Nikita Kardashin, Naumen: We move on the way of complex automation, replacing people where they are not necessary

Nikita Kardashin: The Artificial Intelligence (AI) found application practically after all spheres: medicine, industry, financial sector. In commerce use of AI allows the companies to strengthen the positions in customer service and sales. Heads have an opportunity to make more weighed decisions on the basis of the analysis of indicators of the company and market situation. And even the public sector is not an exception: process automation, electronic online consultants for public services, processing and the analysis of Big Data, decision making support systems – all this is survey result in the field of artificial intelligence. Teach to understand the machine the person and the world around and to make decisions, based on this knowledge – it will allow us to solve problems and to reach new heights.

As well as any transformational technology, artificial intelligence bears in themselves not only an opportunity, but also the mass of open questions which should be solved to avoid difficulties at its use. However digital transformation of the companies is inevitable. Digital conversions – one of factors of economic growth. That to the state in general, in my opinion, Russia has very good chances to become one of "digital locomotives" thanks to excellent scientific base and in general rapid development of information technologies. Whether it will turn out to use this opportunity? Time will tell.

Nikita Kardashin: The eighteenth year the company Naumen in general and Department of IT automation systems and processes of service in particular implements projects for the benefit of the largest companies of Russia, structuring, optimizing and automating processes information and technology, production and business divisions. However, not always the required effect can be reached using classical approaches to the organization of processes – constructions of information systems, applications of methodologies ITIL and BPM , etc. We constantly see a request from our clients for more and more deep automation, transition to the systems not only creating process, but also helping employees, and even replacing them.

Initially we provided to customers the tool for the organization of processes, then – helped to organize and optimize them. Now we move automating processes in a complex, replacing people where they are not necessary, and giving them instruments of the help and support where they are necessary. Thereby we promote digital transformation of the enterprises and we release their financial and human resources for the solution of really important tasks. Thus, creation of Competence center on intellectual automation became a logical, consecutive step of our long-term business strategy.

The main objective of the Center – search of points of use of tools of digital transformation (artificial intelligence, the analysis of "Big Data", communicative and multiagentny technologies) in creation of business processes, infrastructure management (both information and technology, and production) and automation of activity of service and production divisions. In recent years a lot of "hype" exists around these technologies, not always reasonable and causing quite reasonable suspicions. Our task – to find "the plateau of productivity" for them in our data domain, and to pass from project solutions to a product format (as far as it is possible – everything that is connected with Data Science always will remain to a few Science). Naumen Service Management Intelligent Automation and also our system of umbrella intellectual monitoring – Naumen Business Services Monitoring became "first signs" of product approach.

Nikita Kardashin: Before the automation system of business processes, in particular service processes, offered, first of all, the platform for convenient, controlled and productive interaction of all participants of process – applicants, operators, engineers, heads, etc. Actually automation – literally this word – of course, was applied, but is not comprehensive and was not a main objective of such projects.

The solutions Naumen SMIA expand this approach, reducing load of each of participants of process through automation of routine transactions and providing support in decision-making. It allows to reduce considerably load of personnel (and, therefore, to redirect the released resources to other bed), to reduce risk of the errors caused by "a human factor" and to increase efficiency of all process.

The ideology of SMIA covers all way of a request to service division, beginning from receipt in a system (using the dialogue channel, an intellectual search line or the voice robot), accompanying on all processing stages (classification, prioritizing, routing, permission, end), and finishing with the post-analysis of the closed requests and search of "bottlenecks" in processes and also providing dashboards to owners of processes.

Over time also the exception of certain links is possible (for example, operators of the first line) completely, practically all their duties can be transferred to "robot".

Nikita Kardashin: Technologies of similar level exist at many companies, but on our party - extensive project experience in the field of creation of processes of service. Digital transformation, from my point of view, is alloy of technologies and competences – deep examination in data domain and impressive technical base.

In my opinion, at present there are no products of the Russian vendors competing with Naumen Service Management Platform and Service Management Intelligent Automation. We passed with some of the first in the country from a research of opportunities of technologies to use them in practice.

As for the western solutions, certainly, there this subject is considerably more developed. Such companies as SerivceNow, BMC, CA Technologies see high potential in AI and stake on it in the solutions. Projects in the field of digital transformation in the West in general are more widespread and large-scale, than in Russia, and we have an excellent opportunity to be guided by the best among the best - leaders of the world market.

Nikita Kardashin: The labor input of projects always depends on assigned tasks. In general, everything depends on base – the bigger maturity in processes and use of technologies was reached by the company, the it will be simpler to apply it Naumen Service Management Intelligent Automation.

Artificial intelligence technologies – "an iceberg top", completion of long-term deep work on structuring, the organization and process optimization. SMIA is not "a silver bullet" which will allow to pass this way and to pass, conditionally, from registration of requests into Excel to full automation, passing all previous steps and necessary basis. We are ready to pass together with the company of the customer this way from beginning to end and as vendor of the software, and as a konsalter – gradually increasing the level of a maturity of processes of the customer for achievement, finally, of effective objectives. Per aspera ad astra, differently does not happen what would not be promised by technology startups.

Digital transformation delivered before the companies and the new, earlier not resolved issues, such as ownership of data, storage of their large volumes, legal aspects of use of data, etc. We are ready to help to understand also it, applying Data Governance methodologies. It is terrible to take, as usual, the first step, and farther it becomes much simpler. This way is feasible any company, and the result is worth of the spent efforts.

Nikita Kardashin: We are ready to implement projects with the broad range – from solutions for small and medium business (within SaaS- service ITSM365 or inHouse-solutions) to large projects for Enterprise-customers. Price policy is flexible and depends on assigned tasks, terms of the project and the customer's maturity – as, however, and in our "classical" projects.

Nikita Kardashin: At present we work technology in different projects, including projects for the benefit of the largest companies of Russia. The project of our company for the benefit of FGUP Russian Post where thanks to use of intellectual technologies it was succeeded to achieve, in addition, automation of registration and preprocessing (classification and routing) of 80% of requests of users was one of "signal" projects from which the idea of SMIA as a product grew.

Also in one of projects in the field of forecasting of failures in IT infrastructure (intellectual monitoring) we managed to achieve prediction up to 30% of incidents in one hour that is able to afford to reduce the number of interruptions of rendering IT services by a third.

In my opinion, we did not achieve "ceiling" results yet, and they, certainly, will exceed the "digits" received in the first projects.

Nikita Kardashin: We are more deeply going to develop the solution for service divisions, in particular – mechanisms of completely hands-off processing and the solution of the requests including connected with need of execution of works for infrastructure and interactions with external systems (applying Robotic Process Automation technologies). Business Process Management Suite can and should become uniform "mission control center", not only giving to employees and heads the objective information, but also allowing to influence infrastructure or processes directly.

In addition, we consider the possibility within the concept of "Data-as-a-Service" to provide to our customers access to the cumulative knowledge base, saved up by us and our clients for years of project implementation in the IT sphere. Here it is necessary to resolve many issues, including legal, but I am sure that we will manage it. Next year we are going to provide to the market these products much reducing costs for processing and permission of standard requests of service divisions (to which as practice shows, about 80% of all loading belong).

Mass implementation of AI in all areas is still complicated because of unavailability of data to the analysis, and, of course, the shortages of examination. Our task – to help business and a public sector to master transformational technologies, to be prepared for changes and to enter without loss a digital era.