Yaroslav Farobin: We are ready to provide a full range of cloud services

TAdviser: Yaroslav, if to take the classical three of SaaS + to IaaS + PaaS, then what services of type have for you priority value in the development now? Tell, please, briefly what solutions you have and on what you place emphasis?

Yaroslav Farobin: The basis of our cloud business is, of course, it is IaaS and SaaS. Servionika provides cloud services based on own highly reliable data center TrustInfo which security level and fault tolerances corresponds to the Tier III level.

Initially we provided to IaaS services to mainly large business, but soon, after demand of customers, left with the services and in a segment of medium-sized companies: in SMB sector for development of cloud services we see huge potential. As a result at us the line of ready IaaS of solutions for the companies of different type and requirements ripened: it is eCloud constructed on proprietary technologies (HP and VMware) and MakeCloud created on the open code (OpenStack).

SaaS direction in Servionika is submitted by the independent project, i-Oblako. It is shop show-window of corporate applications which can be used on lease model. In i-Oblako we collect the best solution SaaS, and not only own, but also third-party developers, acting as the aggregator and uniform point of entry and service for customers.

TAdviser: And what PaaS? It as though stands a little aside?

Yaroslav Farobin: The direction of services "the platform as service", or PaaS, - a subject for a separate conversation. This approach means complete transfer of IT infrastructure of the company to a cloud, including both a "iron" component, and a software part. So far most the companies are not ready for so resolute moving to "cloud" for the objective reasons though there are also separate projects in the field of PaaS deserving attention. On average in the market customers prefer to give to service provider only some part of resources, creating so-called hybrid environments. Yet in the Russian PaaS segment there are no serious players, and most service providers took a waiting attitude.

At the same time Servionika has all necessary resources and competences for provision of services on the PaaS model, but, obviously, the market still should ripen. Our experience is confirmed also by outputs of authoritative researchers, for example, according to J’son & Partners, in 2012 in Russia nearly 88% of the market of cloud services were the share of SaaS, in 2013 (forecast data) – nearly 80% for SaaS and another 18.8% for IaaS (in 2014 this segment will already make more than 24% of the market, according to forecasts of J'son). It is not difficult to count that PaaS occupies less than 1% of the market, but is also the most promising.

TAdviser: You mentioned hybrid environments. Most of the western analysts agree in opinion that in an enterprise segment of the most profitable and the model of a hybrid cloud is perspective. Do you agree with it?

Yaroslav Farobin: He completely agrees. Servionika developed new approach to a concept of "a hybrid cloud". Traditionally the hybrid is consolidation of the virtual capacities unrolled on the platform of the customer with cloud resources of provider. We suggest to undertake care and of that part of computing powers which usually remains "on conscience" the customer, and in any volume. Moreover, we solve one more problem which clients face in projects on virtualization or upgrade of IT infrastructure: sale of the equipment which is not going to be used any more. We can set it off costs or accept on service.

So approach of Servionika is a development of the idea of a hybrid cloud: we offer the cloud platform integrating two of our solutions – eCloud and MakeCloud about which I already spoke earlier. We came up with the idea of such symbiosis, seeing that clients are interested in more flexible and wide tools for the solution of the tasks connected with virtualization and optimization of IT infrastructure. Thanks to this approach we provide fault tolerance and reliability at optimal costs. To the client can select different models of payment (static and dynamic) and at the same time completely to possess information on how resources – for example are spent, using our solution RapidCloud which we offer as the platform for management of cloud resources of the customer. Here new opportunities can open: for example, providing the excessive or temporarily not used resources in lease to external clients. In fact, it is an opportunity for the client to open the new business direction quickly and without capital costs.

TAdviser: Describe a portrait of your key customers. What companies in Russia are most ready to use cloud services?

Yaroslav Farobin: Our main customers are a large business and the companies of medium business which are dynamically growing and coming on the scale and business challenges to large. Often it is the companies having complex geographically distributed structure, or holdings: such organizations are interested in the reliable, steadily working and protected IT infrastructure with an opportunity to involve any necessary volume of resources in the shortest possible time. In terms of the industries – the financial sector (banks, insurance), telecommunications, retail, the construction industry – many developers keep projects in different regions now. Singular problems face a public sector – the combination of reliability and resource availability is crucial here, especially taking into account gain of statutory requirements in the field of personal data.

The interesting scenario of use of cloud resources arises at startups and small business: such companies can begin with a cloud, using it as a test environment for creation of IT infrastructure, and afterwards to make use of the accumulated experience during creation of own infrastructure on physical or hybrid model. The most frequent scenario: when transfer the high-loaded virtual servers to a cloud of provider. Now technologies already allow to carry out seamless integration.

TAdviser: Any example from number of fresh projects which you can mention.

Yaroslav Farobin: A characteristic example – transition to "cloud" of Avtotrading company, the market leader of cargo transportation in Russia. She selected the eCloud platform provided by Servionika and implemented on hardware-software HP solutions and Vmware for deployment of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Transition to a cloud became a part of upgrade of all information system of the company: outdated business applications were replaced with the solution of Microsoft, and the cloud platform is selected for the most optimal ensuring stable work of regional divisions and their interaction with the central office. Cloud infrastructure allows Avtotradingu to cope with the new level of load of business processes, taking into account fierce competition in the market of transportations and to provide uninterrupted provision of services.

