Interview with the Chief information officer of "KAMAZ" Artem Golovaty

Artem Golovaty

TAdviser: Artyom, tell, please, about the IT strategy of "KAMAZ". What its main directions?

Artem Golovaty: We wrote IT strategy independently, and it is, probably, a rarity for the enterprise of our scales. By preparation we made a start from the principles that the document should be short, tasks clear, and strategy should act as the legal act ordering specific actions on specific business challenges.

Today strategy represents the general approach describing with what there have to be information technologies in the organization. In it all tasks known at the time of writing are collected. They are distributed on functional activities, such as purchases, production, logistics, sales, advertizing, finance, accounting, ranged on urgency and complexity.

The document is expected term of 5 years, however the situation around sharply changes. For quick response we created committee on IT who solves the problems connected with strategy, changes an order of their urgency and complexity according to requirements of business. An important point is that in the document IT projects as such as one business challenge can generate a set of projects are not specified while one IT project can close several assigned tasks at once.

Actually we are going to leave three basic processes at the enterprise connected with IT. The first of them is a strategic planning process (the certain service of the customer which is responsible for strategy, initiatives, orders of services and the equipment, control, etc.). The second process is a development and deployment of new objects of informatization and communications. We are going to transfer this process partially to insourcing, partially – on outsourcing. The third process – support of all IT economy which we purchased or developed.

We will display a part of works on the third process in our subsidiary company created in 2013 within strategy implementation on the organization of the General Service center. So far she is engaged only in IT, but in the future accounting and personnel processes will be transferred to her. Thus, the most critical problems for business will be solved on insourcing model, and auxiliary – are transferred to outsourcing. A part of processes already are on outsourcing.

TAdviser: What processes are already transferred to outsourcing?

Artem Golovaty: We completely gave service of ADP equipment and office equipment to outsourcing. Also completely on outsourcing at us were consulting on 1C and almost completely – on SAP. Now, due to creation of home subsidiary company, we changed a situation, we create these competences and we transfer to the insourcing company about which it was told above – Service Center of Business LLC. Outsourcing on SAP and 1C at us continues to be used, but only on those questions which arise seldom or if the large volume of requests arrives, and we do not manage to execute them all.

Also we on outsourcing have processes connected with different installation and construction works, for example, on a corporate data network, telephony, signaling, etc. So all that becomes one-time.

At the time of transfer some processes on outsourcing the effectiveness of these services was very high as they allowed to reduce a part of personnel and also as much as possible to debug processes.

TAdviser: How many people work now in your insourcing company which is engaged in IT?

Artem Golovaty: Now in it about 90 people work. In the Center of Information and Communication Technologies of JSC KAMAZ there are a lot of IT personnel so far, but in process of transition to process model of work of IT when we are able accurately to define the customers of the IT service responsible for IT services how many this service will cost, we are going to transfer employees to the insourcing company. Thus, the staff of our affiliated enterprise will grow.

Than to us it is profitable: it is important for me that business saw, what costs each IT service. The lack of such understanding negatively affects efficiency and causes dissatisfaction in business since most often IT solution can be much more expensively and less effectively, than the organizational solution.

TAdviser: And how your corporate IT department is arranged now? How many people in it work?

Artem Golovaty: The structure of our Center of Information and Communication Technologies is in a transformation stage now. At the first stage the vertical structure, and now, according to earlier described basic three processes in IT was reduced, also horizontal will be changed. If to consider a vertical, we have three layers of IT personnel: the strategic management – on behalf of me and heads of the first link (departments and services), the second level – heads of departments, bureau, groups, the so-called tactical management, and the third is the most valuable - personnel which implement the set strategic tasks in the conditions of the present day.

Thus, in fact, the service of the customer remains in parent company, and in child the IT block will be subdivided into two directions: maintenance and development.

In the head company about 500 IT employees work at the moment. From them about 250 have the status of "worker". The first line of technical support concerns them: electricians, electricians of communication lines, operators of a computer, etc. Such considerable number of similar personnel at us is connected with the unrationed working schedule, often they should work at night. In turn, number of staff, engaged in development and deployment, is only about 60 people in the Center of Information and Communication Technologies and as much in the insourcing company.

TAdviser: Tell, please, how IT infrastructure of "KAMAZ" is arranged? Where main systems which you use for automation of activity of the company are based?

Artem Golovaty: About 3-4 years ago about 80% of server resources of "KAMAZ" were transferred to DPC based on the IT park to Kazan. "KAMAZ"virtualized one of the first commercial enterprises of large scale and transferred almost all the server framework there. We had small companies, server in connection with geographical distribution, but in them only systems which require local existence generally are based. Also we had own computer center where there is a mainframe based on IBM Z800 and also a number of systems which are difficult to transferring to modern virtual environment.

Now "KAMAZ" faces the choice that it will be more profitable – to create own DPC regarding data storage or to rent. The horizon of economic calculations for the choice is equal to 10 years. However, in connection with the changing currency rates and an unstable situation in general decision-making on this project dragged on a little. It is possible to tell that we are configured on use of hybrid technologies, being guided by two pacing factors – economy and security.

