SkyAlert Turns a Corner
By Bob Gulla
May 2024
Sometimes, in a twist on the old fable, the hare wins. It beats the tortoise not because it’s reckless and impatient, but because it’s agile and speedy.
SkyAlert, the leading provider of earthquake and other early-warning and early-action solutions, is pulling ahead of its competition because it possesses all those qualities — and fully believes in the importance of what it does.
Led by Álvaro Velasco, its CEO, SkyAlert buzzes with the urgency that a lifesaving product like theirs demands. Up against its sole competitor in this space — the slow- moving government bureaucracy of Mexico — the race isn’t even close.
“SkyAlert currently features 126 sensors in 12 states here in Mexico, covering 80% of the seismic area of the country,” says Álvaro. “The government, in contrast, has 90 sensors in only six states. The difference is massive, and that means many lives are in the balance. It is our responsibility to fill this gap.”
SkyAlert’s advantage clearly lies in its agility. “We’re faster and more accurate, and our customers know the difference,” Álvaro says. After a major hurricane battered the Mexican coast around Acapulco, that agility came into play. “Our product alerted those in harm’s way four times that day, and the government alert system didn’t trigger at all.”
"I see us providing safety to a much wider demographic moving forward. It has to happen for the benefit of our society."
Hard work and a small, committed staff — together with important tweaks to its app — have enabled SkyAlert to function more effectively. Penetration in both B2B and B2C over the past year has also given the company and all of its early warning products (for weather, flood, air quality and earthquakes) much broader exposure and, as a result, excellent performance reviews. “Given the current situation with climate change and the instability of weather, these services will soon become requirements,” says Álvaro. “That’s why I think this year will be a great success for us, as more and more companies integrate our services into their platforms.”
Despite the odds and a decided lack of adequate funding, SkyAlert is meeting and exceeding its revenue goals. “The world needs our services urgently,” says Álvaro, “and while we’re going slower than I expected, I see us providing safety to a much wider demographic moving forward. It has to happen for the benefit of our society.”
Upcoming alliances with a couple of major clients, neither of which has been announced yet, should serve as a commercial breakthrough and a major turning point for SkyAlert, foreshadowing a huge 2024. These alliances, Álvaro explains, will see SkyAlert integrating its products as part of a feature bundle within commercial and residential devices that could deploy its safety features for users.
“We are very excited for the year ahead,” he says. “We have worked hard to get to this point, and we finally feel like we’re making the progress we’ve always expected. Anything can happen, of course, but I feel good that we’ve finally turned the corner.”