# Presentation: 545620

## Banking on Development Conference 2007

**Patricia Nance**
**General Manager**
**Funded Agency Business - Asia Pacific**
**16****th**** March 2007**

**Notes:**
Slide 1 – Cover Slide 

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished guests, delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. 

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to you today on my view of the business opportunities and challenges faced, in the South Asia Region and why doing business in the region is important to us at Oracle Corporation.  I’ll also talk about some of the things that we do to help promote growth and good governance in the course of our business operations in the region that could be replicated by others.

## Oracle Corporation

**Oracle Corporation**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

- World’s largest enterprise software vendor
- $15.2 Billion revenue
- 275,000+ global customers
- 30,000+ applications customers
- 19,000+ SMB application customers
- 65,000+ employees; 15,700+ developers
- 7,000+ support personnel
- 17,700+ partners
- 8,500+ Independent Software Vendors
- Operating in 145 Countries

**Notes:**
Slide 2 – Oracle Corp (Facts and Figures) 

I have been living and working in the South Asia Region for the past 3 years for Oracle, firstly as the General Manger of the Sales Team focused on the Government, Education and Healthcare sectors and most recently, as the General Manager for all business that is funded through International Development Agencies such as the World Bank the Asia Development
Bank and others.  

My comments today come to you mainly from this experience and background, though I have also lived and worked in the region for a number of years, prior to my role in Oracle.

As you can see by the facts and figures on this slide, Oracle Corporation is a substantial IT organization and is the largest enterprise software supplier in the World.  As such, we see the Asia Pacific region - and in particular the
South Asia region - as one of substantial opportunity and therefore one that deserves substantial investment by us.

## Oracle Corporation (Con’t)

**Oracle Corporation ****(Con’t)**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

**Countries with no Oracle office but managed out of:**
_**Oracle Pakistan**_
** ****Afghanistan**
** ****Bangladesh**
** ****Bhutan**
** ****Maldives **
** ****Nepal**
_**Oracle Vietnam**_
** ****Brunei**
** ****Cambodia**
** ****Laos**
_**Oracle Australia**_
** ****Pacific Islands**
** ****Papua New Guinea**

**Notes:**
Slide 3  - Oracle Corp (Country Coverage)

Our investment in the region involves the people and the resources for the full range of the products and services that we provide.  

As you can see from this slide we have offices in most of our South Asian countries, or we manage business in those countries through a particular area of operation.  

For example, we manage Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives through our Pakistan office locations under Samina Rizwan - Managing Director of our SAGE West (South Asia Growth Economies) operation.  Samina also has Sri Lanka and Afghanistan under her coverage.  Our presence in Pakistan has been established for over 15 years and in other countries under our SAGE West operation, for over 5 years.  The Pakistan office is currently in the process of being established as a full Oracle subsidiary.   

A critical part of our success in the region is to establish a strong partner network to provide in-country support and expertise together with our sales reps, consultants and support people, who travel into the countries on a planned and regular basis and carry targets for growing the business there.  

I will discuss the Partner Network aspect of our focus and investment further into my presentation.  The countries covered here, particularly Pakistan, represent high growth and high potential to Oracle.  

In India, we have a substantial operation with our business presence starting some 19 years ago under a distributorship, then to become a subsidiary in 1993.  India represents one of Oracle’s top 4 markets in Asia Pacific and is one of the largest multinational employers in India with more than 17,000 employees.  India accounts for Oracle’s largest research and development investment outside the United States.  India also hosts several of Oracle’s global divisions and services including global consulting, global support, Oracle On–demand, Internet sales and financial accounting and analysis. 

We also have over 400 Partners some that are local and others that operate in the International arena such as Satyam, Infosys and Tata. Krishan Dhawan is our India Managing Director.

The key point here is that we realized early on, that a critical component of our growth in the region is through employing local people and through utilizing our local Partner Networks.  This focus on the growth and development of our people and partners is critical to our success.  My experience as I move around the region is that though there are many differences in the South Asia countries economic and political position - the ability, intelligence and education of the people, as well as their global view is sometimes more honed than those in the “more developed nations”. 

## Our Commitment & Focus

**Our Commitment & Focus**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

- People & Resources
- Office Locations
- SME Growth Through Partner Network
- Education Initiatives – eg: Think.com
- Solution Specialists
- Oracle Volunteers
- Software Localisations
- Best Practices
- Long-Term Focus – FAB Team
- Centres Of Excellence & Software Development Centres

**Notes:**
Slide 4 – Our Commitment

I have talked a little about our presence and focus in South Asia through my previous slides.  It has been through this focus that our realization of the differences and similarities in each of the countries has come about.  

