The first Decoding the New Economy for 2014 is an interview with Carl Grivner, CEO of Asian data center and communication company Pacnet.
Pacnet is unique in having an extensive Asian network of fibre links and data centres as well as having head offices in both Singapore and Hong Kong.
Having two head offices in cities as different as Singapore and Hong Kong presents a number of challenges along with some advantages as Carl explains.
The company’s combination of data centres and data links gives Pacnet an opportunity to offer some unique services in software defined networks, which Grivner describes as “the Pacnet Enabled Network”, that allows customers to create their own virtual networks.
What differentiates Pacnet in Grivner’s view are the company’s people – an asset essential in diverse Asian markets.
“What differentiates us are the people that we have in those locations,” says Grivner. “when you do business in Asia; doing business in Singapore versus Sydney versus Hong Kong everything is a little bit different, or a lot different for that matter.
“The physical assets are the physical assets but the people that get know how to get things done in each of those markets is what makes us unique.”
Grivner also explores the differences between Singapore and Hong Kong’s business cultures along with the diversity of the Chinese economy.