In recent history, Middle East Internet company Cyberia Holdings has quickly established itself as a leading Internet services provider (ISP), building innovative high quality Internet solutions for the Middle Eastern market. The announcement of Cyberia Holdings' acquisition of International Data Exchange (INDEX), one of the top ISPs in Jordan, in 2001 has added to the increasing momentum of the company, which now operates in Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
After co-founding Abdali Communications Company (ACC), Cyberia Holdings is about to undertake one of its most monumental projects yet: building the complete telecommunications infrastructure and providing Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network for the $1.5 billion Abdali Investment and Development Company project, a 50-50 joint venture between Jordan's largest property investment firm, the state-owned National Resources Investment and Development Corporation (Mawared) and Oger Jordan, a branch of Saudi-based Oger group.
Dana Baradei sat down with Cyberia Holdings CEO Imad Ayoub, the dynamic entrepreneur responsible for taking the company to warmer climates, on how climbing up from one Jordanian ISP, National Equipment and Technical Services (NETS) to another, Global One, has gotten him where he is today.
JB: You seem to have a green thumb, with a specialty in founding and selling Internet companies. What is your secret?
I.A.: Customer focus. When service companies achieve customer satisfaction, word of mouth generates the momentum needed for the growth of the company.
Knowing what the customer wants is also key. This is done by market research and if you have been in the business for many years, as I have been, you get to know what the customer wants and the game becomes easier. The main thing that customers look for is quality of service. In most cases quality of service is more important than price. It is important to grow a sizable customer base at a good price early on so when the market grows and competition increases the company has a sufficient customer base and economies of scale to be able to provide quality of service at a competitive price.
No company can satisfy all customers, so you have to identify and focus on a segment of the market to achieve growth and profitability.
Inside the company you want the staff to be proud of their work and their company. To do that there are basic requirements, such as training and career development. Also, and this is simple but important, things need to be taken care of, such as office decoration and marketing, which are not only needed for customers but are also important for staff. Finally, timely rewards, raises and bonuses are important.
JB: As co-founder and manager of NETS, the first company to introduce email and online services to Jordan, clearly you are a man who is not afraid to take risks. Can you walk us through that experience?
I.A.: Establishing NETS was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life. The company was conceived in 1993 during a "walk and talk" with two co-founders, Karim Kawar and Yazan Mufti, to brainstorm on how to introduce data communication services to Jordan.
The first "network" was basically a PC in Amman that connected by phone to a PC in my brother's spare bedroom in the U.S.
Word of mouth helped spread the news about NETS and its services, and in two to three months we had several hundred customers.
At the time, we did not have a full feasibility study but we knew that NETS was onto something big. Back then, NETS was charging for emails by the number of characters! For every 1,000 characters sent or received, 100 fils were charged.
It was clear, however, that NETS had the potential to be a large and profitable business. It was an exciting new field, and it was good for Jordan, so we funded the company, hired employees and launched the services.
In 1995, we launched the first Bulletin Board Service (BBS), which allowed users to connect online to text-chat, to send emails, and to participate in forums.
Karim had the brilliant idea of establishing the "A Better Jordan" forum, which was a by-invitation-only forum that included several members of the royal family as participants, who were using aliases to participate in debates on what was going right and wrong in Jordan, and how we could make it better.
JB: So what inspired you to go on to build Global One?
I.A.: In 1995, I participated in the European Internet Association meeting and the vision became very clear: we needed to bring the Internet to Jordan. At the time regulations were not in place to give licenses to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Another group of investors was working in parallel to establish the necessary regulations, and they were successful in getting a license. So they approached NETS with the plan of merging their newly licensed company with NETS.
I then moved on to build Global One from the ground up. It was an interesting challenge because the telecommunications infrastructure in Jordan at the time was not set up for data communications. We contracted with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to lay a fiber optic cable for Global One to connect to Jordan Telecom's satellite earth station in Baqa'a. We purchased the needed equipment and "gave" it to Jordan Telecom to install at the earth station so they could connect with Global One offices in Shmeisani, and connect Global One to the Internet in the U.S.
Global One launched the Internet service to the public on March 27, 1996, and became the leading ISP in Jordan, maintaining over 50% market share over the years. We sold Global One to Jordan Telecom in 2001, which later re-branded it into Wanadoo.