There are 3 key things about the region that we noted – Firstly – the need to resolve basic quality of life problems for the common population and the inability to do so simply because of the massive size of the task – Secondly - the realization that the only way this task can be achieved is by leapfrogging from sometimes quite ancient times to modern times by using technology and – Thirdly – that by using local people in the job, Oracle could have an advantage in bringing Technology to the country. 

Technology uptake is the answer and we know it.  

Most of the SAGE West area for Oracle is still considered “green fields” territory that can be supported, molded, taught and facilitated to the optimum provided there is an entrepreneurial spirit in the Private Sector, willingness and facilitation by the Public Sector and good education facilities to churn out high quality professionals.  Each country therefore, needs to look inwards and consider what they have abundantly and what they lack.

Our commitment to these aspects is summarized in this slide.  I have already talked about our people, resources and our office locations. 

For Oracle, the establishment and growth of our Business Partner Network is fundamental to doing business in all countries, but in the South Asia Region it not only provides us with greater coverage and insight to opportunities, it also gives us the opportunity to promote and grow the SME market in countries.  Our Business Partners are given all the support and training required to offer products and services on Oracle’s behalf.  This method of operation involves substantial investment and long-term commitment by Oracle to ensure that our Partners are successful, but it also requires support and encouragement by both Private Enterprise and the Public Sector in Country.

We have established a number of education initiatives around the region.  In India for example we have rolled out the Think.com initiative to over 1,000 schools with over 300,000 students now using it.  Think.com is a Website hosted by Oracle free of charge, that turns students and teachers into multi-media authors by providing them with interactive tools to enable them to publish ideas, collaborate on projects and build knowledge together in their own community and as well - in the global community of members.  This initiative is in place and active in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and soon to be established in Bangladesh.  It is this use of technology that will enable our children to grow up being technology savvy. 

Our Oracle Volunteers program provides opportunities for our employees to actively address social needs and make a measurable impact on the community.  This program encourages our people to lend their time and talents to serve our communities and enrich the quality of life in the countries that we work and live in. This can take the form of doing a teaching or mentoring service in a community, or for example in Pakistan our employees have provided ongoing support and assistance for the earthquake victims.   Many other projects have been undertaken in other countries.

We have provided localization and or translation of our software for many countries to make it suitable for particular regulatory or legislative requirements in country or to be used in a non-English speaking business or Public Sector IT environment.

We have jointly established Centres of Excellence in countries like India and Sri Lanka, with more to come.  These Centres provide the ability for governments and the private sector to pilot particular software solutions, showcase solutions - and as well - provide a location where specific workshops and forums can be held.  The India centre has a specific focus on eGovernance and has had a major impact on the ability of the Government of India to educate its Senior Public Servants and employees to understand eGovernance and enable them to then realize some of the major initiatives under the National eGovernance Plan, more readily. 

## Market Assessment

**Market Assessment**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

**Oracle assessment of IDA opportunities**

**Notes:**
Slide 6 – Market Assessment

The chart I have here is representative of the market that my team has assessed for opportunities that are funded by the International Development Agencies.  It represents opportunities tracked for the next 6 years that we have identified where Oracle would have some significant value to add.

The trend here is clearly that India has the highest number of opportunities for us, followed closely by Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.  It is also clear that the major sector of interest is the Public Sector followed by Utilities, Education and Financial Services.

Of the Top 10 International Agency borrowers for all project types in FY06, Pakistan were number 1, India number 5 and Bangladesh number 6.

Outside of the funded agency business area, Oracle have significant opportunities and focus in the Manufacturing, Retail and Distribution Industries, Government, Education, Healthcare, Telco and Communications, Financial Services and Utilities sectors in all countries in South Asia. 

## Managing Risks & Challenges

**Managing Risks & Challenges**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

- Natural Disasters / Epidemics
- Economic Disruptions
- Political Instabilities
- Lack of Transparency
- Contractual & Procurement Issues – eg MAF
- Lack of Infrastructure
- Terrorism Threats
- Gender Dynamics
- Religious & Ethnic Diversities
- Geographic Isolation

**Notes:**
Slide 5 – Managing Challenges

For a company like ours there are many challenges in managing our business across the South Asia Region.  All of these that I’ve listed on the slide here are fairly self-explanatory and most apply to each country in the region.  Some have a more catastrophic effect on the country and the people than others and all of these have a huge impact on doing business in general.

