Interview of TAdviser with the board member of Galaktika corporation Sergey Petrov

Sergey Petrov: The actions of the government in the field of import substitution directed to support of the Russian software makers have a serious impact on the market of ERP today. These measures "open the road" for the Russian IT companies which for many years were in a shadow of the western suppliers.

Modern approach of customers to the solution of business challenges has significant effect on development of ERP solutions as class. Priorities of customers change towards planning, forecasting and accounting of accumulated information for acceptance of management decisions. Respectively, demand for ERP systems which can solve these problems grows.

Customers began to ask even more often a question of what to do with information which is already accumulated in their ERP systems. For this reason they make to ERP systems the demand connected with their capability to self-training and adaptation under the arising business tasks. Besides, within holding structures there is a need for supporting different organizational and structural changes. So from a modern ERP system customers wait not only automation of planned accounting functions, but also an opportunity to accompany all these changes for the centralized information analysis and forecasting of activity on the basis of this analytics.

If to speak about factors which drag the market back then it is possible to carry to them that many large companies use the western ERP systems which did not pay back investments made in them yet. It creates some kind of investment "tail" interfering ERP market development.

Sergey Petrov: If to speak about private business, then the western and Russian solutions are distributed almost equally — 50 on 50. A part of the companies initially registered use of exclusively foreign solutions in the IT politicians. In holding structures this ratio can be a miscellaneous.

In created long ago (within 10 years) state corporations software, and here in "young" state companies (Roskosmos) a share of the Russian software including from among ERP solutions, already significantly higher is used mainly western.

In a public sector at the level of DBMS the western suppliers dominate. If to speak about higher level, then it is a little ERP implementations. It is connected, first of all, with the widely adopted concept of the electronic government which assumed the solution of specific objectives of specific departments. So for each department both on regional, and at the federal level the systems for solving of tasks are created.

Sergey Petrov: In 2014 process on import substitution was started. Quite long time customers and the IT companies were in "standby mode". When the government began to take the first steps on real support of the Russian producers, the companies began to study domestic solutions, to analyze their opportunities. Since 2016 such initiative is shown by the large companies including state corporations.

Make the solution on replacement of the western software which is used already it is the serious question connected with already enclosed investments. And in order that this solution was weighed, many companies for assessment of opportunities of the Russian developments develop the whole technical laboratories. The analysis of the solution is carried out to them on real business challenges during a long interval of time. Times when for the offer of the developments to IT suppliers there was enough presentation, remained in the past.

Today many large corporations see examination of Galaktika and a possibility of our developments in many difficult directions: finance, repair, transport, HR, production and so on. And, respectively, address for demonstration of these opportunities. And how many real contracts will turn out as a result — will show time.

Sergey Petrov: Often the companies began to face that already implemented ERP solutions do not meet today's requirements, and opportunities for their development simply are absent. With respect thereto today such customers are forced to start more likely small projects for the solution of specific functional objectives. At the same time terms on implementation of these projects, as a rule, short. On average their implementation takes from 3 to 8 months.

Sergey Petrov: I will give several examples connected with implementation of ERP systems in the Russian companies.

The Galaktika corporation created a common information space based on "Galaktika ERP" for one of the largest enterprises of the Russian defense industry complex — JSC Radiozavod. Based on the ERP system in the organization online support of management of material and financial resources, and personnel is adjusted, settlement under agreements with suppliers and buyers is conducted, the job order cost accounting is implemented, the transparent structure of budgeting is constructed. About 300 users worked at the initial stage of the project. Quite recently JSC Radiozavod together with Galaktika corporation implemented the exclusive project on process automation of production management in workplaces. Also Galaktika is in the long term going to expand the Enterprise resource planning functions to the MES-functions and the WMS systems.

The Galaktika corporation performed one more large project on implementation of ERP in JSC Altayvagon. The customer is the only thing beyond the Urals and one of the largest plants in Russia on production of the railway freight rolling stock. Production capacities of the plant allow to make up to 9000 freight cars, and to repair and upgrade – till 1200 a year. The implementation project of the integrated management system "Galaktika ERP" at the enterprise started a few years ago. Within the first stages of the project the main business processes were automated: accounting, personnel management and payroll, management of finance and logistics (supply, sale, inventory accounting, contract management). Further the enterprise needed to increase production efficiency, to reduce costs and to accelerate turnover of means. And the management of JSC Altayvagon made the decision to create a single system of enterprise management and its branches with focus on the most labor-consuming problems of planning and production management. Implementation of such systems now rather unusual occurrence on industrial enterprises of Russia. It is connected with big labor costs on upgrade of the settled production processes and usual standards. And this task also managed to be implemented based on the solution "Galaktika ERP". Now in the ERP system more than 1,500 employees from three branches of the enterprise work.

