Information Technology at Uralsib Bank

History

2022: The Uralsib technology block has become an internal business structure for self-sufficiency

The Block of Bank Technologies (BBT) of Uralsib Bank has transformed into a business unit that actually sells its services to customers inside the bank. This became known on July 5, 2022 from the words of Konstantin Medentsev, senior vice president for banking technologies at Uralsib.

Then these rates were compared with the market within the framework of the competition, and if we have contractors who offer us services cheaper than the calculated BBT rates, then we work at the rates offered by the market, "Medentsev explained. - If our rates are lower than what the market offers, according to the systems with which we deal, then we work at the rates that the financial unit calculated.

Thus, this area exists on the principles of self-sufficiency: the costs of the block should be covered by its income received from internal customers for the performance of work for the bank.

As Medentsev notes, the transformation of BBT into a business unit has led to the fact that the block now bears real responsibility for certain violations of agreements with internal customers. As the work is completed, the cost of the time spent by the employees of the Safety Committee is recorded in the revenues of the unit and the expenses of the customer. Each BBT employee has a norm of man-days, which he spends on the implementation of customer projects. In case of exceeding the norm, the employee is awarded. Incentives for development and greater returns were also implemented for managers and employees.

According to Medentsev, BBT, as a business unit, has a business plan for 2022, which explicitly spells out the expected revenues and calculated expenses^[1].

2021

Uralsib Bank disbands the Directorate of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis

As TAdviser found out in July 2021, Uralsib Bank decided to decentralize the Directorate of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics Office (AIDA), inviting its employees to move to the corporate and small business unit - to the division responsible for client analytics. This is due to the fact that the current projects of this directorate were related to the analysis of data in the segment of corporate clients and small businesses, explained this decision to TAdviser in Uralsib.

The bank also said that in May 2021, a single data management service was formed as part of the strategic development unit, which included architects, business analysts, data quality managers and developers of corporate data storage. The service is responsible for organizing the development of a data management strategy, the development of a centralized data warehouse and the management of BI infrastructure.

Data analysis can be a centralized function, or it can be decentralized. For several years now, Uralsib has been successfully operating and developing strong competence centers for analyzing big data in the retail business and risk management service, - explained TAdviser in Uralsib. - In the context of the development of digital technologies for serving corporate clients, a decision was made to strengthen and develop the competence center for data analysis in the corporate and small business unit.

The Directorate of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis was created at Uralsib in 2017 "(photo - Maxim Stulov/Vedomosti)"

From open publications, it follows that the initiator of the creation of the Directorate of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis in 2017 was the senior vice president of Uralsib Yury Sirota, who headed this directorate. It was created with the aim of developing data monetization services and introducing data-driven approaches to doing business.

In an interview at the end of 2019, Yury Sirota said that the unit he heads has three main competencies: data engineers, BI specialists and data analytics. Also, according to him, the directorate included the BI competence center, which was engaged in the creation of analytical applications with built-in analytics (augmented analytics)^[2] The directorate was created in the strategic development block and was supervised by the deputy chairman of the bank's board.

It is wrong when such structures are part of a department, because then it is difficult to extend innovations to the entire organization, - said Yuri Sirota in the same interview.

Uralsib told TAdviser that at the time of the disbandment of the directorate, it includes 4 people and always included the same number. The bank added that the head of the Yury Sirota directorate, like the rest, was invited to move to another division. Uralsib did not specify whether he accepted this offer.

Recall that in April 2021, Uralsib changed its top management: Alexey Sazonov was appointed the new chairman of the board, who since 2008 was a member of the bank's board as deputy chairman of the board. Before Alexei Sazonov, the bank has been headed by Konstantin Bobrov since May 2016, who left the post of chairman of the board in February 2021.

Technology Platforms and Engagement with Financial Services Market Participants

2020

Models of implementation of innovative projects

These presentations "What are the main difficulties of implementing innovative projects" Director of Innovations of URALSIB Bank D.V.# mediatab-1 CNews Forum 2020.

Maxim Belousov, who was responsible for IT, left the bank

On April 1, 2020, Maxim Belousov, IT Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Bank Uralsib, graduated from the company. Read more here.

