Rebuilding a war-torn country

By VICKI JAYNE

How do you get hold of a crane in Kabul?

Chris Jones ponders the question. The founder and chief executive of Auckland-based communications software company Argent Networks is sitting at a boardroom table dominated by a large video-conferencing screen. It's all very high-tech.

The crane is something else. It represents the other side of Argent's $4.5 million contract, won in November to supply so-called next generation technology to Afghanistan, a country where even basic services are lacking.

In a city stunted by poverty and shattered by war, his company faces the challenge of lifting around half a tonne of high-tech equipment three storeys. It's too heavy to be manhandled and can't be dismantled without jeopardising warranties.

But, says Jones, finding a crane is difficult, "which is why you have to be resourceful to work in places like Afghanistan.

"It's so easy to go and sell software in a developed country - we just sell it, all the infrastructure is in place and customers have their own people to integrate it".

In what was recently a war zone, the whole process is much more basic. The usual infrastructure is either fractured or missing. Power supply is limited and unreliable. Banking services are poor. There's no credit cards, no postal system, no taxis or telephones, no cafes or hotel rooms.

And, outside the city, no controlled-atmosphere buildings suited to sensitive equipment. Installing equipment out of town involves buying and converting a shipping container with an air-conditioning unit - and that presents another problem.

"You find people are dossing down around a million bucks worth of computer. You don't want to risk cables being inadvertently kicked off walls, so you have to think about security.

"There are a whole lot of logistical, building, security and training issues that have nothing to do with the billing or software applications."

But personal security isn't a problem, he says: male staff don't have bodyguards - there's no budget for it anyway. Women do have escorts because they are working in an Arab world. No-one has reported feeling unsafe.

Lack of banking and postal infrastructure is another issue. While the service will run on a pre-pay basis, how do you recharge your mobile without a credit card, and how do you collect payments?

"We have to have a whole cash collection process, so you're right at the coalface of defining processes that lead to automated technology," says Jones.

Even putting aside the odd suicide bomber or tensions between neighbouring warlords - "we don't get involved in politics," says Jones optimistically - it sounds like a nightmare place in which to do business. So why bother?

"One motivation is that when a rebuilding economy gets funded to build new infrastructure, they can usually leapfrog technology, so what they're getting is more sophisticated than that of other developed economies.

"We're rolling out a full wireless network structure - a GSM mobile network with an internet provider backbone."

The company operates at that technology level and can handle the challenges of a developing country project without having to load up the tender price.

Some companies put unrealistic premiums on the job in the belief that problems can be solved by throwing money at them, says Jones.

"But that doesn't work. You have to get alongside and work with the locals to actually get the project going."

Jones, who built his present company from the wreckage of Australian-listed telecommunications company Telemedia, obviously thrives on challenges that would faze others.

Perhaps the toughest task is finding the right people for the job. For some the idea is exciting, but the reality too much. There's also a high risk of burnout because, without distractions, people can work themselves to a standstill, says Jones.

"You're working every day but Friday, so you're out of sync with the rest of the world to start with. Then there are changes in climate and diet to get used to and the lack of normal infrastructure.

"People have to be highly resourceful and prepared to work outside their job description."

Some cope better than others and it's important to gauge when they need to be pulled out, says Jones, because their productivity drops.

There's also the risk they'll lose the motivation for offshore projects - bad news for a company that has projects on the go in Australia, the United States, China, Malaysia, the Middle East and eastern Europe.

Racking up air miles is part of the job description and Jones expects his team - he's got 36 in Auckland and usually five in Afghanistan - to take it in their stride.

"In an international business, you do operate differently. You have to be prepared to work the time zones, which can encroach on your personal life. And the management team has to be prepared to get on planes. We have a structure that is very internationally focused."

That includes knowing how to play air-travel systems to optimum effect, avoiding visa delays, and expecting his team to stay in almost constant email communication.

Argent has a centralised management support structure, a veritable United Nations of employees, and a big travel bill.

Although his own travel has slowed a bit this year because of commitments to his young family, Jones always visits countries where projects are planned before sending staff in to check risks.

CHRIS JONES' CV

* Born: Auckland

* Age: 40

* Title: Chief executive, Argent Networks

* Education: Kings College, unfinished degree University of Auckland

* Major roles: MD Televox International, regional sales director Atlas Telecom in Asia, founder and CEO Telemedia

* Family: Married to Jo, two pre-school children

* Interests: playing polo, family