The third, but not the last example — the project on automation of a management system for material resources based on the Galaktika ERP system in JSC TogliattiAzot (ToAZ). ToAZ — one of the largest enterprises of chemical industry of Russia entering into the three of the main producers of ammonia in the country and in ten world leaders. Capacities ToAZ allow to provide about 20% of demand in the Russian market and 11% of volume of world export of ammonia. Today in the Galaktika ERP system ToAZ several thousands of users are registered.

Sergey Petrov: The most important advantage of the ERP system of Galaktika corporation — the uniform version of a functional core and also use of the best industry the practician when forming the solution and hundreds of thousands of options of the business processes and scenarios which are saved up in 20 years.

The cost of ownership (TSO) of "Galaktika ERP" in the market of ERP is effective within all lifecycle of operation. Our licenses have lower cost in comparison with the western suppliers as saved up for more than 20 summer period of practice of corporation are stored in the single database from where they can be received at any time on demand.

Besides, thanks to support of a uniform core the Galaktika corporation bears the centralized responsibility for the developments and also provides maintenance of necessary changes in a case of emergence of business requests on complete lifecycle of operation.

"Galaktika ERP" has the confirmed high-speed performance of a system, and it is especially relevant for many companies. It is important that in addition to automation of fixed accounting functions, "Galaktika ERP" provides to owners of business real control over all processes. So our solution is ready to development under specific objectives of the customer. For example, we enter up to 5000 requests of business a year through practice of support of our systems.

Sergey Petrov: We develop new modules under requests of specific customers or the whole industries. For the last year we developed modules on industrial security, risk management, the module "mobile solution". All these solutions are implemented on a uniform core.

Sergey Petrov: The Galaktika corporation aims to consider current trends and requests of customers in the plans for development of systems. If to speak about the specific directions, then we develop separate cloud solutions, processing of "big" data, preparation of analytics on their basis. We also look Internet of Things so popular today aside. For our systems the opportunity for work with sensors is relevant for reading of information, for example. Still we focused on openness to integration into other platforms today. It allows to adapt in the shortest possible time our standard developments to customers needs.

Sergey Petrov: Most often customers pay attention to several components.

First, the uniform core with wide functionality is important for them. It is more convenient to them to cut functions, excessive for them, than to develop new modules under specialized tasks.

Secondly, presence at the developer of the methodology based on the best industry practices is important for many large enterprises. Further it removes the majority of questions at support of the solution.

Thirdly, today many companies have wide communication channels and even own DPCs. And they have a need for one-time processing of a huge number of data in the shortest possible time, preparation of difficult reports and simultaneous connection of a large number of users. And the questions connected with reliability and high-speed performance of solutions are important for such companies.

Fourthly, the involvement of IT services of customers into the solution of business challenges grows from year to year therefore often when implementing some large-scale projects they create internal Competence Centers. And, of course, it is important for them that this knowledge remained in the company and was used. With respect thereto one more criterion to which pay attention today — a possibility of support of the solution by forces of internal IT services of the customer.

Also I want to note that the solution "Galaktika ERP" meets all these requirements. We have the unique system including more than 100 modules, wide practical experience of project implementation in the large companies not only in Russia but also in the market of the CIS.

Sergey Petrov: Ideal ERP system should answer expectations of the customer as regards the optimal cost of ownership with it during all lifecycle (TSO) today. And also should have opportunities for development of management decisions based on data which are processed in this system. We face in work that many companies and users stopped on the truncated planning processes. Whereas an ideal ERP system can give them opportunities for full automation of business processes — from operational functions before function of information analysis and forecasting of further scenarios of business development.

For the customer important that any, changes in work necessary for business, not only collected in the ERP system, but also were used in practice. Therefore an ideal system has mobility factors, has the distributed support and opportunities for fast expansion of functionality, and internal forces of the customer.