2019

Implementation of IT strategy 2016-2018

Data from the presentation "Business oriented IT strategy (BOS) in the era of digitalization" Deputy Chairman of the Board of Uralsib Bank Belousov M.V., June 2019 CNews Cases

Strategic mission of the Banking Technologies Block:

• Support and support the development of the Bank's business through high availability of existing and creation of new IT services.
• Creating conditions for increasing the Bank's competitive advantage in the market, and increasing the efficiency of the products and services provided through the current and introduction of new banking technologies.
• Maximize optimization of all sales and customer service processes (individuals, legal entities and banks) through efficient use and implementation of the latest technologies

TIME-TO-MARKET targets met

• Average duration of mini-projects implementation reduced from 290 working days (2016) to 65 calendar days
• In 2016, there were more than 150 mini-projects with a registration date of more than a year ago, at the end of 2018 there are 2 mini-projects with a duration of more than six months.
• The number of mini-projects solved increased from 800 (2016) to 1613
• The number of mini-projects in operation has been reduced from 1964 (2016) to 222
• Project work was established, the number of projects (in work/initiation) increased from 6 in 2016 to 60 (32/28)
• The number of completed projects increased from 2 (2016) to 32

TCO SERVICES targets met

• IT Services Operating Costs Relative to Total Costs are in the specified range of 10.8%
• The savings achieved by optimizing the cost of IT resources are effectively used by BBT:
• In 2016, savings resulting from initiatives to optimize the Bank's IT expenses amounted to ~ RUB 119.2 million.
• In 2017, savings were achieved due to optimization of IE support conditions ~ RUB 112 mln, of which RUB 94.5 mln. is aimed at implementing important initiatives
• Over the 11 months of 2018, the savings on the held contests for the purchase of IT resources amounted to about 156 million rubles. Of these, 147 million rubles. are aimed at implementing important initiatives

The average uptime of IT services is 99%, defined by the SLA business is completed

• 24/7 round-the-clock user support
• 1st support line availability increased from 87.5% to 99.7%
• Number of lost calls reduced from 15% to 7%
• The number of calls to work at the end of the period has been reduced from 1930 (2015) to 269
• The decision of requests on time is brought to the level of 99.9%
• Number of outstanding requests decreased from 5682 (2016) to 456
• Percentage of self-resolved cases increased from 12% (2016) to 30%
• Reducing the number of accidents from 889 (2016) to 629
• Reduced the number of problems in IP at the end of the period from 688 (2016) to 90
• Mean resolution reduced from 423 days (2016) to 111 days

Key areas of IT development

Customer Relations

• Development of integrated front, middle and back office systems
• Developing Enterprise Information Storage by Upgrading IT Platforms

Process efficiency

• Improve process management with focus on business process changes and user service
• Focus on industrial and efficient systems, in-house development for fast solutions
• Comprehensive modernization of computing and information infrastructure

Involvement

• Formation of a team of proactive, motivated, efficient, effective, developing and realizing employees

The main areas of activity for 2019:

• Development of front-office systems and RBS
• Data Warehouse and Integration Bus Development
• Development of analytical tools and BI
• IT Infrastructure Upgrades
• Improvement of process management (in particular, systems maintenance processes)
• Improve interaction with business customers
• Innovation Development (Fasttrack, iLAB)

Andrei Morozov appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board

On October 28, 2019, it became known that Andrei Morozov was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, a member of the Management Board of Uralsib Bank. Read more here.

10% of the bank's employees work in the IT block

As of February 2019, 10% of Uralsib employees work in the banking technology block. The Block consists of three divisions:

• IT service led by Chief information officer Vyacheslav Generalsky,
• digital banking department, which heads the CDO. In this direction, all digital services are collected: a processing center, RBS of legal entities and individuals, all our sites, a payment and transfer system, terminal networks, and so on.
• Department for the Development of Banking Technologies, headed by Konstantin Medentsev. This department employs project managers, account managers, technologists, analysts, as well as an innovative laboratory.

2016: Maxim Belousov appointed Deputy CEO

In 2015, Maxim Belousov began working at Uralsib Bank, at the end of April 2016 he was appointed deputy chairman of the bank's board.

