Oleg Shcherbinin: BI is the integral component of modern IT architecture

: We talked to

Oleg Shcherbinin: In the market interest of the client is still attracted by projects with browsed perspective of return of investments. Customers try to implement many BI projects by own efforts, and in case of involvement of partner integrator one of important selection terms is experience of implementation of similar projects and also stability and responsibility of the attracted integrators.

Among the changes which happened in the market it is possible to note a large number of sophisticated customer requirements that is caused by development of functionality of products of the class BI and supportive applications of integration in all solutions of the leading vendors. So, from the customer, for example, the solutions integrating possibilities of the BI reporting with interactive opportunities of "rotation" of cubes with data, other example - formation of uniform analytical reference books for management company and their use both for preparation of the reporting, and for procedures of ensuring quality of data are demanded.

As for the direction of a business intelligence, we realize that increase in a share of consulting projects in Sitronics IT sales pattern steadily attracts growth of implementations of BI platforms.

TAdviser: As far as we know, Sitronics IT offers platforms of the leading BI vendors for creation of the systems of a business intelligence: it both SAS, and Oracle, and SAP. Whether there were in your "holder" new platforms? Among above listed four, in your opinion, what platforms in what cases most approach? So from what cases more often select, for example, SAS and in what Oracle?

Oleg Shcherbinin: Today, in addition to BI solutions of such vendors as SAS, Oracle and SAP, we have a platform for creation of the systems of a business intelligence of Microsoft. Products of this company are selected not only the competitive cost, but also advanced functionality for business of any scale, including average and small (SMB).

The choice of this or that platform depends on a set of factors, the existing IT landscape of the company, implementation cost and the subsequent support, functionality of a product is basic of which. For example, Oracle BI will be selected by the companies which are already widely using solutions of this vendor. The Segment of clients is most often characterized by requirements to processing of large volume of data, high speed of reporting. The choice of the BI solution from SAP will be dictated by desire to use the "advanced" opportunities of the tool having high visualization and interactivity for end users. If the company stakes on compliance of the price to functionality and system performance of a business intelligence, then in this case it is reasonable to select the Microsoft BI platform. In a case with SAS BI solutions are niche, and their application most often is defined by industry standards of business of the customer.

TAdviser: We paid attention that among the last BI projects "Sitronics IT" there are a lot of projects in the financial industry. It both VTB, and IBRD, and Ukrsotsbank and other banks. Do you purposefully specialize in this vertical industry or so it developed historically? With what other industries do you most actively work in respect of BI?

Oleg Shcherbinin: We already have an experience of projects implementation in a telecom, retail, the energy sector. The financial sector not less perspective for us in terms of development of the BI direction. This segment of the market rather exacting to experience of partner integrator. In response to this call we are ready to show to the customer our examination in the banking sector and also in allied industries. We at the same time conduct active work in terms of development of the BI direction in such industries as a telecom, retail and also in the energy, financial and industrial sector.

TAdviser: Whether tell, please, it is possible to separate BI projects in the Russian market by such principle: basic where only the main functionality of platforms, and deeper where are used some over intelligent tools and so on is implemented? Whether such division is fair? How deeply the Russian customers use the functionality put in platforms?

Oleg Shcherbinin: The modern customer is well familiar with platforms of the main developers of BI solutions, many had experience of use of this or that product therefore they expect in the long term to receive the maximum return from the selected solution. However within the project there is not always a task to implement all possible functionality of a system. Depending on business of the customer also the list of tasks which need to be solved within implementation is defined. Such tasks are usually very individual, individual also solutions of these tasks. Our approach in this plan is that creation of BI – infrastructure – an analytical data storage is primary, it is necessary to provide filling with its right data, and to determine analysis width by the tools which are most suitable users further.

Tasks for the "advanced" analysis usually consist in statistical analysis, mathematical modeling, data – mining. For such analytics different producers have tools, but the complexity of problem definition on such system reduces interest in such intelligent solutions.

TAdviser: Whether there are in your practice examples of creation of mobile BI solutions? Smartphones and tablets already firmly entered our life and whether you note increase in demand for mobile analytics from customers?

Oleg Shcherbinin: Really, mobile solutions it is convenient – you can receive any analytical cut on a sales point or the business direction, being in any place of the globe. Behind mobile solutions the future. Demand for mobile analytics grows, and confirmation to it is the fact that today all leading vendors have the customized applications adapted for use on portable devices as a part of the BI solutions.

If to speak about projects, then in cases when to the customer the mobile solution was required, we used the specialized programs available from vendor of the BI solution or the solution of third-party firms, and in case of high requirements for protection of a trade secret we used mobile application of Citrix with a necessary set of means of protecting of transmitted data.

TAdviser: The working system of the business analysis it not only software, but also the corresponding hardware allowing to cope with processing of large volumes of data. Whether there are some minimum requirements to "iron" in BI projects? When do you come to the project how often it is necessary to change servers and DWH of customers?

Oleg Shcherbinin: For the last 10 years computing powers significantly grew. Many BI solutions for which the special server was necessary earlier can work also on notebooks of users now. It is possible even to tell that the subject of Desktop OLAP endures the second youth now.

However when the corporate BI solution is under construction, centralization of functions on system management of BI is more important – here not to do without server solutions any more. The quantity and structure of the equipment is defined together with the customer - we carry out audit of the existing infrastruktra and we look for ways of use of the equipment, available at the beginning of the project, however, most often high requirements to the volume of storage and information processing rate require also updating of "iron" of the customer. The Sayzing (delimitation of the project) of a new hardware complex is performed from requirements to performance taking into account a stock at the peak of required reliability, volume of storage and the predicted growth of data.

One of new trends in the market of BI servers are specialized hardware and software systems for solving of tasks of the analysis, such as Oracle Exalitics. It is very powerful server with the preset Oracle BI BI platform, and, both components "are ground" for work in a sheaf and together provide the solution of difficult and volume tasks.

TAdviser: In addition to such abstract indicators as increase in efficiency and transparency of business by what other categories, maybe, can be measured by more material effectiveness of the BI project? Do you have such techniques?

Oleg Shcherbinin: The key indicator of success of the BI project is a satisfaction of users. This indicator includes as a formalizable part (a covering of functional requirements of the customer), and a "psychological" component which reflects comfort of work with the solution. If to speak about more material characteristics, then, first of all, it is support cost. The cost of support reflects as quality of implementation, and estimates the strategy of the choice of the technology BI platform (scrappy BI solutions are expensive in support). During the work with the customer minimization of cost of support of proposed solution is one of our main priorities.

TAdviser: Give, please, advice to our readers who only plan implementation of a BI system what internal work they need to do, maybe, to the appeal to the system integrator?

Oleg Shcherbinin: First of all it is required to define the implementation purposes, to designate a circle of the interested and responsible persons, it is possible even to include success of automation in KPI of employees. It is necessary to appoint the curator and the sponsor of the project from number of the top management of the company, otherwise, risks of failures to meet time constraints of implementation increase.

Further it is required to analyze business processes of the company, to update the existing regulations, to carry out informing on the purposes of implementation and, if necessary, to provide key user training of a system to functionality of the BI solution. All above-stated works can be implemented as independently, and about involvement of one or several integrators. The last option will allow to understand most fully a current status - to create expectations from a system, to decide on the platform and staging of implementation.