Andrey Geshel: The outsourcer reacts guaranteed quicker

TAdviser: Andrey, what problems at the interoperability layer of business and IT arise most often in the course of rendering outsourcing services to the customer? How do you solve them?

Andrey Geshel: Business is interested in IT only when there is some problem. Unfortunately, in most cases relationship of IT and business are built quite so. When IT infrastructure works as the Swiss watch, the company does not think of an investment of money in training of specialists, upgrade, purchase of the new equipment. We understand that such idyll can exist only for the time being – everything has the life. Often before IT service put very tough terms for solving of tasks. For example, on start of new service can take away week – the arising awful haste in practice pours out in numerous errors.

The rupture of business and IT is and there is the most important problem. We always try to explain neighboring risks to customers. Figuratively speaking we can reach from Kaluga to Moscow in a couple of hours, but fairly we say that there is a probability to collect penalties for speeding or to have an accident.

TAdviser: Tell, please, what services provides Jet Infosystems on the direction of IT outsourcing?

Andrey Geshel: We render an extensive range of services: from monitoring of infrastructure as such, i.e. basic electric power supply systems, conditioning is higher and higher also further level, up to the application software. We also offer services of administration of all IT complex entirely, including the application software, databases, virtual machines, a network part and so on.

We have customers who completely gave us to outsourcing the computing infrastructure: in such companies any regular technical specialist does not work – as a rule, there is only a service of software development and, in certain cases, the administrator of software.

TAdviser: What of these services are in the greatest demand for customers?

Andrey Geshel: The most popular service – IT administration about which we already told above. On the second place I would deliver IT monitoring. Demand for it steadily high as to purchase software for monitoring of IT infrastructure (by the way, not always cheap) insufficiently: its competent setup is required that it is often difficult to make to the customer's specialists. Very often address us in order that we developed "health model" for such monitoring system. So revealed such set of parameters by which at once it is possible to determine, there is an infrastructure problem or not.

TAdviser: What sort of the company are the main users of outsourcing services and who now your biggest customers?

Andrey Geshel: The greatest number of outsourcing customers among representatives of retail, a telecom and banking sector. The largest of them – M.Video, VimpelCom and Leto Bank. In these industries traditional and long-term demand for the IT outsourcing connected as with opportunities of the companies for acquisition of similar services, and with specifics of their business is observed. There are, on the contrary, such industries where customers prefer to solve all IT tasks of "in home".

As for the scale of business of customers, here a binding to demand for IT and outsourcing services is not present any. We have clients at whom the number of employees does not exceed thousands of people, and there are companies in which thousands and tens of thousands of specialists in the whole country work. So essentially outsourcing services are demanded as on average, and in large business. Jet Infosystems it is focused on providing services both for averages, and for big customers: we appropriately build all model of rendering services, since the equipment and finishing with 'mechanics'.

TAdviser: Tell, please, in more detail what your cooperation with the companies which you mentioned above consists in.

Andrey Geshel: In M.Video company we service that part of information infrastructure which is above network and also a number of applied modules. At Summer of Bank outsourcing services cover level up to applied software though partially and this area we mention within the supplementary agreement concerning the solution of elementary questions. In VimpelCom our services are integrated to internal IT services of the company by the principle of "puff pie": for example, we are responsible for server premises, but we are not responsible for network, we monitor work of a server part, but we do not mention operability of the database.

IT outsourcing of subjects is also good that it allows to implement flexible approach in each case, to closely integrate external and internal IT services among themselves. However, problems can arise also on a joint of such services. If the customer has several service providers, then there can be a question in whose exactly to the sphere of responsibility there was an incident. But the serious companies which treats Jet Infosystems, prefer to solve at first the customer's problems, i.e. to recover operability of IT infrastructure as "ambulance", and already then to understand where specifically there was that "the thin place" and who is responsible for it.

TAdviser: As usual is calculated whether process hop on outsourcing will bring to the customer benefit or nevertheless it is more reasonable to it to provide this process with own forces?

It is a rhetorical question. The fact that outsourcing is cheaper than keeping of own staff of IT specialists – the widespread myth. Not always it so: in most cases expenses are comparable, or transfer of service of IT infrastructure on outsourcing to service provider is even more expensive. However, always at assessment of a pecuniary benefit the problem is solved differently. If to take only directly a part of expenses on IT, it is possible to receive one result. If to consider, for example, such expenses unevident at first sight as charges of service HR which should recruit staff of IT specialists of the company, other hidden costs, put all risks, including in case of failures and idle times, then it is possible to find out that the autorsing after all is more economic.

I will give a simple example: small failure in operability of IT infrastructure. With guarantee the outsourcer will react to such incident much quicker as it accurately registers SLA, and the customer has a uniform point of entry, a single window where it is possible to address immediately in case of any problem. Internal service IT can spend more time for clarification of circumstances and delegation, and these are already additional risks for business. It is rather difficult to measure them. Besides, in case of critical failure and need to find guilty persons (for example, to dismiss several employees) the company gets to the vicious circle connected with need to employ and train new specialists for their place. "Punish" the outsourcer rather easily – according to terms of the contract. So the question of what as a result is cheaper remains open.

TAdviser: We partially discussed financial aspect of IT outsourcing. And what it is possible to tell about technical competence of service provider?

Andrey Geshel: The service provider has unambiguously more experience, than internal IT service so he can just prevent many incidents owing to the higher competence. Even if, for example, the internal IT service consists of 10 people and exactly the service provider as much selects for work with the specific customer, these digits are not comparable. Behind the last anyway there is a big service outsourcing organization which competence it is always possible to request in the necessary cases. For example, I have powers within the company to involve in case of need any direction specialists of the narrowest profile at any moment to help the customer. It is just impossible to contain such big command on different profiles in an inside staff, and increasing knowledge of the available employees and their training cost rather much.

