Ilya Appolonov, ICL Services: The Russian market of industrial IoT for us in a priority

Ilya Appolonov: For today target segment of the IoT-market for the company is industrial Internet of Things. It is connected with the fact that this segment, in comparison with consumer, is much more transparent and it is more clear. At consumer market there is a huge number of solutions and the companies, there it is more difficult to be focused on some one direction. It is important for the company only beginning to work with IoT-projects. Besides, the marginality of projects in the field of the industrial Internet is much higher that too is of great importance.

Ilya Appolonov: Market still unripe. At the moment rather simple solutions implemented for the purpose of monitoring of the equipment, a working environment of the enterprise are characteristic of the Russian market of Internet of Things. And further it still Russian customers do not go. They do not understand, than more serious, functional solutions can help business. Besides solutions with big functionality are rather expensive systems, and the advantage of their implementation and use is not obvious to the Russian customer yet. Market size is estimated by experts at the level of 93 billion rubles according to the results of last year.

Ilya Appolonov: It is big value for non-mature market as solutions are implemented inexpensive and it means that projects is implemented quite a lot.

Ilya Appolonov: Total quantity of the players anyway participating in the Russian market of IoT and capable to offer the Russian customers products or services at the good level, about 20. Leaders from among the Russian players are Lanit, Softline for today, from foreign players Microsoft is active — they have a good solution based on Azure, but because of the developed international situation many enterprises refuse even to consider foreign products.

Ilya Appolonov: The customer has a common understanding that it is necessary to use all chance which is given to business of technology, presented at the market, widely discussed in a business community and in the press, including — possibilities of technology of Internet of Things. But yet there is no understanding in what business processes use of this new technology is reasonable. Most often the request to us sounds in the most general view: there is desire through Internet of Things to lower costs, to optimize production processes, but specific KPI which should be improved at the same time is not given. Respectively, we should explain that, for example, time of equipment downtimes can be reduced, the nezavershenki sizes and so on are reduced.

Ilya Appolonov: Yes, and as our company works with industrial enterprises more than 20 years, we have a big advantage in comparison with our competitors — we can speak with the customer one language, in terms, clear for it, to explain, where exactly we can improve his life.

Ilya Appolonov: Our vision of the customer is the industrial enterprise with an annual turnover from one billion rubles having rather large park of CNC machines. Or, other option is the enterprise at a production upgrade stage passing to the new equipment which more than for 50% is equipped with blocks of electronic control or can be retrofitted by them.

Ilya Appolonov: The group was created in July, 2016. The main objective consisted in understanding, where exactly our company will be able to work at the market in the direction of Internet of Things, it is correct to position itself in this market, to select partners with whom we will work on IoT-projects. Among others there was also a task to understand how it is possible to use IoT-solutions for the services. For example, in ICL group there is a division releasing the equipment and through IoT it is possible to monitor its use.

Ilya Appolonov: In respect of positioning in the market we understood that it is necessary to be guided by industrial enterprises with an annual turnover over one billion rubles as I already also spoke earlier. In respect of industries we decided not to limit ourselves, we are going to work with very broad spectrum. Concerning the main partners in IoT, at us is them a little: Microsoft — our old, historical partner whose solutions we use for implementations in the foreign companies and those for whom sanctions risks are not of great importance, and the solution of the Russian partners which we use for work in the Russian market.

Ilya Appolonov: Among the tasks facing group there was also a development of own competences on purpose not only sales of licenses as the reseller or rendering services of system integration, but also ensuring due service on support of the solution which we sold to the customer. For this purpose we had to begin development of technical competences in the direction of Internet of Things in our company. The status of the partner with Signum company opened for us such opportunity — development of own IoT-products. To begin to implement this opportunity in practice, we solved a problem of ensuring comfortable climate control for our internal division rendering service support in the round-the-clock mode. The project is in a pilot stage, is approved in one premises on a limited number of devices. There are no similar solutions in the market, by our estimates, yet.

Ilya Appolonov: The first — already mentioned internal IoT-project on monitoring of working conditions of division on technical support started in the pilot about half a year ago. The second project which is also at a pilot stage consisted in completion of checkout of self-service at them it was possible to sell goods on which holiday restrictions — age or temporary are imposed i.e. tobacco and alcohol. Within this project on cash desk the module of recognition of age of the buyer using algorithms of computer vision was installed.

Ilya Appolonov: Cardinally affected. Most industrial enterprises in Russia, as we know, or state, or with state participation. Respectively, when the sanctions wave rose and import substitution policy was announced, almost all this segment began to look towards the Russian solutions. It became the emergence reason in the market of a large number of the Russian players. Import substitution allowed the Russian developers to come rather easily on the enterprises with the developments, in particular on the enterprises of defense industry, increasing the competences and the rates of development.

Ilya Appolonov: On the near-term outlook there is a problem of search of customers to whom we will offer the services in the direction of Internet of Things. So far it will be mainly sale of licenses and technical support of the implemented IoT-solutions based on Winnum. Such installation is connected with the fact that demand for development of custom IoT-solutions still small is just and there is a task of more remote perspective.

Ilya Appolonov: So far for us on the first place of the solution of the Russian partners. At the same time, we are in contact with Microsoft, however we look for the best balance in terms of "functionality — cost". It is still inexpedient to enter foreign market for the company — the number of specialists for this purpose insufficiently. So the Russian market of industrial IoT for us in a priority. On it we will try to grow, and having only increased certain resources — and in the human plan, and in financial — we will look at foreign markets.