Interview with the chairman of the board of directors of SearchInform Group Lev Matveev

Lev Matveev: Our company since 1995 was engaged in search among unstructured data, and since 2006 proposes complete solutions in a segment of DLP (Data Leak Prevention). DLP systems are focused on large corporations and differ in rather high cost. In the Circuit of information security of SearchInform there was already a module of control of working time. We decided to select it in a separate product which will be available not only to large corporations, but also representatives of small and medium business.

WorkTime Monitor is mainly focused on the companies with the number of computers from 20 to 50 though among clients there are organizations with quantity from 100 to several thousand PCs already now.

At the same time I would tell that not so many qualitative solutions are presented at the market. There is a large number of the developments having insufficient potential without the guaranteed support and development.

Lev Matveev: The solutions presented at the market strongly differ from each other. Comparing many of them to our development, I would tell that they considerably lag behind. For example, at the moment practically nobody offers a sheaf opportunities:

• the automatic analysis and notifications about violations;
• calculation of usage time of programs and the websites to within a second;
• application partitioning on "productive" and "unproductive" for employees, different specialization;
• flexible configurations of access rights, notifications;
• demonstration of online activity on employees: are present/are absent in a workplace;
• the analysis of the installed equipment and programs;
• function of online viewing PC screen of the employee;
• possibility of transition to a full-fledged DLP system (transition to KIB SearchInform without data loss, collected WTM).

Subject of separate pride – technical support of WorkTime Monitor. We practice "human support" already for the test stage. I.e. the manager of implementation who will help with installation and settings is assigned to each client, online training in time, convenient for the client, will spend and will answer questions in time not later than in a day.

The client together with the program gets all experience of our managers who faced a set of uncommon problems and can propose the ready-made solution which fulfilled in the organization, similar in a field of activity.

Lev Matveev: I consider, the market of monitoring systems of working time in Russia is not created today yet. Yes, crisis provoked activity of clients, having shown that increase in employee performance is a need, but not a whim. But this understanding in many companies only arises.

At the same time in terms of a potentiality of use, a control system of time are useful practically on each computer in each company – and these are tens of millions of stations.

As heads and owners of business appreciate more and more assets – and in the current economic conditions it occurs promptly – control systems of working time will show demand growth.

Emergence of sensible solutions also expands the market in tens of times – just as profitable and convenient air flights increase popularity of rest in the remote countries. Considering the current situation, I think, the market will strongly grow by 2018.

Lev Matveev: The functionality of monitoring systems of working time strongly differs therefore also assessment techniques considerably differ. I will give examples: some solutions of competitors trace and consider operating time of the employee at the computer. At the same time do not separate the program into useful and unproductive, do not allow to configure differently "productivity" of programs for accounting, sales and, for example, programmers. Same absolutely different employees, with different tasks, used by resources and applications.

But the main thing – in them is not present analytics and the automated notifications about violations. It turns out, at a large number of employees, it is necessary to employ the whole staff of specialists for an otsmotr of screens. WorkTime Monitor is implemented taking into account these tasks and allows to analyze by forces of one employee data on hundreds of workstations.

WorkTime Monitor traces when and what application was started by the user, checks whether really in it work is conducted, or the employee just left on a smoke break. There is a system of determination of "usefulness" of applications on the basis of which the program notifies on violations of labor discipline. For example, if the worker spends too much time on the entertaining websites or plays at work. The administrator can set settings or use the preset groupings.

In a system it is possible to estimate efficiency of the specialist by means of analytical reports. They reflect duration of the working day for the PC, time of active work, efficiency of employees, delay, a downtime and so on. For example, the head can monitor accomplishment of this or that indicator of work: calls of the sales-manager or call center agent, work of the manager of technical support with requests and other.

If the employer needs details on actions of the unfair employee, modules for creation of screenshots and listening of a talk are a part of WorkTime Monitor. A system intercepts this clicking of keys and also information copied in a clipboard.

Lev Matveev: WorkTime Monitor entered the market in February of last year, during this time a system was purchased by 526 companies. Clients periodically tell us about results of work: in particular, one company a system helped to find "not net on a hand" the sales manager.

Began with the fact that the system administrator noted high activity in Photoshop. There was a reasonable question: why to Photoshop sale? When checking it turned out that it "set" the seal of competitors to counterfeit commercial offers with intentionally cut price. Represented them to the administration and required a discount, "differently the client will leave to competitors". Previously with the client made a reservation that a part of a discount will return to the manager in the form of rollback. As a result the company left the unfair manager and ceased to lose money.

Other example – the accountant of one of clients spent on the website Webmoney.ru suspiciously much time. It appeared, she plays on currency rates, at the same time operates with the amounts of tens of thousands of dollars. At its earnings of this money in free access at the employee could not be just, the head suspected use of corporate accounts. The customer made the decision to leave the unreliable specialist.

Some clients after the analysis of working time of employees begin to think of implementation of training systems in the company. WorkTime Monitor helps to understand not only how many people worked, but also shows, you deal with the idler or the person needs advanced training.

Lev Matveev: Results in the field of security are, certainly, useful, but additional effect. The basic, of course is a discipline. WorkTime Monitor allows to reveal real loading of employees, to learn what staff of department really works and what come to office to drink to tea and to play tanks.

You know, "the laziness virus" is very dangerous. The employee who has a rest all the time decomposes collective. All others, sooner or later, begin to think: "And than I am worse?" and labor productivity decreases at all department. In need of reductions – it is at all the irreplaceable tool as allows to find really weak link and not to dismiss the fair employee instead of the idler.

Here it is important to note that the client can try free of charge a product for 21 days. At the same time our specialists help with installation and settings, provide full training, as a result a lot of things can be learned about the employees even before purchase of licenses and to understand what benefit will be brought to the company by such system.

Lev Matveev: If to speak about experience of sales of the 2015th year, then to the leading positions there are a retail, services, construction and production and also banks. However we consciously did not advance WorkTime Monitor among the large companies though crisis already created demand for this solution from large players.

As for employees, control systems need to be put on computers of all personnel without exception. No matter, whether a lot of the person receives money and what position at it – it is necessary to monitor that "third-party activities" did not go beyond edges admissible, to increase discipline of work.

Besides tracking of activity is necessary for preserving of reputation of the company: the shocking records and photos of employees in social networks connected with workflow, negative reviews which then are replicated in media – it occurs even more often and, as a rule, posts leave in working time.

Still an argument for benefit of control of working time – redistribution of load of employees: the head can analyze whom to finish loading work and from which of workers to remove some duties.

Lev Matveev: There is no integration with third-party products because SearchInform itself offers all necessary tools for protection against leaks. We in a sense created WorkTime Monitor to grow up to ourselves clients on more end-to-end system of DLP.

Interest from the companies using WorkTime Monitor in implementation of DLP is at the moment already visible. Some see need at once, other companies need to grow at first to the sizes at 70-80 of computers. By our estimates, the expected transition to DLP technologies from a monitoring system of working time will make about 20%.