2013

TAdviser interview with Igor Mushakov, CIO of the Bank

In August 2013, Igor Mushakov in an interview with TAdviser spoke about the current state of the bank's IT infrastructure and planned projects.

The new CIO is Igor Mushakov. Updating the IT Command

In April 2013, Igor Mushakov was appointed Vice President, Chief Executive Officer for Information Technology of Uralsib Bank, who had previously worked as Director of the Client Relations Department at Sberbank-Technologies.

Before Mushakov, Uralsib's IT unit has been in charge of the Aleksei Shirokikh since the end of 2011, which previously worked as a Chief information officer for several years. At Gazprombank the end of 2012, he left Uralsib.

Prior to Shirokikh, Andrey Pronin worked as the Chief Executive Officer for IT at Uralsib. After the appointment of a new manager, he remained in the IT Directorate and was responsible for supporting and maintaining IT systems.

Igor Mushakov, who was appointed Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Uralsib IT Bank in April 2013, has three main deputies. TAdviser was told about this by Mushakov himself in August 2013.

In particular, the Chief information officer of Uralsib now has a deputy for client work, project management and expertise, the second is responsible for software production and readiness of the final product, the third is responsible for support.

According to Igor Mushakov, all these people are new. The client direction was headed by Alexander Shestakov, who came to Uralsib from Sberbank, the product development direction was headed by Konstantin Kruglov, one of whose places of work was EPAM Systems, and Alexander Melekhin, who previously headed the informatization and communications department at Nomos-Bank, became deputy escort.

Igor Mushakov also said that new positions began to be created in the Uralsib IT block, which previously were not: in particular, architects, IT account managers, project managers and system analysts.

In this regard, the chief architect Sabir Asadullaev, who previously worked at IBM, and the head of the project office and portfolio management Margarita Dubovik, who previously oversaw IT in VTB subsidiary banks, also joined the Uralsib IT team.

"In general, in working with IT personnel, we focus on preserving the competencies of the team that has accumulated experience in the bank, while supplementing them with new knowledge from the market where necessary," said Igor Mushakov.

According to the Chief information officer of Uralsib, the bank's IT service now consists of two main parts: on the one hand, these are regional divisions that are in regional administrative management and play the role of mainly supporting users in the territories, and on the other hand, the Central Office in Moscow and the remote central office in Ufa, where specialists are engaged in centralized support and development of systems and equipment.

The total number of Uralsib IT staff, as of August 2013, is about 700 people, of which about 400 people are in Moscow and Ufa.

2012: Updating Finacle-based IT infrastructure

During 2012, URALSIB Bank implemented a number of projects aimed at improving the efficiency of the IT division, introducing new solutions and products, as well as streamlining the IT architecture of the bank. In particular, integrated IT audit projects were completed, which allowed the bank to identify bottlenecks in key areas of transformation of IT infrastructure, applications and IT organization.

One of the key projects is updating the IT architecture of centralized ABS based on the Finacle solution. This component architecture enables you to leverage existing components of a forward-looking architecture and integrate new solutions and components according to the approved target IT architecture. As part of the product expansion, projects on mobile banking and analytical CRM were initiated for the bank's retail clients.

The bank is actively implementing a project of consolidation of operating activities, which is fully supported by the project activities of the IT division as part of the centralization of the main banking and corporate technologies and systems. The 2013 work plans are to complete the project to centralize the ServiceDesk support service to cover the entire distributed structure of the bank. Also, work will be completed on the modernization of the network infrastructure, which will make it possible to provide better and more diverse financial services to the bank's clients.

As part of improving the quality of the bank's IT infrastructure, we are considering the wider use of virtualization technology both at the level of server equipment (which is already widely used in the bank) and at the level of workplace virtualization. This project is planned for 2013 with full implementation throughout the bank. One of the key tasks, taking into account the implementation of a centralized ABS based on the Finacle solution, is the creation of a unified IT monitoring system that will allow you to respond more quickly to incidents and proactively monitor the bank's IT infrastructure and key IT resources in the future. A centralized ServiceDesk project is planned to be completed during 2013, allowing you to monitor and manage user requests and requests through a single centralized support service.

IT projects at Uralsib Bank

{{# ITProj: Uralsib FC}}

Notes