IBS helped the Chizhik retail network identify the target IT landscape

2024: Development of a roadmap for the formation of a targeted IT landscape

The IBS Group, in partnership with Platformix, has developed a roadmap for the Chizhik retail network to form a targeted IT landscape that can ensure efficient and dynamic business development. IBS announced this on July 2, 2024.

Taking into account the high pace of network development, the task was set to develop a targeted IT architecture that can ensure the implementation of the company's long-term strategy. When choosing the target IT landscape of Chizhiku, it was important to reduce the impact of geopolitical risks, reduce the cost of supporting and developing systems, and ensure the possibility of multiple growth and continuity of business processes. It was also of great importance to ensure protection against unauthorized access to IT systems and compliance with the requirements of information security legislation and personal data.

At the start of the project, the IBS team studied the business processes of the trading network and conducted a GAP analysis of existing systems to determine specific steps for optimization and development. The next stage was the research of the information systems market to select the most suitable for the company's goals. The systems were compared according to several criteria, which were assigned a certain weight depending on their priority for Chizhik. The Platformix team, in turn, developed options for the target infrastructure, determined its cost and labor costs for implementation, and also conducted a survey of systems in terms of information security.

As a result of the six-month project, the Chizhik retail chain received several scenarios for the development of the IT landscape, detailed information on the possible timing of the implementation of information systems, the sequence of work, the upper-level costs by stages, as well as a description of the stages of work on typical implementation patterns.

The project with Chizhik differs from the standard project for developing the company's IT strategy with a high depth of study of the prepared materials, a large amount of data analysis (the project contained more than 100 IT systems, more than three analogues were analyzed for each system) and a wide organizational volume of interaction within the customer company. The project team, together with the customer, developed a unique methodology that made it possible to conduct a balanced analysis of the current IT solutions market and select the optimal set of solutions for the implementation of the retail network development strategy, said Andrey Rubas, director of business development at TNP Retail at IBS.

Chizhik's business processes are highly integrated into X5 Group's application systems. This initially complicated the calculation of computational resources sufficient to build a targeted IT landscape, taking into account all the requirements for reliability and security. However, thanks to the architectural standards developed at X5 Group, we were able to focus on specific technical solutions and perform work at the highest level, noted Roman Petrov, leading system architect of Platformix.

Detailed analysis and developed solutions affected all aspects of the company's IT landscape: business process automation, IT infrastructure and information security. The implementation of the project helped to develop a clear understanding of how strategic goals can be achieved, including by correctly planning funding, noted Vitaly Safonov, Chief information officer of the Chizhik retail chain.