Interview with the head of the "information technologies" block of Promsvyazbank Andrey Ovsyannikov

Andrey Ovsyannikov

TAdviser: Andrey, tell, please, how IT infrastructure of Promsvyazbank is arranged? What key systems are used for automation of the primary and operating activities?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: The block of information technologies of Promsvyazbank pays much attention to reservation and fault tolerance of information systems of bank, since the data link layer and finishing with business applications and jobs of users. Proceeding from it, IT infrastructure of bank has distributed character and is based on two reference nodes in Moscow and eight basic branches of regional network. In 2014 the bank opened one more reference point in which the Service center was unrolled in Yaroslavl. Thus, distribution of IT infrastructure by several geographical points considerably raises degree of fault tolerance of systems operated in bank

The telecommunication and server hardware is united in the failsafe scheme meeting the high requirements of business of bank to indicators of continuity of work. According to the plan of ensuring continuity of the primary and operating activities which is available in bank, the IT block implements the strategy of risk diversification. Therefore IT infrastructure is placed both in two own DPCs, and according to plans – in commercial DPCs including geographically distributed.

Regional offices of bank are connected to the center by means of service of IP-VPN from several operators of communication services. It allowed bank to organize failsafe connection of offices using the main and reserve channels relying on independent transport networks.

In Promsvyazbank there is a clear list of systems, critical for business, to which operation special requirements are imposed. Treat them CORE BANKING SYSTEM "New Athena" SAP EDMS Documentum, the trading systems MiSys, Quik and, of course, RBS the PSB-Retail and PSB-Online systems.

TAdviser: How the IT department of Promsvyazbank is arranged? How many people in it work?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: The structure of the Information technologies block underwent a number of changes in 2014. Such functions as project management and IT architecture were separately selected. It allowed us to segment more accurately internal resources and also to be focused on key business projects and optimization actions. For the rest Blok's structure reflects lifecycle of banking products, i.e. departments of systems analysis, development, implementation and maintenance are selected; the interaction format with IT resources in regions is worked out. Total number of staff is 380 people that in my opinion, is optimal in terms of quantity of the operated systems and volume of initiatives of business.

TAdviser: And how work on IT projects in Promsvyazbank is organized?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: First of all the request for development of the new project comes from managers of blocks of business segments to the development block. Its competence includes strategy, marketing and project management. The block of development is a holder of business architecture of bank and estimates all incoming requests for compliance of general strategy and to the purposes of other business segments.

At a validation phase it is important to define how implementation of this project will influence perception of a brand of bank in general and promotion of separate products in particular. Versatile examination of colleagues from the block of development allows to carry out such impakt-analysis quickly and qualitatively. On analysis results the block of development and the block of information technologies makes the joint decision on implementation of the project. Such approach allows to reduce significantly terms of approval, work on the project and removal of a product by the market.

TAdviser: Tell, please, about the largest IT projects implemented in bank in 2014?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: The most part of last year's projects was directed to increase in comfort of communication of clients with our bank. Changes concerned as "live" communication of clients in our departments and additional offices, and remote channels. In 2014 algorithms of autopayments, autoinforming and customer notifications were implemented, possibilities of online statistics of the performed operations are expanded; there were such unique products as the virtual prepaid card (implementation of payment from the card account without carrier) and NFC@Work (NFC stickers with a binding to the account of the card as additional resources of payment). For clients the range of services, available through ATM extended that at the same time allowed to reduce operating expenses considerably.

In 2014 it was paid to enrichment of profiles and development of the concept of a personal account of the Internet user much attention, the possibility of the analysis of behavior of visitors of Internet bank appeared. At the same time we as much as possible synchronized all activities in electronic channels, timely updating versions tablet, mobile and Internet bank.

For corporate clients such products as tripartite electronic document management on factoring transactions, functionality of identification of the payments which arrived on checking accounts of clients using the mechanism of "virtual" accounts, functionality for support of guarantees under agreements of individual share and also a number of rewards programs were implemented. Many positive reviews were received by the online store of store.psbank.ru services allowing to simplify operating activities and the regular reporting of entrepreneurs.

Among internal projects it is possible to select start of an automatic self-training system on prevention of financial fraud which allowed us to reduce considerably the amount of funds, the losses and penalties paid by bank as compensation. It is also worth noting removal of a part of the unified functions to regions, the subsequent training and creation of competence center based on the Service center.

Traditionally we pay much attention to ensuring compliance, requirements of the legislation and regulatory bodies. In particular, were implemented the mechanism of check of clients in the reference book FACTIVA, an algorithm of identification of clients (FATCA) within requirements of the USA, the multifilial version of exchange with the Federal Tax Service through the central point of entry. In addition, on all regions the system of information exchange with Federal Bailiff Service was started.

TAdviser: And what plans of bank for the IT direction for 2015?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: 2015 will be year of the thought-over and weighed solutions both regarding development of business products, and regarding use and development of internal resources. At the moment we complete creation of Single window - the web application allowing to automate work of client managers. Implementation of this solution will allow to increase at the same time sales and to reduce internal costs.

We consider other large project the uniform data warehouse, among its advantages there are a uniform show-window, a uniform information layer for the reporting and the business analysis. The solution based on which the storage will be created, is not selected yet: we consider products of the main large vendors, including SAP and Microsoft. At the same time we do not exclude also the Russian producers.

Also in plans for this year there is an optimization of infrastructure of bank taking into account recalculation of cost of ownership of information systems. Also we are going to continue successful practice of accumulation of competences of regions.

