Microsoft has opened its office in Armenia, with the well-known IT specialist Grigory Barsegyan appointed as director. The office will be officially presented, after a number of organizational and technical preparations. CIS HUB Director John White and CIS Business Development Manager Yuri Omelchenko paid a short visit to Armenia recently. Mr. White, who is responsible for big corporate projects, donor organizations and education, has kindly agreed to give an interview to ARMINFO.

Would you tell me please what are the functions of Microsoft CIS HUB?

The key function of Microsoft CIS HUB is to support Microsoft’s business development in the CIS, that is, in the countries where there is no developed Microsoft business. In the CIS, besides Russia, we have big offices in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, which are some kind of autonomies, while in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Belarus we are actively working to develop our business. Grigory Barsegyan is our new man, whom we have appointed to direct the Microsoft Armenia Office, and we are here to help him to start up. Now he has to solve some small administrative tasks to lay a basis for our future business in Armenia. We hope that in the coming months this all will be solved and we will organize a special event to publicly announce the opening of the office.

What are the reasons for Microsoft’s interest in Armenia: sales, tenders or outsourcing?

We are truly interested in the Caucasus, which is a commercially interesting region. Your country is very attractive in terms of its development rate. It is very original. Everybody knows that Armenia has a serious Diaspora – people who actively invest intellect and business in the country. This is a great stimulus for economy and business development. Besides, you have big governmental projects, your private sector is actively developing and we would like to be part of these processes. We will certainly take part in tenders, but for now the key focus will be on our two strategic priorities: the sale of products and the support of local companies and, no less importantly, programmers. We will help them to develop. That is, there will be no outsourcing as such, but there will be a strong support of software companies. Like in all other countries, we consider our presence as not only commercial activity to sell and to get profit, but also mutually beneficial cooperation with authorities and commercial organizations. We hope that our active presence in Armenia will give it a new impetus for developing business, carrying out educational programs, raising the quality of education. We have such programs and we will certainly introduce them in the country. And this all will enlarge our market.

In Armenia, like in many developing countries, PC users use non licensed software. Will you do anything about this?

Yes, of course, but there is one nuance. Never and nowhere did or will we fight piracy. Microsoft is, first of all, a marketing company and we do marketing. Our task is “evangelism,” as we call it. That is, we hold various marketing campaigns to explain the advantages of licensed software in order to generate demand. To fight piracy is the prerogative of authorities. Probably, in the future we will open our own legal company to represent our interests in Armenia.

Aren’t you a bit late with entering the Armenian market?

Yes, some people say we are late and it will now be hard for us to develop our business. In fact, we had a reason to be late. Microsoft is not a company who makes hasty decisions. Decision-making is a long process with us. In Armenia we tried to seriously analyze the market to make a well-balanced decision because we are not a company that can afford a mistake. We have closed no single country office so far. If we make a decision, it means it is made for a long time.

You have also opened an office in Baku. Why in Yerevan and Baku and not yet in Tbilisi?

In the near future we’ll have a country representative in Tbilisi, who will be a kind of “interface” between local companies and Microsoft. But we are not yet considering to open an office there. We have two offices in the region – in Yerevan and Baku. Why so? Azerbaijan has natural resources – oil. We are attracted by the oil fueled high macro-economic indices and the grandiose oil money flow in that country. That is, given all this data and forecasts, it would be simply a stupidity not to be there. As regards Armenia, I have already said. The key factor is rich and active Diaspora. They are really rich and influential people, with many of them having quite developed businesses worldwide. On top of that, Armenia has a grandiose intellectual potential. These are the key reasons why we just can’t neglect Armenia. Your country has very good investment prospects.

What investment plans does Microsoft have in Armenia?

It’s early yet to speak about figures – we can say one thing only – when working in a country Microsoft does not just seek profit but very actively invests in various spheres: education, health care. We will certainly make investments. Even though we have no specific plans yet, we will certainly invest in different projects, with special focus on education, a sphere we give a very high importance and make our priority here. We will work through Education Ministry, universities, institutes, we will offer them programs that will certainly interest many institutions. On the other hand, we will work through local IT companies to inform and train people as much as possible.

I thank you for the interview and wish you success.