It is easy to count effect of outsourcing of support of applications of IBS

Why outsourcing of complex information systems and, in particular, your services are profitable to the consumer?

When we speak about outsourcing in a support area of business applications, most often we mean, so-called, resource outsourcing, i.e. providing specific specialists to the company for a certain time. The benefit of such offer consists in a possibility of the customer to receive services of the highly-skilled employees solving very complex problems. But in terms of finance resource outsourcing is rather expensive pleasure.

It is conditionally possible to refer to other option of outsourcing also insourcing. But this model is interesting to only rather large Russian business, being actually the solution on management of own staff of IT specialists. The insourcing companies are created for service of one key client, so, do not work at competitive market and should not think of process performance and advantage of the offers.

But, what is offered by us it is outsourcing in his classical understanding. When responsibility for some process is completely transferred to the outsourcer, and quality control is exercised by result. In our case this process - operation of business applications, and can be result, for example, smooth operation of a system, the users satisfied with service, etc.

In what benefit for the customer in this case?

Here everything is very simple. The cost of our services is comparable to the cost of the contents of own command - it is easy to count it. But at the same time the customer receives the guaranteed result, and solves problems for it highly skilled, occasionally rather scarce specialists who are independently not so simple for finding in the market, especially on a small period.

What range of services offers the Service center of support of business applications of IBS company?

We specialize in support of business applications of different vendors. The most quickly developing direction is support of solutions on the SAP platform now. And it is not surprising as, the system is more difficult, the, as a rule, benefits from transfer of its support of the specialized organization are more obvious.

Our offer is complex and includes everything that can be necessary at an operational phase of business applications of the corporate level, beginning from maintenance (and even leases) 'gland', and finishing with methodological support and user training. At the same time the client can order as a 'turnkey' full support, and to select from our directory of services some separate services, for example, only outsourcing of SAP basis, or service of users on the 2nd support line.

Adhering to individual approach to each client, we try, proceeding from specific conditions, through joint efforts to create the service package which is most full satisfying requirements of the company.

Whether always outsourcing of support of applications will be profitable in comparison with their support by own efforts?

Here it is important to be defined that we mean by the term "profitable". If we speak about a net pecuniary benefit, then, of course, there are situations when the companies cheaper to cost by own forces. For example, if the enterprise made the decision to employ young personnel of low qualification, or, on the contrary, to leave one-two 'gurus' who pull on themselves all functionality. Still it is possible to refuse in general permanent system maintenance, calling 'ambulance' only in the most extreme cases. But only if we tell it about a pecuniary benefit in pure form. If we understand as "benefit" not only minimization of direct expenses on IT, but also the effect gained from use of business applications, effect of efficiency of changes of business, reduction of time of idle times of users, etc., then it is difficult to me to provide a situation when we would yield a position to an internal team of specialists.

In the practice we more than once came up against a situation when own specialist of the company for years grappled with a problem which ready-made and optimal solution we could propose practically at once. You represent how many resources of the company were spent for nothing if this problem, for example, led to idle times of users. And the question was not that the internal specialist had no necessary qualification, and that, long working within one IT system, it inevitably had narrower outlook and experience, than our employees who more than once solved similar problems for other clients.

Advantages of outsourcing are clear to the market why then its development in Russia is not comparable to the western countries?

Often I hear opinion that the companies are afraid of outsourcing because of complexity of a transient period, problems with information security, threats to lose control over resources, etc. But it is peculiar to people are afraid not just like that, and in connection with the previous bitter experience. Much to my regret, in outsourcing market was and, alas, there are many casual players. These are certain people or commands which undertook and undertake any projects, without having due qualification and resources. Their activity in many respects discredits the market and slows down its development. It would seem, a paradox, but today bitter experience of use of "handicraft" outsourcing is the main barrier to implementation of this convenient and effective tool in Russia.

So, for example, we unexpectedly for ourselves came up against a situation when seemingly obvious advantage of the Service Center IBS – very competitive price offer - caused ambiguous reaction in the companies. Many looked for some dirty trick that high-quality services can be offered for "reasonable money". Undoubtedly, this heritage of the unfair outsourcing companies.

So interferes with distribution of outsourcing only mistrust of the companies and their IT heads?

In many respects yes! Our customers should understand that the trust to the famous large players of the market – is really profitable. In outsourcing model exactly long-term partnership, as in terms of quality of support, and a financial component is most interesting to both parties. It is no secret that all service companies, beginning to work with the new client, in the cost of the contract put certain risks: they do not know in what real status to be the system of the customer. Therefore when we receive the contract for a full and long-term support, we are ready to invest more in the organization of stable system operation of the client to facilitate to ourselves its further service. For the customer it is wrapped not only in stability, but also optimization of system operation under tasks of the company, and afterwards and support reduction in cost (we spend less time and forces on support, so we can allow to the client discounts).