TAdviser: The main motives of the appeal to cloud services – they are what?

Yaroslav Farobin: Cost reduction can be one of motivations, however is much more important think more widely, than in categories of direct economy. For example, if the customer plans a large-scale exit to regions, important can be such advantage of a cloud as ensuring flexibility and scalability of business.

One more consequence of transition to a cloud – increase in transparency of use of own IT resources of the customer and settlement of the divisions using cloud services. It not only disciplines work and allows to optimize costs for IT infrastructure, but also puts in the forefront new criteria of efficiency.

From the operational point of view, the most important tasks for which solution the companies and the enterprises transfer data and applications to a cloud are improvement of controllability, performance and scalability – certainly, without loss of control over data and their security. The main criterion at making decision on migration of applications – expediency: whether really business will have qualitatively new opportunities to work more effectively and whether it is possible to achieve the same result at already used approach and comparable costs. One more criterion important for business in the long term – a possibility of creation of test environments in a cloud.

TAdviser: It would be desirable to concern a subject of "moving" of infrastructure to a cloud. May it be really effective and painless?

Yaroslav Farobin: Carry out migration with the minimum quantity of errors or even at all without them – in interests and the customer, and provider. Experience of progress and errors is saved already up by the market. The first condition of favorable project completion on migration in a cloud is the adjusted mutual understanding and transparency of arrangements. The second important component – experience of provider.

If to speak about errors, then most of them is connected with a human factor and insufficient study of conditions of cooperation. It is possible to carry a lack of competences and project information at employees on the party of the customer to a human factor – both in IT department, and among business users. One more error of projects on migration in a cloud - insufficiently careful monitoring of operation of applications at first after transfer. Meanwhile, at this stage it is especially important to monitor the made changes and reaction of business to them. The earlier problem zones are revealed, the it is simpler to set the reasons of possible incidents and to find ways of their solution.

But I want to calm you: today large suppliers of cloud services can already propose the solutions considering experience of similar projects, or even ready-made solutions for different categories of clients as it is done by Servionika

TAdviser: How planning and calculation upon transition to "cloud" is performed?

Yaroslav Farobin: As well as any difficult project, transition to virtual infrastructure requires detailed calculation and resource planning. At the same time it is necessary to verify periodically correctness of initial calculations with project reality to reduce risks of critical exceeding of terms and the budget.

For example, at initial assessment often proceed from the maximum amount of consumption of capacities all systems and business applications, but upon a situation of it over consumption practically does not arise. Therefore it is more correct to assume as a basis data of the analysis of consumption of capacities the different systems in the conditions of different loadings and also to provide the modern monitoring system allowing to reveal proactively risks of peak loads in cloud infrastructure and to quickly select under them additional capacities.

The similar attention is required also by calculation of need for tape libraries: if to proceed from simple arithmetic calculation, it is necessary to spend additional resources and time for backup. However in reality less resources are required, so – it is less than costs for the expensive equipment, programs, support.

TAdviser: Whether it is impossible so that, selecting service provider, the client gets to peculiar "cloud slavery": in process of the consumption growth of cloud services, it is forced to address for services in the same company?

Yaroslav Farobin: This question is similar to a question of slavery mobile. It is possible to look at a problem and under such corner about which you speak, but actually objectively providers so far in the majority cannot provide seamless interconnect at the level of the cloud systems, it is connected with standardization of services and in it the problem root consists.

In process of standardization of cloud services, accumulation of competences and consolidation of the market there is a need for new service - seamless migration from resources of one service provider on resources of another. Practically, the same process is endured now by mobile operators – canceling of "mobile slavery". Such forecast is confirmed by the policy of the leading vendors in the field of the equipment and the software for "clouds". More and more consistently going the way standardization, they kind of push providers to creation of such solutions. I believe, until the end of 2014 it is possible to expect pilot solutions in the market, and in 2015 such solutions can become a pronounced industry trend.

TAdviser: Tell, please, about what modern agreements of SLA between clients and service provider are. Whether they register in each case individually?

Yaroslav Farobin: In "The agreement on the level of providing service" which we sign with each customer, specific parameters which observance we guarantee to our clients are determined. We do not support practice, popular today on the market, to describe in SLA only the principles of work of technical support service. The service is not limited to technical support.

For example, target indicators on processing of addresses of the customer are described in "Regulations of service interaction", and in SLA - the specified indicators on specific service in the maximum response time and the maximum time of solution. The maximum time for which we are obliged to react to addresses of any kind – 15 minutes. The maximum time of the solution, depending on type and a priority of the address, can be of 1 o'clock (for incidents with priority No. 1) till 48 o'clock. In coordination with the customer, we fix performance measures of separate components of a cloud platform in SLA of each project. Compliance to these target indicators also is criterion of success of our work. Besides, we specify in SLA methods of measurement of performance measures and frequency of the taken measurements what does our offer to more competitive.

If it is about creation of a private cloud and the customer insists on detailed SLA with rather tough parameters, risks and the operator, and the customer are rather high. Therefore also service cost within such SLA will be higher, than for service with more standard parameters.

Standard SLA which we offer is an integral part of our agreement with the client therefore it is possible to tell that we recommend SLA for signing and most of our clients works according to such scheme. And it is quite justified: at different services – different parameters of providing and quality evaluation. Therefore personally I consider that SLA is obligatory for each provided service.