Zimbabwe native, CEO and founder of SALT Technology Group Blair Lilford recounts that he became intrigued by technology in his early years. During that time, young Lilford often found himself utilising a single phone system in which everyone’s phone in his community would ring if a call were incoming.

Lilford also grew up in a close-knit family who lived on a farm and recalled the fond memory of winning a 4-H youth competition in which he used the prize money to purchase a new computer. These early experiences shaped Lilford’s perspective on life, as he appreciated and understood how technology could make life easier and how it enabled cultures to develop and adapt.

Nurturing his passion for tech, Lilford studied at Nortel University, a prestigious technology institute in Toronto, Canada, where he resided a couple of years before settling in the Caribbean with his wife and now family.

SALT Technology Group was started six years ago from Lilford’s zeal to support the Caribbean’s growth through technological advancement.

“The Caribbean was always seven years behind its first competitors and was always considered an emerging market,” Lilford explained. He was also seized with the conviction that “the only route to change is if someone created it”, Lilford said.

Driven by their vision of solving business challenges through innovative cloud-first solutions, SALT Technology Group has since become the Azure Stack Hub Solution provider for Latin America and the Caribbean. Lilford explains that the Azure Stack solutions are multi-tenant and single-tenant managed solutions dubbed “AZSaaS”. He further asserted that his motivation to provide this service in the region comes from the Caribbean’s inability to leverage world-class technology due to infrastructure or regulatory limitations. As such, “The Azure Stack cloud addresses both of these issues and future-proofs businesses IT environments bringing power and control to the islands we service,” Lilford highlighted.

Additionally, since the advent of COVID-19, businesses have also begun to realise they do not need to operate from a physical location. Instead, they can optimise their operational efficiency using the cloud. He also noted that businesses are becoming more aware. He sensitised to the cloud and its benefits because “today, it’s no longer a question of if, but when and how they can transition to the cloud, and that’s what SALT is here to facilitate, a company’s journey to cloud – ultimately selecting the best solution for their organisation,” Lilford said.

Today, Lilford beams with pride that he and his team are supporting with leading the charge of the technology revolution in the region, allowing businesses they serve to compete on the global markets truly. Currently headquartered in the Cayman Islands, with operations in Bermuda, Jamaica, Canada, and South Africa, SALT is poised for exponential growth as they continue to support companies towards a tech-based future.

“SALT is not a company that stands still, expect development and innovation that will empower technology in the region, thus allowing business to stay competitive and progressive,” Lilford highlighted.

Ultimately, Lilford hopes to create an environment that improves the tech climate in the region.