TAdviser: Whether is going your bank to take some steps for import substitution in the field of IT in connection with sanctions of the West against Russia?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: In my opinion, sanctions can strike now those companies at which agreements on a subscription at lease of the software are signed with vendors. We almost do not use this practice. Therefore we first of all make a start from the cost of ownership of products and if to us as to bank it is economic to pass to the Russian software, then we to it will move.

In case of toughening of sanctions our infrastructure will remain steady, we will continue to use those products which are already purchased. We will have time if necessary to transfer the infrastructure to other products if it is required.

Some colleagues on the market express interest in platforms with the open code to which it would be possible to transfer some of the already functioning systems. We do not consider it expedient to do it neither from the economic point of view, nor in terms of security yet. At the same time we, for example, with interest look the solution Camunda BPM at Open Source now.

As for hardware solutions, there are analogs of Asian production which can become an alternative to the western products. In this direction we also monitor experience of our colleagues from some other banks to estimate in what qualitative results will result use of the Asian equipment.

TAdviser: Some banks already organized or are going to organize providing different IT services to the and external clients. It would be desirable to learn about similar practice in Promsvyazbank.

Andrey Ovsyannikov: Promsvyazbank is hi-tech bank and offers the clients the innovation IT services enjoying wide popularity and steadily holding upper places of different ratings. Some of them are unique in the market and help to attract in bank of new clients. First of all, it would be desirable to note the system of Internet banking for individuals - PSB Retail created by forces of a team of highly skilled IT specialists of bank.

Within Internet banking for PSB-Retail individuals we implemented Smart Money service. It was presented to clients in October, 2013. It is the management system for personal finance allowing to keep effectively the budget, to analyze monthly expenditure to create independently an income group and expenses, to select the amounts for accumulation of funds and planning of big purchases. Besides, service gives to clients a unique opportunity for the Russian market to compare the expenditure to a standard on a segment which the client treats. Fundamental difference of Smart Money service from non-bank services of this sort is that the client does not need to drive in card transactions manually.

In 2015 the bank started online store for small and medium business of store.psbank.ru in which the products and services allowing are collected not only it is easy to begin new business, but also to increase effective management of the company. In Business market a wide choice of services using which individual entrepreneurs and legal entities can independently conduct accounting is provided and remotely hand over the reporting, manage sales and work of a warehouse, to monitor changes in the legislation, to dispose of documents, projects and the customer base.

Using services of Business market clients can independently create the websites of the companies and online stores without work experience in this sphere and also to receive special partner offers on acquisition of products and additional services. Besides, in Business market ready-made solutions for successful start of business and trade as online, and offline are presented.

TAdviser: How widely software development by own forces is provided to PSB?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: In bank almost equally we use as the purchased industrial solutions, and own products. Independent development is caused by a number of factors: it both features of the legislation, and the requirement of regulators, and need of maintenance and accumulation of internal competences on a number of business processes, critical for bank, and many other things.

Striking example is the automation system of retail business of PSB-Retail Bank: our Internet bank was recognized the best as both users, and the authoritative international companies more than once. One more excellent example is an Internet banking of PSB On-Line for legal entities. The main functionality of this complex of systems is a payment acceptance and other electronic documents from clients and their automated processing by employees of the bank. PSB On-Line won first place in the rating of efficiency of Internet banks for mature business of 2014 of Markswebb Rank&Report company, and the number of the legal entities connected to our system exceeded 95 thousand enterprises.

Since 2010 factoring Promsvyazbank annually is in the lead in the different ratings of the Russian market of financial services. In it there is a merit and the intra bank solution PSB Factoring. And at the end of October, 2014 in bank the pilot project on implementation of electronic document management on factoring based on PSB On-Line was started – we work on that the new tool became the correct and convenient assistant for our clients.

It would be desirable to select separate layer – so-called "credit pipelines". Our systems implemented on the SAS and Documentum platforms make decisions on requests for the credit in a retail segment and also in a "small and medium business" segment that does credit process by even more reliable.

Also in our bank solutions based on products of IBM are widely presented: for example, thanks to EDMS, implemented on the IBM Notes platform, terms of consideration of documents are reduced, the transparency of internal processes of approval and execution increases. In a stage of acceptance testing the portal solution "Limit-Server" allowing employees of a back office to process online limits of clients of bank is found. The "Single Window for Client Managers" project is in implementation process – works on integration with internal systems of bank are done already now that gives confidence in success of this solution.

And, of course, even industrial solutions (the TDMS "New Athena",Diasoft-Custody,SAP ERP, etc.) require operational completions according to the changing requirements of bank and the legislation: and here our professional teams of analysts and developers also come to the rescue.

TAdviser: Whether uses your bank of service of IT outsourcing? If yes, that what processes are transferred to outsourcing and how you estimate its efficiency?

Andrey Ovsyannikov: As well as many organizations, Promsvyazbank constantly holds events for overhead optimization and failure from non-core activity. In those segments where the potential of optimization is most high due to involvement of external contractors, the bank actively uses outsourcing. Regarding outsourcing of IT services most effectively proved to be service of printing; maintenance and service of IT infrastructure of sales points in regional network; and also information and technical support of the RBS system (PSB-OnLine).

The most critical systems and the equipment are serviced by manufacturer representatives including our foreign partners.

Transfer allowed bank to cut down expenses for external service of services, to increase efficiency of investments in IT assets and also to release own resources for accomplishment of key tasks of our business.