ECONOMY > AZERBAIJAN
A regional Internet hub along the historic Silk Way The Azeri government is paying plenty of attention to the www.enpi-info.eu IT sphere, hoping that the rapid development of the sector can transform Azerbaijan into a bridge between Europe and the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East. The launch of a Data Centre in Azerbaijan, as well as the laying of an optical fibre cable from Baku to other regions of the country, will mark important steps in this process. A journalist of the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre visited an IT company that has profited from participating in the EU-funded East Invest project, and has now positioned itself among the country’s leading firms, offering cloud services and providing Internet connection via optical fibre cables. This is his report. Text by Shain Hajiyev Pictures by AFP © EU/Neighbourhood Info Centre
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BAKU - Its name is a combination of two cities – Seattle and Baku. When it was estab- N The ‘Seabak’ company has today lished in 2001 by Seattle businessman Ken James, ‘Seabak’, a company providing IT more than 100 management and support services to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), was customers, most of them local. the only corporation of its kind in Azerbaijan. At the time, its partners were mostly foreign companies working in Azerbaijan. Now, Seabak is one of the leading companies providing outsourcing services – computerisation, accounting, managing the day-to-day IT requirements – to partners in the country. Today, it has around 100 customers, most of them local companies. “During recent years we have been offering new kinds of services, including cloud services or Internet provision via optical fiber cable,” says Agatub Jafarov, Head of the Department for Business Operations and Company EU Neighbourhood Info Centre Development. “This makes us stand out among other providers. And we are directly Feature no. 124 connected to one of the central communication hubs in Frankurt.”
Training in Baku, exhibit in Milan The company has taken advantage of the experience obtained during the implementation of East Invest, the EU-funded regional investment
This is a series of features on projects funded by the EU Regional Programme, prepared by journalists and photographers on the ground or the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. © 2014 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 124
N The manager Agatub Jafarov.
“We even managed to sign several contracts during the exhibition and we have extended our contacts and improved our international image because of it”
A regional Internet hub along the historic Silk Way
and trade facilitation project for the economic development of the Eastern Neighbourhood region, launched in the framework of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative. East Invest provides assistance to business support organisations and SMEs with potential for developing mutual cooperation and investment relations with the EU. Seabak’s participation in East Invest was initiated in 2011 by one of its partners, the German-Azerbaijani Business Association. Participation in the project involved two parts: training sessions in Baku and an exhibition in Milan. The main aim of the training sessions was for the company to understand and master the principles of working with European partners. In particular, the trainers dealt with concepts such as business ethics, rules of business conduct and international standards. “The training sessions were a great opportunity to get to know the European market, and our Sales and Foreign Relations departments have really put into practice the acquired skills and knowledge,” Jafarov says. Jafarov explains the value in getting to know European standards, as they differ greatly from the American ones that the company was accustomed to. “In Europe rules of business correspondence, presentations, customs and procedure are very specific. For instance, business talks with Americans are conducted in a fast and quite dynamic way: within 24 hours you can send and receive several proposals. With the Germans for example, it does not work like that. For every proposal of yours, the German partner will give you a detailed answer, which will take several days or even weeks to reach you,” he says. Not being aware of these different methods in which business is conducted can lead to complications in commercial relationships, Jafarov adds. “If you do not know this, you may think the proposal does not interest your partners, or that they have forgotten about it. But once you receive an answer , you realise you were wrong and that you have to give them a detailed and extended answer as well,” he adds. The second part of the EU project took place at an IT exhibition in Milan, where a small training session took place focusing on how to conduct talks with potential customers during the exhibition itself. Seabak did not wait long to reap the benefit. “We even managed to sign several contracts during the exhibition and we have extended our contacts and improved our international image because of it,” said Jafarov. The project continued, and in 2013 the first European Investment Conference took place in Baku, where Seabak representatives were able to put their knowledge into practice again.
A time of growth The company’s growth can be attributed to two main factors. First, there are now enough young and well-qualified specialists in the labour market, and second, the application of Western business standards has made outsourcing a common and convenient service. For about two years, the number of Seabak’s European partners has been growing thanks to the establishment of the Azerbaijani-German Trade Chamber, as well as the growing business connections between Azerbaijan and Europe. In developing the business, there are a number of factors that play a part. One of the most important is the business atmosphere in the country. The government is now paying a lot of attention to the IT industry, and the Ministry of Communications is establishing a special IT Foundation designed to provide loans and support to small and medium projects in the sector. An important development will be the launch of the Data Centre in Azerbaijan, expected to contribute in the effort to turn the country into
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“We are now cooperating with German Internet companies, but in future we are going to establish data-centres in Azerbaijan that will be more like the European ones”
N Today the company offers new kinds of services, including cloud services or Internet provision via optical fiber cable.
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 124
A regional Internet hub along the historic Silk Way
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an important digital hub, while the development of an optical fibre cable, laid from Baku into other regions of the country, used for television broadcasting and Internet connection, will allow the level of communications and services to reach new heights.
Taking communication and services to new heights “We are hoping that in the near future Azerbaijan will turn into a regional Internet hub: the idea is to join two leading regional Internet centres in Frankfurt and Hong-Kong, via Azerbaijan”
Seabak is part of this digital transformation: it has received specialised IP addresses that allow it to be one of the few companies in Azerbaijan providing Internet service via optical fibre connections. “We are now cooperating with German Internet companies, but in future we are going to establish data-centres in Azerbaijan that will be more like the European ones,” says Jafarov. The reason for this choice is the company’s effort to achieve European standards: technological potential in Europe is higher than in Turkey or Russia. The rapid development of the IT sector could easily transform the country into a bridge between Europe and the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East. “We are hoping that in the near future Azerbaijan will turn into a regional Internet hub and we will have our own data centre,” says Jafarov. “In principle, the idea is to join two leading regional Internet centres in Frankfurt and Hong-Kong, via Azerbaijan.” Such a vision was already promoted by the EU cooperation and supported by the United Nations. The aim is to install an optical fibre cable along the historic Silk Way, with Azerbaijan becoming one of the key centres. Another potential project involves laying a new optical fibre network from Frankfurt to Oman, again passing through Azerbaijan. This network could be further extended to India. Seabak wants to make sure it is well placed to be part of that ambitious vision: “Our task is to reach a high international level and to be ready to provide high-quality services in the countries of the region when the network will be in place,” says Seabak department head Elmar Agaev.
N Businessman, Samir Kadyrli and Lala Huseynova at the Seabak premises.
East-Invest Support to SME sector Participating countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine Timeframe: 2010–2013 Budget €7 million
www.east-invest.eu Supports the economic development and facilitates regional trade through contributing to the improvement of the business environment, with an emphasis on SMEs and networking Objectives The project aims to support the economic development of the region and the improvement of its business environment through building up networks between the Eastern partners themselves and between them and the EU, in priority sectors, and by developing mechanisms to encourage the flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). East-Invest also supports Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in their internationalisation process, improves their networking and facilitates their trade development. To find out more Project website www.east-invest.eu/en/about-east-invest EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – EAST INVEST project fiche www.enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=315&id_type=10 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre Thematic portal: ECONOMY www.enpi-info.eu/themeeast.php?subject=4
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An ENPI project The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and Neighbouring countries. The project is implemented by Action Global Communications.
www.enpi-info.eu