How does Rosatom transform IT? Interview with Evgeny Charkin
The chief information officer of RosatomEvgeny Charkin told TAdviser as program implementation of transformation of IT of corporation of 2010-2015 moves ahead and in what implementation of new technologies Rosatom is interested.
Evgeny Igorevich, how the IT budget of corporation in 2012 in relation to last year changed?
Evgeny Charkin: I cannot give exact number, but the budget percent on IT from the general investment budget in 2012 remained practically they are about 5%, and for 2013 it even increased a little.
How does program implementation of transformation of IT of Rosatom of 2010-2015 move ahead? What it is already made what needed to be made?
Evgeny Charkin: I would tell that we are in the middle of a way. If to speak about key projects in the field of business applications, we implement at the enterprises of state corporation ERP- systems on platforms SAP and 1C (the first is used at the enterprises with turnover higher than 3 billion rubles, the second – with turnover is lower than this amount), a personnel management system, vendor relations based on SAP SRM, reporting system.
The state corporation already works for us in SAP ERP, until the end of 2013 a system will almost completely cover a fuel division, and after 2013 we will connect to it mining divisions and Rosenergoatom Concern. Implementation of a HRM system happens to ERP, and as for system implementation of vendor relationship management – its implementation we are going to complete during 2013.
One of key projects for us also is implementation of EDMS based on EMC Documentum in which about 30 thousand users approximately already work at 70 enterprises, and the general scope will make 150 enterprises of Rosatom. We consider EDMS as the most important instrument of debureaucratization of processes in corporation.
In the Sarov nuclear center –VNIIEF - you implement other ERP system. It especially for it is developed?
Evgeny Charkin: Yes, at one of the enterprises of the center ERP based on the Russian Alfa platform is unrolled. It covers conventional key business processes taking into account their specifics in the nuclear center and also includes functionality of personnel management. Until the end of 2015 this ERP will be spread around on all enterprises of a nuclear weapon complex. The workflow system is implemented into VNIIEF same, as at all other enterprises of Rosatom.
What is represented by infrastructure of DPCs of corporation?
Evgeny Charkin: We have several DPCs in which all-corporate business applications are consolidated, they are located in different parts of the country. At each enterprise there are also local DPCs with local applications. We place a part of business applications at leased capacities, but no more than 10% of all capacities used by us are the share of them. And it is possible, over time we will refuse use of leased capacities at all: on the one hand, it is very convenient to use already ready infrastructure, with another – substantial risks in terms of information security.
In our plans – creation of large reserve DPC. Also now we conduct design of standard DPC for nuclear power plants.
In what sense of standard DPCs for the NPP?
Evgeny Charkin: On standard DPCs with a standard set of the equipment local application which are demanded for work of the station will be hosted. Now we study a pilot project in this direction and the plan to what term we will create local DPCs on all NPPs. All-corporate IT systems of the NPP, as well as other enterprises, will be located on internal corporate DPCs.
How are used in corporation of technology of virtualization?
Evgeny Charkin: We already widely apply virtualization of DPCs based on the VMware platform - practically all large DPCs of corporation are virtualized, and now we have very great interest to VDI. We did not use this technology yet, but we expect to approach virtualization of jobs in 2014. We understand that in terms of simplicity of management of a large number of applications of jobs it very much and progressively and effectively, but there are essential costs for deployment of infrastructure under such project. Therefore we are going to count and estimate at first carefully real effect of VDI and already then to make the final decision.
And how widely in corporation mobile devices are used?
Evgeny Charkin: The need for mobile applications for the industry enormous, but, unfortunately, we cannot widely use mobile devices yet. The matter is that we have extremely strict requirements on data protection, and we wait for the moment when mobile solutions are properly certified by our regulatory authorities according to requirements of FSTEC and FSB. Now only just there underwent certification the first means of cryptoprotection for mobile devices, as far as I know.
In the Sarov nuclear center one of the supercomputers, most powerful in Russia, is installed. How it is used?
Evgeny Charkin: Now the main users of this system are the scientific and design institutes which are a part of Rosatom which use it, mainly, for problems of design and simulation modeling. However we consider the possibility of providing free computing powers of the supercomputer and the application software for mathematical modeling to third parties as a cloud service. A number of the organizations from the machine-building and power industries expressed interest in it. Now we conduct negotiations with large providers of communication to provide rather powerful channels for providing such service.
What main vectors of development of Greenatom?
Evgeny Charkin: The strategy of the company - to create the all-industry center of examination and service based on Greenatom: not only in the field of IT, but also in the field of accounting and tax accounting, personnel administration. We develop in parallel with implementation of IT systems: after implementation at the enterprise of the unified system it gradually is transferred to service and service of the corresponding business processes in Greenatom. With respect thereto we plan expansion of the state several times. Total number of employees is 2 thousand people now, from them a half works in IT the direction.
In total on service in Greenatom on function of accounting and tax accounting there are 56 enterprises, on IT support now – 105, on personnel management – 8 enterprises.