TAdviser: The service center "Jet Infosystems" works at the market of IT services and outsourcing more than 20 years. How, on your observations, did demand for services of IT outsourcing throughout this time develop and change?

Andrey Geshel: Generally speaking, we are engaged in service from first years of the existence. The company was formed in 1991, and already in the 1993rd earned our Service center. We began with service of RISC/UNIX, systems. "First signs" of outsourcing appeared later, only about 10 years ago. But then the term "outsourcing", at least in such wide address was not even used. In the first such projects at first it was talked of selection of the specialist in support of the customer, then – a duty shift to render services in the round-the-clock mode. Then the companies had a need not only for elimination of incidents, but also for administration services which allow to prevent failures. Gradually customers ripened also for outsourcing of administration of the software. All this process, of course, took several years.

We adopted the concept of outsourcing in the West at the beginning of the 2000th, and the first such project was implemented by us in the 2005th year for "Loyalty Partners the East" (management company of the loyalty program MALINA). It was our first very large contract, and long-term – the prisoner for several years at once. MALINA then acted as the pioneer, having completely refused own service IT. For those years it was very courageous step. In the Russian market then dvetr the large IT companies were engaged in full IT outsourcing all, including us.

Mass demand for services of service providers in IT was created 4‒5 years later. There are such clients who gave us IT infrastructure to outsourcing on small section, gradually increasing the volume of the consumed services. It is quite typical model in the Russian realities.

TAdviser: How does the developed crisis situation in economy affect demand and requirements of customers to outsourcing services? Whether you observed similar trends and in the previous crisis?

Andrey Geshel: Crisis is always a two-edged sword. On the one hand, the companies include a regime of economy, try to cope with tasks to the maximum. Partly it is correct. But the main thing here ‒ not to cross line, to save common sense as it is possible to receive such damage from actions of incompetent employees that it will exceed saved. Losses can be enormous: as stated, greed occasionally brings to poverty.

Therefore (and it is the reverse of the medal) crisis contribute to the development, optimization, search of more effective schemes and mechanisms of service of IT infrastructure, establishment of the necessary balance between the cost of IT services and their quality and reliability. It is just the positive moment. Besides, the IT and outsourcing partner is more reliable than own staff which can begin to leave in large quantities if the employer is not ready to raise them salary, and in crisis it, as a rule, absolutely is not ready to it.

TAdviser: How your Service center is arranged? How many people in it work now and what sort specialists make the bulk of staff of the center?

Andrey Geshel: The number of staff of the center is about 400 people. Among them there are two round-the-clock groups: engineers of the direction of support and service of monitoring which monitors the systems of the customer. There is also dispatching service which accepts requests, properly they are made out, finds the contractor and starts process in work.

Besides, as a part of the center the engineering department which basic function – fast elimination of accidents works. There is also a division of outsourcing where the administrators of systems working on prevention of undesirable incidents enter. There are divisions which are responsible for service of databases, they are divided into administrators and "servisnik" too: some should eliminate quickly accident, and the second – to make everything that not to allow it.

There is own service of logistics: it is created quickly to deliver the necessary components to the territory where the engineer goes. As a part of the center also preseyla, i.e. managers under the authority of whom – commercial offers and contractual process, services promotion managers work. There is a division service-mendzherov, responsible for the specific customer.

For some big customers we selected separate employee groups: for example, Leto Bank service 100 people, VimpelCom – 30. Part of them work at our party, a part – directly at customers. We have territorial subdivisions in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok which problem – quickly to cope with regional incidents.

TAdviser: Whether there is it that in the Service center there are not enough personnel under specific objectives? What do you in such cases do?

Andrey Geshel: Happens. We try to place priorities competently, but loading can raise considerably and sharply, for example, under the end of the year. Then difficult human resources management begins. Will cope with such situations our competent investments into employees and the system of mentoring admitted to the companies allow. Naturally, the young specialist with the higher education who does not have practice is in great need in it, and colleagues actively share experience with it. Actually expert level of the senior colleagues such is that they can easily prepare the beginner for passing an examination without any additional rates.

We also actively encourage cross-examination development when the specialist not only is focused, say, on Oracle or Microsoft, but gains knowledge and of adjacent products. Develops not only vertically, but also it is horizontal. Using such universal employees it is possible to solve a problem where it would be required a little "narrowly ground" specialists. So we move on the way of increase in employee performance.

TAdviser: In what, in your opinion, the main difficulties consist during the work in a multisorsingovy command and how to overcome them?

Andrey Geshel: It is just that case when duties between an internal and external IT command are distributed by the principle of "puff pie". Here it is necessary that all outsourcers who anyway work for the customer adhered to identical approach – that there were no disputes on an area of responsibility. Conflicts of interest are inevitable, but service providers are obliged to solve at first the customer's problems, and then already to understand among themselves.

Often we cooperate with our competitors to help the customer – for example, within architectural committees which gather all service teams for the solution of a complex problem. It is an effective technique for overcoming critical situations, such meetings take place rather regularly.

Another story – acceptance on service of systems which were designed and implemented not by us. It is much simpler to operate what is made with own hands, but in life so happens not always. In such cases we carry out very careful inspection at delivery of systems in operation regarding whether everything is made correctly and correctly. Also system "crash tests" prior to its operation are of great importance. Moreover, already in use we compulsorily test systems with regularity quarterly or half-year.