By our experience such debugging and deep understanding of business of the client takes about a year. Respectively, the ideal version of the outsourcing agreement for both parties should will consist not less than for 3 years. We already have such experience, but so far, unfortunately, it is single. The companies in Russia are rather afraid of the long-term relations and prefer to sign annual agreements with a possibility of automatic prolongation. It's not true profitable to both parties, but is all the same rather interesting to customers. Today we work with most of our clients according to such scheme.

The situation in outsourcing market remains not quite predicted. On the one hand, that the market grows and it seems crisis gave an additional impetus to it, on the other hand, digits of growth are far from forecasts of experts and, alas, not to the best. How do you assess a situation?

Relying on more than 4-year work experience in this area, I would speak about positive dynamics and good today's perspectives of outsourcing in Russia. I will explain why.

Till 2008 business in Russia developed very promptly. Many companies had good profits that allowed them to think not strongly of efficiency of internal business processes and if necessary it is simple to employ additional IT specialists of the necessary qualification. Sacrificed efficiency for the sake of the high flexibility necessary at growth stage. During this period it was extremely difficult to offer the outsourcing service market. Then, as all of us know, crisis introduced the amendments, and most the companies were forced not only as much as possible to cut down the staff, but also to optimize all possible costs. Actually the companies just tried to survive in new conditions. This period also became difficult for us as outsourcing schemes, though are profitable financially and highly effective, but are long-term and strategic decision for business while the companies in 2009 made only very short-term plans.

By 2010 the situation was more or less stabilized and the companies rose before a question what choice to make: again to go in 2008 and to gather big staff of highly paid specialists, or to try the new schemes perhaps more profitable and interesting? I will not tell for outsourcing market on others the direction, but in that segment where we work now, certainly, the stable growth of interest in our offer so forecasts very optimistic is observed.

There is one more interesting factor. Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization can play a big role in market development of outsourcing. Arrival on the Russian market of the foreign companies with effective business processes considerably will aggravate the competition. And it, in turn, will force much more attention to pay the Russian companies to efficiency of the activity. And then the number of the clients giving the business processes on outsourcing to the specialized organizations, certainly, will increase. Other question whether among them the Russian companies will prevail or will become more foreign, won the market.

What companies most willingly resort to services of the Service center IBS?

It is rather correct to speak not about specific sectors of economy, and about the scale of business of our clients. Mainly it is medium and large Russian and western business. If to give to our clients any total characteristic, then it is possible to tell that are those who want and are able to count money. And here "leaders", of course, are foreign missions and the Russian subsidiaries of the western companies as for them outsourcing is a usual and transparent tool. Though recently in this direction also the Russian enterprises of the different industries became more active. Among our clients at the moment there are already companies from such sectors as: production, retail, construction, transport, etc.

Tell in more detail about technologies and secrets of the organization of technical support in IBS company?

Let's begin with the fact that in the market there are not much companies professing industrial approach to rendering services of support of business applications. In IBS a system which allows to provide services by a line method with the set parameters of quality and with responsibility for result is built. Such parameters are stated in the agreement for each specific client and that is important, we bear the financial responsibility for their execution. Therefore we do not try to save where it can affect quality, but we reduce costs where it is possible. In a command we recruit only highly qualified specialists with experience. Each our specialist works with several clients and as a result the cost of his work for each specific client is much lower. Besides, we widely use possibilities of the modern systems: monitoring, service, elimination of problems in the system of the client to be carried out far off. There are no business trips, there are no traveling and transportation costs, time of specialists for the road is saved. The client pays only for the actual time of rendering service, but not during the time spent by the consultant on the way to an object or waiting for a task, being in the territory of the customer.

In our production process of service much attention is paid to scheduled maintenance which main objective - identification of the arising problems at an early stage and their elimination before they become noticeable to users.

Important factor is also the possibility of involvement of highly specialized experts of other divisions of IBS for solving of tasks of any complexity meeting at an operational phase of business applications. The scale of IBS such is that on any, even to very rare subject we surely will have an expert.

Well and the last, but not less important factor is an existence of own "base of solutions". Already more than 4 years we fix all performed works and the solved problems, the found optimal solutions and an algorithm of their implementation. It allows to provide very fast solution of the majority of the arising problems, so to guarantee to customers high stability of system operation.