Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25044
In a part of the world where the word "Intranet" has never been uttered, where five years ago "competition" was an unknown concept, where you still have to negotiate for 45 utes to close a cross-town taxi fare, Ellison's concept of anywhere, anytime" computing is a very prominent anomaly. Consider the challenge for those Oracle workers dis to make on-site service calls in a country the size of ��5!ႀ䊉��;;.�rn Europe, with a population of 17 million and essen �l�""'''''verv well commute on camels. 5$$ P$S .$S pSS SSS S$$ .$$ p$S S$$ SS$ S$$ S$$ ,S5 SS$ ;S$ ,5S S$S S$S lIy one good road out of the capital. Their customers might Hummel isn't a techie by training. Indeed, the savvy Oracle brain trust knows that his background isn't computers, it's diplomacy. He trained in international relations, spent years consulting in Moscow and the Ukraine and speaks fluent Russian. Hummel looks like he'd be comfortable in one of those short-lived bars that have cigar rooms. He seems li.ke There money floating around here. Let\ start ri"' '"".r'fo r"O ra e ' 'b'" the top: ,$5 ;S$ ;$$ ;$S ;$$ i$S i$$ ;$$ Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev tends to be listed among the Richest Men in the World by people who make those kinds of lists. (It is a statistic of small comfort to the starving babushkas begging on the streets of Almaty. Tell it to the International Monetary Fund, too, struggling to contain infla- tion that was above 60 percent per month in late 1995, and that has since been brought under some control at 20 percent annually.) Then there is the foreign presence. Chevron alone invested $3 bill ion in Kazakhstan in 1996 for the rights to mangle the shelf in the Caspian Sea in search of a potential multi-trillion-dol lar oil find. "Banks, " which in the former Soviet Union mean $$ $$ . $$ everything from Citicorp ventures to a guy named Vladimir standing on the corner with a briefcase and a Mercedes stolen in Minsk, also make up a large portion of early Central Asian lients. It is interesting to consider that the latter are often composed of the same folks who are financing the renegade theft and sale of former Soviet nuclear components and fuel . It's aosolute c aos-oanking straig t rom tne Cfiar es Keating ScRoo . "Some of the branches tabulate consolidated assets by bringing handwritten tallies to the central office at the end of the week," says "Hummel. "These people need basic database applications. " Indeed, when shopping in Kazakhstan, one sees a lot of number crunchers proficient in the use of the abacus. Complicating things in the free wheeling world of virgin markets are elements which don't show up on spreadsheets: Bartering is still a very real part of the economy here, even at high business and government levels. For example, bread is often the only pay for coal workers. oca call i Kaz But oecause it routinel}' taKes 20 to 50 tries to success ully �e a a stan, 0 e as to won er about the advent of the Digital . _ . . Age in the Cou tries Formerly Known as the Soviet Union. You can barely call � - the guy across the street, let alone download the latest Oracle upgrade from the Web, e-mail for support, or print out a Powerpoint presentation across a Wide Area Network a time zone away. the kazakh business meetir:to Of course, explaining the concept of a database to a cllerit' over voaka IS not . exactly ow 5usiness IS aone in Silicon Valle . In fac , liffle of tne 5usiness modus operandi here is conventional by American standards. Take the deal, for example. Hummel tells a tale about being invited to a "light meal and a little steam in the baiia [sauna]" with a potential big bank client. "Wel l the first time this cal l came it was late afternoon. I had a date that evening and I politely turned them down hoping we could do it again soon. When I hung up the phone, I saw Alexei looking at me i.n horror. Evidently these steams are major testing grounds for deals-essential social events. You don't turn them down. "Fortunately, they called again a week or two later, " says Hummel, "and I accepted with honor. All the important people in their company were at this villa up in the mountains. This thing started at five, and it was a feast, L'�������g���1 mean gourmet, luxury, and everything accompanied by alcohol. Sherries, I"' wine, brandy after the meal. people at my table, and I remember that there were three em pty bottles when it was announced we were moving on to the m room. "So the evening wears on with singing of traditional songs-all "Then the toasting began with the vodka. There were fo u r men here-and at about midnight, I find myself half naked and depleted, ext to this older, sagging, toweled guy by the pool. It's the information nologies director of the company. He throws his arm around me, shoots a huge grin and says, 'So, what kind of discount can you give me?' I woke p the next day not knowing what deal I had shook on." "Were you in a fraternity in college?" I ask, thinking he might have ined for this kind of corporeal abuse. Hummel looks like he could've been Sigma Alpha Mu at U Penn, circa early Reagan Era. He knows what I am