Concerning security I will note that sometimes in third-party DPC given to store more reliably, than at myself on servers as the operator of DPC as the commercial organization bears a certain legal, economic responsibility if security guaranteed to them will be compromised. In the company the people working for salary can be "rewarded" by the third party for leak and a compromise of data in their direction. And to pass through the person in the company – it is cheaper and simpler, than to pass through certain systems of protection in DPC.

TAdviser: What key business applications do you use?

Artem Golovaty: It is no secret that in KAMAZ company still there are systems created by own forces. Gradually we take them out of service as they became outdated technically and morally. It is very complex work, many processes are connected with these systems.

The scientific and technological center of "KAMAZ" generally uses Teamcenter, production planning at the different levels, the detailed production cost accounting with planned cost calculation and also warehouse and logistic processes at us are implemented and develop using SAP solutions, and 1C at us provides automation of accounting, tax accounting, treasury, approval of agreements, controls of motor transport, sale and post warranty service of cars and the consolidated statements and also a number of unique processes which are not subject to standardization.

Contrary to popular belief, on "KAMAZ" there is no competition between SAP and 1C, these systems coexist everyone in the niche. Depending on country situation and from development of these products and their price policy in us something can exchange: expansion both SAP, and 1C can go. In SAP about 3 thousand users at the same time work at our enterprise and in 1C about 2 thousand users at the same time work for us. The number of the registered users in systems at the same time are much higher.

Also we have accompanying systems: for example, we actively use Microsoft Lync which very much was pleasant to us, also we use a product line of Microsoft System Center.

TAdviser: What most important IT projects were implemented on "KAMAZ" in 2014?

Artem Golovaty: Last year we finished the project on approval of agreements and control of partners based on products of 1C. It was made, first of all, for the purpose of increase in transparency, violations of conditions of agreements both on payment, and on execution of its conditions. Accomplishment was one more purpose of this project also sew compliance policy which sets rules what partner and by what criteria can be estimated and allowed to contracting. The system created within this project is integrated with the SPARK Interfax system - the database on all legal persons and business owners.

In 2014 we also completed a pilot project on automation of one of our large warehouses based on the SAP solution EWM – expanded management of warehouse economy. The pilot project allowed to correct many organizational processes. Taking into account its results we consider the project of replication of this solution and on other warehouses. Except support of the current SAP solutions at the KAMAZ enterprise projects on internal pricing and obtaining the management reporting – expansion of the current functionality of a production management system proceed now. They provide implementation of planned cost calculation with step-by-step interpretation of interfactory deliveries and services.

We also complete process of implementation of a cloud system on personnel training of SAP Learning Hub. In 2014 according to the results of assessment of competences of users, focal groups which needed elementary education or increase in competences in the new directions were selected. As the main tool for training of consultants we decided to use the platform of distance learning SAP Learning Hub. As the alternative training system aimed at business users use of the SAP solution Workforce Performance Builder is begun.

Creation of the uniform service center for interaction with users which uses the solution Microsoft System Center Service Manager became other large project of last year. On its base incident management and requests for service was implemented. This year based on the same product we are going to implement change management and release.

Implementations of the tool for joint work –Microsoft Lync – we also completed in 2014. After its implementation in the company different messengers were "killed", and Lync became the standard. Last year we also started the new corporate website. The previous website worked for us about 10 years. In 2014 creation of uniform service center based on our subsidiary company which I mentioned earlier was complete.

TAdviser: And what your plans for IT projects for 2015?

Artem Golovaty: In view of the developed unstable political and economic situation and sanctions we as engineering enterprise, were focused, first of all, on the organization of sales in the conditions of falling market, decrease in cost value of our products, process optimization, etc. in IT is the accompanying function therefore in 2015 our priority – to continue and finish implementation of already begun projects, but not to freeze them, however we, most likely, will open new projects only if they are crucial for business or are connected with a new product.

TAdviser: You mentioned about sanctions. Whether in connection with them "KAMAZ" has plans for import substitution in the field of IT?

Artem Golovaty: We would like that many products were Russian since it is a national security issue. However, now the main part of software is developed not in Russia, and at once it is impossible to avoid use of all import systems.

This subject for us very relevant. We try to participate in all state and non-state projects anyway connected with development of domestic software and hardware platforms. Unfortunately, it turns out not so quickly as it would be desirable. Even Russian 1C works generally under control of import DBMS. There is, of course,PostgreSQL DBMS, but under our scales it so far not too approaches. Nevertheless, we do not exclude option of its use.

Unfortunately, the import substitution task in Russia even more often sounds as a slogan, and on this background some Russian developers lobby prohibition to us as to customers, on use of import products. I think that nothing good from this will leave. A problem of the state – to help developers to create a worthy alternative to foreign products which the customer himself will want to purchase. It should be task number one, but not bans and imposing.