JB: Leading Cyberia (Middle East Internet Co.) has resulted in a net profit margin of 30%, which is no small feat; can you expand on your strategy?
I.A.: Having successfully built two Internet companies in Jordan, it was time to move on to the regional level. It was the same "customer focus" and "service quality" principle. I applied another great management system, Jack Welch's "people factory" concept, which is a key to resource management, motivation and a driver for any company. It is imperative that everyone on your team is transparent and honest; anyone who is not honest cannot be part of the team and must get out.
You would have to spend a lot of time and effort in the first year to set up the systems within the company.
Once that is done you can basically run the company by remote control. But you can never move your eye from the ball, especially with a fast changing business like IT and telecommunications, and you have to keep on top of all changes in the local market, the international market, in technology developments and internally within the company.
JB: How has the introduction of other Internet and data communication services companies into the market affected you?
I.A.: In the early days of NETS and Global One, it was so satisfying to hear from the various customers about how much email and the Internet helped them in their personal lives, careers and businesses.
A whole new industry was established around the Internet, with companies selling connectivity services, Web development services, consulting services, and so on, creating many jobs and opportunities.
I personally learned a lot, grew professionally, and made a lot of friends. After moving on to Cyberia, I got the regional exposure, and got to appreciate the cultural diversity of the region. Cyberia Lebanon is where the company originally started and Cyberia has always been the leading Internet consumer brand in Lebanon.
The company has grown healthily in the last few years, especially in the corporate sector, and has made a good contribution in profits.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is a different market altogether. First, there's a cultural difference; we have at least 10 different nationalities among our 80 staff members in Cyberia KSA. Second, there's a different market challenge; with the country being so huge the sales and marketing concepts applied in Jordan and Lebanon do not work in the same way for Saudi Arabia. Once you spend enough time there, you get to respect and appreciate the culture, the vision of the leadership, and the size of the economy. Today, Saudi Arabia generates more than 70% of Cyberia's revenues and profits.
Over the years, though, one thing has not changed: I am still as eager to start new companies and launch new services.
JB: Why do you think Saudi Oger chose Cyberia?
I.A.: The Internet was a hot commodity in the mid-90s and Saudi Oger chose to enter the new and exciting world of IT and telecommunications. Saudi Oger was also involved in several communication companies in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Romania, Saudi Arabia, and others.
Saudi Oger acquired Cyberia Lebanon in 1999. With Cyberia being the leading ISP in Lebanon, it was a good base to build a regional ISP, and the journey started. Cyberia Jordan was added in 2000, and Cyberia KSA in 2002.
JB: What is the vision for Cyberia in light of its acquisition by Oger Telecom? What plans do you have for the future of the company?
I.A.: Cyberia is a profitable and fast- growing regional ISP. We plan to build on this success by expanding our operations into other countries in the Gulf and MENA region.
We also plan to introduce new services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), TV over the Internet (IPTV), and Triple Play, which is phone, Internet and TV services on one cable to the home.
An interesting new company that Cyberia co-founded is Abdali Communications Company (ACC). ACC will build the complete telecommunications infrastructure for the Abdali Real Estate development project. Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network will be built to provide advanced services such as Triple Play, video calling and conferencing, e-learning, as well as a smart Building Management System.
Also, one area that is still lacking in our part of the world is online content and online services. Cyberia has over 150,000 customers in the three countries, and we are looking at various options for entering online content and services through acquisitions or internal development initiatives in partnerships with world leaders in this field.
JB: You have several board memberships, including the Jordan Micro Credit Company (JMCC) and National Fund for Enterprise Support (NAFES). What inspired you to hop on board? How do you find the time?
I.A.: It is a privilege to be a board member in these non-profit institutions. JMCC gives micro loans for people to set up small businesses, and NAFES provides consulting, support and professional training to SMEs.
In both entities I am able to contribute to society in a professional way. It is enjoyable because even though these are NGOs, they are companies with real challenges. And it is a good way to learn about and get a better feel for the needs of the society.
As for finding the time to do this, I follow the advice of a practical book, The One Minute Manager, to cut down on a lot of wasted time. Delegation, quick decision-making, and avoiding unnecessary committees and meetings are important.
I am a very heavy user of email; a large percentage of my communication with Cyberia managers in the three countries is done through email. Email leaves a good track of the events and makes people more responsible. I make sure that email is used extensively within the company.
© Jordan Business 2006
