Appendix C - Interview Notes

1

Most of my meetings were with Mr. Nadeem Iqbal, who has worked at various
designations at VeriPark Gulf. In his current designation, he is the Lead Developer for Doha
Projects. However, his wide experience in different departments in the company has made him
well-aware of the companys operations. The main manner in which I got data was through
questions from the project guidelines we were provided.

What is your role in the business?
Currently, Im the Lead Developer and also a Consultant. My duty covers a lot of things
meeting customers to understand requirements budgeting according to requirements and
leading the development effort as per requirements. Ive also worked in other departments over
the course of my stay at VeriPark Gulf.

Do you often meet with managers in client firms in your job? If yes, at what level are these
managers, and what purpose do your meetings serve?
I do tend to meet with managers. Mostly, I meet with department heads, but there are times the
meeting happens with executive managers. My meetings with department heads are essentially to
discuss requirements they might have, and also to relay implementation plans. The meetings with
executive essentially occur at three times; the project initiation, contract signing, and when
immediate customizations might be required.


1
The transcript is not accurate and is based on short-hand notes that were taken during the time of interview. The
notes are also stunted and incomplete because the limited time with the VeriPark employee did not allow for
comprehensive notes to be taken and some questions and answers of the interview havent been ascribed in this
Appendix.
Can you tell more about how does VeriPark gets these projects?
VeriPark gets these projects through a variety of means. Most of all, we are contacted by
companies themselves who wish to use our software. When VeriPark is approaches, VeriPark
sends a consultant to the lead for a demo and a feasibility study. Based on the demo and the
feasibility study, VeriPark then provides a quote to the potential client. If the potential client
likes the product and thinks it is worth it, they sign a contract with VeriPark and the development
and implementation process gets started.

Do clients mostly come to VeriPark themselves?
No, VeriPark has a consultancy department that pursues leads, and there are quite a few clients
that have been achieved in this manner.

How does VeriPark get leads?
Before I start here, I would like to mention that when I said earlier that clients approach us
themselves, I forgot to mention that most of these come through business consultancy groups.
Consultants are people who might be working on a specific marketing, PR or sales campaign for
a client firm and recommend that the client firm gets a CRM system. VeriPark is quite famous in
the MENA region as CRM providers and consultants often recommend us. Some consultants
have entered into commission-based relationships with VeriPark; however, contracts arising in
such manner tend to be quite few. Mostly, consultants either recommend us or just approach us
amongst many other CRM provides in the region. Coming back on the topic, VeriPark gets it
leads through the many seminars and exhibitions it participates in. VeriPark employees are often
sent as speakers in industry or profession seminars. Herein, there are owners and managers of
MNCs and SMEs alike. After a seminar many approach the VeriPark speakers for advice, etc.
The information exchanged herein is utilized essentially as leads. Leads are also taken through
the various businesses which contact on a daily basis, or through wasta.

What do you mean by wasta? Does VeriPark have substantial wasta in the region?
Wasta is one of the important aspects of businesses in UAE. The main reason VeriPark has
penetrated to such an extent in the UAE banking market is because of wasta. The first project
VeriPark did in UAE was with Mashreq Bank. The bank is headed by Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair.
When the project was being carried out, Mr. Abdul Aziz asked VeriPark to create feasibility for
two other banks that he was a shareholder in. After feasibility was created, Mr. Abdul Aziz had
provided us two more projects within the next six months. Even to date, a lot of credibility in the
VeriPark brand in UAE exists due to its name being associated with Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair.

What do firms which buy the product form you normally require you to do?
The requirements most of the time start of very ambitious and rather difficult. However, over
time as the costs of ambitious requirements is relegated to clients, they keep cutting down on
features until it comes within their range. This is true of both SMEs and MNCs.

Businesses are price-conscious? Why are the competitors products priced at much higher rates
but still in greater demand?
Yes, the businesses are quite price-conscious. If there is a hundred dirham difference, businesses
would pursue the hundred dirham cheaper option. The difference in pricing has to do with the
brand value of competitors products. Microsoft CRM is relatively new. Its first major version
released in 2010, and its cloud version released in 2011. Others have been operating for at least a
decade. Moreover, they have greater namesake from their other IS related operations such as
ERP, etc. When clients come to buy a CRM product, they generally think what they are getting
with the brand is something different something like an added feature. So, when people buy
SalesForce, they think they are buying something more comprehensive than Microsoft Dynamics
CRM. This is slightly true as SalesForce has some features that are more comprehensive than
Dynamics, but mostly it is just that other brands are thought of as more reliable.

Does the company use discounts or free trials?
There is price negotiation, but Im not aware of the exact details. It should be noted that there are
discounts that the company gets from Microsoft and these are wholly relegated to the client. For
instance, getting a 25-user license provides a 30% discount per user from Microsoft, and this is
how VeriPark provides the license. There is also some price negotiation with respect to variable
costs such as development hours, etc. However, Im not much aware of this aspect.

What about the free trials?
VeriPark does not provide free trials as there is a very large issue when you provide free trials;
IT professionals and the likes tend to crack into the softwares code and illegally extend its trial
duration. In many cases, companies do keep on using a pirated version of a product specifically
in case of SMEs. VeriPark is very strict in this regards and even in the past when the issue of free
trials was raised, it was quickly shot down by the executive management.