Reza Mahdavi: Now Is the Time for E-government Engagement

Novinite Insider » INTERVIEW | November 13, 2002, Wednesday // 00:00

Reza Mahdavi is Vice President for Cisco Eastern and Central Europe, Near East, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA). Before being appointed to this position he was in charge of Cisco business expansion in Greece, Turkey, South Africa. He joined Cisco team in 1995 as chief in the strategically important partnership between Cisco and Digital Corp (DEC). Cisco Systems announced it will assist the Bulgarian government for e-business development. The company will work with the government for defining a schedule and a model for e-government over a period of several months.

Mr. Reza Mahdavi met Milena Hristova, Editor of Novinite.com and The News

Q: How did you fix the timing for your e-government engagement in Bulgaria?

A: I would not say Bulgaria is different in comparison to the Bulgaria five years ago, but Bulgaria has the potential. Five years ago it would not have been the right time to come and have e-government engagement. Today is a far better time for that and the main reason is that five years ago countries such as Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore started. Now they are ahead in some way but what you have is an energetic government leadership team, which is not a stranger to technology and is willing to embrace something different.

Q: Why did you select Bulgaria?

A: The first reason is the size of the country. Bulgaria is small not only in terms of geography, its population is relatively small as well. About eight million is a good size, approximately that of Israel. Israel is a small nation yet they are extremely advanced when it comes to high tech and technology. You have to find a way to accelerate growth in your nation. Agricultural produce and cultural sites will not be a very high growth area for Bulgaria. Bulgaria needs to rely on services and the services will be dependent upon how quickly you can embrace technology for foreign direct investments to come in, create an environment for companies to bring their business in here and be able to communicate with the rest of the world. It will also create an environment for your own country to start small businesses. I would like to point out another reason that shaped our position and this is the political leadership in Bulgaria, which is very technology savvy.

Q: What are Cisco's commitments to Bulgarian government e-business in the period 2003-2004?

A: I commit to them that I will walk with them on this journey by providing them the knowledge and the intellectual capital that is needed. What works in U.S., may not be right here, but what's working in Poland, Jordan may be the right solution. I would like the government to walk with us too. It is very important that the government continues to have these priorities. Otherwise next time we come here we will have the other nations moved forward and we will be left behind.

Q: What will be the projects that Cisco Systems will realize for e-government in Bulgaria?

A: There will be multiple projects after a study is done. After that we will apply the best intellectual capital and practices and this is something other companies do not have. Hopefully we can win some projects, but we will also lose some. In terms of the investments, they will primarily be based on the resources. I have a very small team but behind these individuals actually remains a huge army of people.

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