So what I’d like to do here is paint the picture of my personal challenges in running my business in the region.  I traveled to Pakistan for the first time a few years ago after the 9/11 events in the US.  Anyone that works for a US company will be well aware that we are very risk adverse when it comes to our employees and so we receive regular security alerts and specific country risk assessments regarding travel to-and movement within-a country or area.

My first trip was done alone and as a white, Anglo female – I must say that I had a lot of comments from my colleagues of all nationalities and both genders as to the wisdom of my trip.   Since Pakistan was an important part of my business focus, I had no hesitation in traveling.  

I flew into Islamabad alone for my first visit arriving-late at night.  The next day I was picked up from the hotel by one of the Pakistan team and was driven to the Oracle office.    

My biggest shock was to find myself in a city that closely resembled one of my birthplace country cities - of Canberra, Australia.....

Over the years I have never had reason to feel unsafe or unwelcome in Pakistan and I’ve traveled regularly to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

What people see on the TV news and in the newspapers is usually quite unrepresentative of the reality.  This perception needs to be counteracted by those of us who know the way it really is.  I have acted as a reference to many of my male and female co-workers and sometimes my superiors, to explain to them why they should go and what to expect.   

This is just one example of my challenges and also an example of what needs to change.  

I recall trying to organize a critical training session – again in Pakistan – that involved a highly skilled technical resource that was only available from India.  The added catch here was that the training was required to an organization that was part of Pakistan Defense - and so the issue of getting an Indian National into Pakistan was time consuming and complicated. We did it and everyone was satisfied.  Our skilled trainer from India was provided with some great opportunities to see Pakistan and to mix with our staff, customers and partners.  This opportunity has changed his view and he went back to India and communicated his experience to others – likewise from the Pakistan end.  These are the sorts of things that make a difference.

I believe that by further encouragement and support from Government and Private Industry for interaction between countries and therefore between nationalities, we would have less misunderstanding.

Some ways to achieve this could be for countries to encourage training of their staff to be conducted in other countries to expose them to other people and companies, to support greater involvement in international forums, events, etc, and to encourage tourism and travel both within and outside of the country.  The other big enabler here is technology – it is through the use of technology that we have a common language in both government and business.   

I don’t think I’ve ever met any person of any nationality that is not willing to communicate with another when working on an IT opportunity or business project. 

The strongest impression I have of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and other countries in the South Asia region is one of professionalism-both in Oracle - and with our partners and customers - and also the view that each Nation has the overwhelming desire to pull themselves out of the malaise to bring progress on as soon as they realistically can.

## Rewards

**Rewards**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

- Participation in “Nation building” projects
- Greater depth of understanding - needs and requirements within countries, politics, economics etc
- Easier to leverage further business from first engagement
- Large & long term contracts
- Payment not an issue
- IP built up on IDA bidding process
- Participation in International community

**Notes:**
Slide 8 – Critical Success Factors

Faster Decision Making – Funded Agency Business and Public Sector.  

Greater interaction with SAARC – Oracle and other IT companies.

Inclusion of Information Systems and Solutions specifically in SAARC Forums.

Involvement in activities, Advisory Committees, events, forums in countries.

Communication, Interaction and exposure.

And Action................

## Critical Success Factors

**Critical Success Factors**

- © 2006 Oracle Corporation

- Changes to procurement & contractual terms and conditions
- Qualification and vetting of consultants
- Better management of process timing, decision making, solution design etc
- “Peripheral corruption” awareness and action

**Notes:**
Slide 8 – Critical Success Factors

Faster Decision Making – Funded Agency Business and Public Sector.  

Greater interaction with SAARC – Oracle and other IT companies.

Inclusion of Information Systems and Solutions specifically in SAARC Forums.

Involvement in activities, Advisory Committees, events, forums in countries.

Communication, Interaction and exposure.

And Action................

## For More Information

**Notes:**
Slide 9 – For more Information

To summaries – as a person who has traveled to - and worked in many countries around the World - where there are diverse cultures, religions, economic and political positions and different languages – the one common thing I can see is that no-one asks for a government or wants to live and work in a country that supports poverty, destruction or corruption.  

Everyone wants a better life for themselves, their children and their families.

If South Asia is to realize its vision of growth and development, the Public Sector must listen and interact more closely to the Private Sector to support the changes needed to move forward.

It is people like us here at this event that can help lobby and work to make these changes a reality. 

## Slide 10

**Notes:**
Slide 10

Thank you for your time and attention.