Cultural Awareness Proves Recipe for Success in Middle East
Jamie Plc is a Colchester and London based IT consultancy specialising in aligning their clients’ IT processes with their business strategy.This is achieved through consolidation, reorganisation and integration of both new and existing technologies.
Founded in 2002, by its current CEO and MD, Martina and Adrian Willis, this young company has been extremely successful both in the UK and abroad where players both in the Private and Public sectors count among their clients.
2006 was a particularly significant year in so far as Jamie Plc succeeded in entering the Saudi Arabian market where it was retained to carry out a major banking integration project for BanqueSaudiFransi in Riyadh.Asked how this came about, the MD Martina Willis explained, “The first contact was made through a Saudi Arabian participant at one of our training courses in our London office.He asked whether we would be interested in this project and everything evolved very quickly from there.However, securing a project in a foreign country is one thing, but being able to operate in a foreign culture, particularly as a woman, quite another”, she added.“We really got ‘thrown in at the deep end’ and it was a matter of being diplomatic and using our natural sensitivity to the Arab culture”.
At the beginning, Martina was not really sure how she should behave as a woman doing business in Saudi Arabia, which after all, is the most conservative of the Middle Eastern countries.However, by showing that she understood and respected the Arab culture, she quickly gained the respect and trust of her partners.“It is very important to adapt to the local culture.For instance, when walking in the streets, I took care to cover myself with a headscarf.I chose conservative clothes so as not to offend anyone.My personal experience is that I was treated with great respect by my Arab partners.Although they are generally familiar with Western business practises, they did appreciate my efforts and it has had a positive influence on our relationship going forward”.
In the meantime, Jamie PLC has opened an office in Riyadh where other projects are already in the pipeline.“Having the right partners with the right connections has also been a great asset”, she adds.“Opening an office has reinforced our commitment and that we are here to stay in order to support our clients, unlike many of our competitors who are in for the quick money and then disappear”.If her busy schedule allows it, Martina and some of her colleagues are keen to learn Arabic since she is of the opinion that communicating with her clients in their language, even if it is only to say a few polite sentences, would be viewed very favourably.
The company has also used one of the translation providers recommended by the RLN East adviser to have their full company literature translated into Arabic for the Riyadh office. As a next step, the company plans to use these translations to create an Arabic version of their website.
Rachel Dunn, Jamie Plc’s Business Manager, has been very impressed by the support available from UKTI and RLN East.“The support and information we have received from them has been very valuable and I wish we had known about them earlier. Joining the Passport to Export programme in November 2006 has also helped us to adopt a structured approach to our new markets”, says Rachel.
Jamie Plc hopes to participate in a trade mission to the Middle East at some time in the near future in order to further explore the potential of the other Middle Eastern countries.