How to Build a SASE Strategy.
