‘My best team is right here’
Hewlett-Packard finds Azerbaijan a good place for business

At a time when the sales of computer and peripheral equipment are slowing down all across the developed world, computer giant Hewlett-Packard is finding that the Confederation of Independent States has become one of its best markets. "We are meeting and beating our targets," says a satisfied Hilmar Lorenz, HP’s general manager for the region.

When Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country inherited a woefully obsolete economic infrastructure. But the nation is today making tremendous investments in information technology in
order to forge the modern infrastructure required by the world’s largest oil companies exploring in Azerbaijan. Lorenz says, "Azerbaijan knows that information technology is the key
to development. In order to develop information technology, you need equipment.

"We have many projects with the government, particularly those concerned with the Internet. Our cooperation with the government is very good. For example, we are working with the finance ministry to establish an “e-government”capability, and we also have many projects in education."

Skilled, educated and dedicated employees are the apparent keys to HP’s success in Azerbaijan. "My best team is here," Lorenz says emphatically. "We have 100 percent Azeri employees here."

Echoing other expatriate business people based in Azerbaijan, Lorenz says, "Azerbaijan wants to do business. The task is simply to understand each other, and to find the right people to do the job. Azerbaijanis have worked their way through some enormous problems and difficult times. They set very high standards and use their experience to meet those standards."

HP trains its Azerbaijan staff in its Moscow training center. Technicians must pass examinations and obtain a certificate. "Azerbaijanis know that information technology skills are required to modernize their country. And they do very well learning the latest technology," Lorenz says.