Interview of TAdviser with the chairman of the board of directors of IT group Tagir Yapparov

Tagir Yapparov: I think that I became 2016 year of completion of adaptation. For 2-3 years the market adapts to sharp changes, and actually all were rebuilt on new model. Most the companies showed normal results, began to speak about development, but the fact that the economy does not grow, is the serious factor limiting real opportunities for development.

We, for example, showed small growth within 10%, but at the same time strongly changed structure of business. Our today's positioning is focused on development of own products, on services of software development. This change of structure of income and positioning for us was the main trend which allowed to increase business volume.

There are rather optimistic forecasts that in 2017 in general national economy will grow. Now investment subjects which 2-3 years were blocked when all investment block went to manual control open. Everything that was crucial, started. Everything that could be postponed, postponed. For these years a large number of subjects and projects collected.

Tagir Yapparov: As an example, we see that the banking sector now actively discusses transformations which lead to more intensive use of technologies. At banks technology competitors began to appear, and they should invest in financial technical actively. At the same time they actively upgrade the information systems which are already available for them. Large players begin to invest more intensively in IT, the striking example is Sberbank.

Other subject is a digitalization of economy. It is not so much about informatization of the state how many about those efforts which the state uses that technologies became a basis for interaction of the companies, entered into management of the companies more deeply, and in general that the economy became digital. The state begins this subject to bring up actively that it is a market development factor which will push many participants to investment into technologies. First of all, in technology of interaction.

There is one direction which we consider very perspective for the market which yet not strongly is associated with us. These are the technologies connected with "The smart city". We consider that in the next 5-10 years all cities of Russia with the population more than 50,000 people will implement technologies of "The smart city". It is important that we have already both projects, and own technologies, and understanding as it will develop.

A story is Moscow, it is not replicated because it is the big systems which are done for big money. The average cities have no such money, it is necessary for them that everything was packed as the uniform concept at once, there was a staging and that each stage yielded result – economy or income.

[of TAdviser with the CEO of ISS company Oleg Krupenko we have own platform, strategic partners |http://www.tadviser.ru/index.php/Статья:Интервью of TAdviser with the CEO of ISS company Oleg Krupenko we have own platform], strategic partners ]]of Philips and Cisco. There is a product – an intelligent system of Unilight. Also there is an understanding as is farther to add new services to it. Our clients – the average cities of Russia.

Tagir Yapparov: In general the landscape changes. There was a domination of the western technologies and producers earlier. The main zone for the Russian producer was connected with the application software. Banking systems, ERP, EDMS – all this the applied systems. The application layer in many respects was local. There were zones where the competition was for benefit of the western producers. Large enterprises selected the western solutions in the presence of a domestic alternative. Now this trend changes.

There was an understanding that many technologies which are even not at the application layer can be developed in Russia. Two years devoted to a discussion concerning whether there are Russian producers concerning support of the Russian producers, were not in vain.

It is a lot of discussions around the system software. I consider that here everything is still more difficult though there are positive examples. Often to open source there is simulation, simple repainting. But if there are Russian companies which participate in contribution of a core, then they have full authority to position themselves as sorazrabotchik and suppliers of these technologies in the Russian market. It seems to me that for many classes of software it is one of methods of creation of national solutions at the competitive international level. But so far such examples are not enough.

Tagir Yapparov: Positive dynamics exists. I would note several trends. In technologies which just now begin to be implemented import substitution is close to domination. In mature technologies process goes more difficult because here the speech about operation of already existing big industrial systems. There piloting, testing and keen interest in real comparison of the Russian technologies with world is more.

I consider that in general process positive. It is just necessary to treat that it will take several years more quietly. A cycle from entry into the market before real business – 3-5 years.

Tagir Yapparov: This year we will begin work with the market on promotion of more clear and logical business structure. We were accurately focused on software, on posterp-technologies – ECM BPM the industrial Internet, corporate mobility Machine Learning. We see that at small absolute digits it is points of serious growth and potential the next years.

We need to make strategic positioning to more logical and interesting customers. We puzzle as to structure all this and to turn about 12 areas of work into the minimum quantity – 3-4 ideas which we will incur to the customer.

Tagir Yapparov: So to say, EBITDA grows considerably – for 29%. Profit, I think, in comparison with last years grows too, but is not so dramatic because we invest much. In connection with our plans for an entry into the Moscow Exchange with the softovy block, EBITDA is for us a key indicator for control and development. All efficiency is visible at once.

Preparation for the IPO goes actively. We created the joint working group with the Moscow Exchange where both consultants, and investment players entered, and began to discuss what are system problems. For example, the key problem at the exchange is a liquidity, presence of investors which work with actions. By consideration of similar examples in Europe, for example, we understood that existence of the pension funds as investors is crucial. Now the Central Bank released a normativka on which the pension funds will be able to invest in the companies of the second echelon Hitech of section, it is great advantage.

One of big discussions which goes in this working group now, - about formation of analytics on IT market. Profile analytical companies left Russia. And investors actually retrained, dismissed analysts in the IT directions.

Tagir Yapparov: In each direction there were large interesting projects. For example, Rosatom is very large project in the direction of mobility in terms of a scope of employees. Besides it is connected with import substitution.

Russian Post made many process projects very interesting both on scale, and by the number of users. One of them – work with claims.

In Transneft we create big corporate storage of documents and technology of work with it. The large infrastructure project is a dispatching center of JSC SO UES Branch "Regional dispatching office of the Energy System of Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Republic of Tyva" (the Krasnoyarsk RDU) which we made last year. In the banking sector the flagman project is implemented with Sberbank.

Tagir Yapparov: We have big investment plans around "The smart city", there are a lot of new solutions, technologies which we consider interesting and we want to add to the portfolio. Many new ideas arise after start of "Smart lighting" because there electricity on columns appears, and on them it is possible to develop additional infrastructure.

In the field of process tasks – ESM-blok – there too there is a lot of interesting. We continue investments into corporate mobility, into development of the product WorksPad.

Tagir Yapparov: Yes, this year we see rather high potential for negotiations with developers of products. We consider that it is senseless to develop technologies only at himself. An example of entry of IT into the capital of ISS company for us very demonstrative, we received extremely interesting product in the final. It is the system intended for management of "the comfortable environment", energy efficiency at offices of the company. It controls all parameters connected with electricity, heat, water, lighting, ventilation and so on. Sberbank uses this system in more than 500 departments now. At the solution huge potential.

Negotiations will go in different spheres: processes, corporate mobility, Internet of Things. We want to be focused on development of the current directions. Begin absolutely new direction with purchase is a difficult and risk idea. Most likely, some transactions will appear in the second half of year.