Information Systems and Strategies (ISS)

The company specializes in the development and implementation of service management information systems.

History

2020: The exit of "ATI" from among the founders

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, since March 20, 2020, the ATI group has left the list of founders of IIS LLC.

2015

Why ATI bought a stake in ISS

In the fall of 2015, it became part of the ATI Group of Companies.

The AI Group agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Information Systems and Strategies (IIS) and received an option to increase the share to a controlling one, Tagir Yapparov, chairman of the board of directors of AI, told TAdviser in October 2015.

The seller is the founder of ISS Igor Gukov (at the time of the transaction, a 24% share in IIS remained in the possession of Igor Gukov, another 51% belonged to Oleg Krupenko). The amount of the transaction, according to Yapparov, amounted to several million rubles.

As of October 2015, the company employed about 20 people, mainly developers. The plans are to increase the staff to 30 people by the end of the year.

The purpose of the transaction is to gain competencies in service management technologies.

Tagir Yapparov intends to offer customers solutions for automation of service divisions

"We work with big customers and there are niches where we don't have our own developments. One of these niches is service management. Now there are a number of projects where we are engaged in consulting and use other people's technologies to manage services, "Yapparov explained

The maturity of service processes in large companies, according to him, is not yet high. One way to improve these processes is to apply information technology.

"With ISS, we already have positive experience in implementing joint projects with large customers, within which we create a service management infrastructure. In this company, we saw technological competencies, saw benefits from the alliance, so we decided to cooperate, "Yapparov added

According to the head of iT, the topic of service management is becoming more and more popular.

"Now there is a trend of centralization on the market - it is implemented both at the level of ERP, billing, banking systems, ECM technologies, and at the level of service tasks. Service management is a completely unexpected opportunity to improve efficiency. Reducing staff by improving the efficiency of services leads to significant savings, "he

As examples of the centralization of services, Yapparov cites the allocation by Sberbank and Rosneft of service subsidiaries - Sberbank Service and RN-Inform. Process service companies, he said, have a large number of employees, a complex management model: "It can be simplified and automated."

"If earlier ITSM was aimed at managing IT services, now it became clear that it is easy to transfer it to a non-IT service. Production control, for example. There are many industries that are, in fact, services. ISS solutions are focused on quickly configuring systems for a specific non-standard, non-IT service, "he explains

For example, together with ISS "iT" participates in the competition of Sberbank in the direction of creating systems for managing services of engineering systems and power supply of its branches^[1].

Why ISS sold the share of "ATI"

IIS was created in 2002 by Igor Gukov, who had previously worked at the Central Bank Russia and at 50 Central Research Institute. AEROSPACE FORCES Ministry of Defence He heads the company, Oleg Krupenko ex-head of the department for the development of software systems of the Central Bank. Until 1998, he, like Gukov, worked at 50 Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense, where he headed the system-wide laboratory. software The laboratory was engaged in the development of control systems for the orbital grouping of the military space forces, told TAdviser Krupenko.

Oleg Krupenko, after dismissal from the Central Bank, headed the ISS and became its controlling co-owner

From the moment of creation of the company until 2013, the main client of ISS was the Central Bank.

"This is a unique customer focused on the use of advanced technologies, and working with him made it possible not only to finance the company, but also to accumulate unique competencies of specialists, to lay the foundations for creating replicated solutions," says Krupenko.

The negative side of working with the Central Bank for small companies, according to him, is the emergence of dependence on one strong customer: "All these years, ISS did not need to expand the client base, the company's resources were completely disposed of by the projects of one customer."

Having resigned from the Central Bank and received Gukov's offer to head the ISS, Krupenko set the condition that he would accept the offer only if he gained control over the company: "If I run a business, I should have the right to make key decisions. Given the high level of basic trust between us, Igor accepted this condition. "

"Igor's motivation to cede control was to understand that this is necessary for the development of the company, and without this it will be impossible to survive in a crisis. Despite the fact that the company has existed on the market for more than 10 years, there was no expansion of its client base and project portfolio. Existing projects make it possible to finance the company's activities, but no more. We absolutely understand each other's strengths and weaknesses and are convinced that together we will do much more than one by one, "says Krupenko

Despite the fact that ISS has existed on the market for more than 10 years, there has been no expansion of its client base and portfolio of projects, Krupenko admits: "The existing projects make it possible to finance the company's activities, but no more."

"My arrival in the company is related to the need to develop and implement the company's development strategy. The alliance with "ATI is one of the first steps in this direction," he adds. "The second step is the creation of domestic products that implement the concept of service management."

But to sell their solutions, you need a network, and this is investment and time, explains Krupenko: "Our interaction with iT allows you to use the ready-made sales network. We get the opportunity to work with customers who understand that we are part of a large group of companies "iT." We have the opportunity to concentrate on creating replicated services and products, and iT can offer its customers who trust it to automate their activities, new approaches and solutions to increase the efficiency of operating activities and improve the quality of the services provided. "

Product strategy

"Our strategy is to build products from scratch. We use ready-made technologies as a foundation, "says Oleg Krupenko. - Quickly create something of your own will not work. Therefore, we take system cores, negotiate with vendors and add what can be quickly and easily applied to specific customers. "

Historically, according to the general director of ISS, the company is a partner of Western developers offering their solutions in the field of service management and monitoring, as well as IT infrastructure management.

"Our long-time partner is BMC, we participated in localizing their solution on the Russian market, worked out the concept of creating a distributed solution on this platform. Another of our partners is ServiceNow, which offers cloud software for managing services, "he says

ISS, according to Krupenko, is negotiating with vendors that the cost of OEM licenses in final solutions of a Russian company does not exceed 30%: "In this case, our solutions may fall under the concept of" domestic software. "

"This approach will be valid for the period until we create our own platform," says ISS CEO.

In the strategic perspective, ISS intends to fully develop its software. "But first you need to decide on the standards for the country in the field of basic technologies - software and hardware," explains Krupenko. "When there is certainty, it will be easier for us to decide on the creation of our own products that will be integrated with basic technologies."

Tagir Yapparov adds that the company is interested in negotiating with vendors about the joint development of the platform: "This is an order of magnitude more difficult than a simple OEM scheme."

of course fantasize and one of the fantasies will be that everything can be done from scratch. But it will lead to disappointment, "Yapparov said

Even a good Western solution, he said, requires adaptation on the Russian market - from localization to the creation of special modules that take into account legislation. "Some of the finds that are being implemented here then turn out to be interesting for manufacturers," he says.

Clients

In addition to the Central Bank, ISS customers, according to Oleg Krupenko, are Kaspersky Lab: "We help the company create a Service Desk (a support line around the world). This project taught us to work in conditions of tough requirements and magpies. Now we are engaged in the maintenance and development of the system. "

Among other clients, Krupenko singles out X5 Retail Group.

2014: Financial position

In 2014, ISS reduced revenue by 6 times (from 440 million rubles to 71 million) and became unprofitable. Net loss for the year amounted to 39.6 million rubles against a profit of 38 million rubles a year earlier.

IIS losses in 2014 were formed due to exchange rate differences, explains Oleg Krupenko: "The company provides support services for software from foreign manufacturers. In such projects, there is a practice of paying for the services of the "vendor" forward. We pay them, and the customer returns to us within a year quarterly. Therefore, the money we paid hangs like a loss. "

The forecast for the current financial year indicates the stable state of the company, he adds.

Notes