Alexander Kozlov, Chelyabinsk region: One of the key principles of modern IT is a centralization

Alexander Kozlov: I will adhere here to that terminology which is usually applied at the federal level. I consider that these three determinations characterize three stages through which we went together with formation of these or those federal target programs.

The Electronic Russia program, and in fact was the first, it was the computerization of activity of the public and municipal authorities. It is possible to call it initial automation when just put the government employee computers and trained in use.

Within the second program "Information Society" we already began to say not that in authority there has to be a computer network, and that information systems should be created. At this time many federal and regional information systems were born, there was a concept of information databank, began to think of interdepartmental electronic interaction. And this second stage – informatization.

Now we have the following round – digitalization. And taking into account the appearing end-to-end technologies, artificial intelligence, processing of Big Data, – it is not simple automation and informatization of the existing business processes any more, and their cardinal reorganization and an exception of the person of those chains of information processing where it is only possible: either brings benefit, or allows to increase reliability of the events, the person is always an uncertainty zone.

Alexander Kozlov: If to speak from the point of view of the official, then we have a federal law on strategic planning which set an order of development of any strategy today.

The strategy of the region in general is primary. At us it is the Strategy of social and economic development of Chelyabinsk region till 2035 which is approved in January of the current year. All executive authorities, including the Ministry of information technologies and communications of Chelyabinsk region took part in development, and our offers, certainly, found reflection in the Strategy of development for Chelyabinsk region.

Industry documents which are in development now will be the following documents which will be born on the basis of this global strategy of the region.

is a single platform of interaction of representatives of the regional power concerning digital transformation. The platform accumulates experience and the best practices of digitalization of a state administration of dozens of regions and hundreds of authorities (to learn in more detail).

It should be noted that execution of the National program "Digital Economy of Russia" will be a basis of strategy of digital development anyway: in the region there are not a lot of resources, including personnel that "be sprayed" and start now something else, in addition to the tasks provided by national projects of digitalization.

Therefore we concentrate on accomplishment of the national program, but we put before ourselves most important tasks: the advancing development of the information technology industries and instrument making – and it is mentioned in our regional strategy and will be in the strategy of digitalization of Chelyabinsk region. Already now for these purposes in the region are provided and tax benefits for the enterprises of the specified spheres work. We some of the few in Russia opened the private IT park which one of the first received resident status Skolkovo. Recently appeared federal law allows us to extend the preferential Skolkovo mode to residents of our IT park.

Alexander Kozlov: All look for methods how to become the most competitive, the most effective. It is considered already conventional that digitalization, replacement of not productive processes by more effective, using end-to-end technologies – that factor which can increase labor productivity and competitiveness of economy. Without digitalization practically any branch of the economy as, anyway, we compete also with Russian regions, and with other countries of the world will not be effective.

Of course, Chelyabinsk region is associated, first of all, with metallurgy and mechanical engineering, but we still strongly develop also agriculture. Digitalization of all these industries is crucial for the region.

Alexander Kozlov: Digitalization of a state administration is a priority of activity of the Ministry of information technologies and communications of Chelyabinsk region therefore the lion share of time we deal with these issues.

Priorities will be in many respects connected with implementation of the federal project "Digital State Administration" which contains many correct things. From stated the concept of superservices is especially interesting to us. We were more than once risen to this task, tried to implement in the subject, and every time has come across impossibility to change regulations of federal participants of superservice. And now sincerely we believe that with support of federal level we implement the principle of rendering services in life situations.

The second priority direction for Chelyabinsk region is a national data management system. We consider it too the fundamental project therefore we said our region for pilot participation in the project.

If we speak about our internal priorities, first of all, we to be engaged in centralization. We already carried out centralization in the field of IT, we finish similar work with HR departments and we start accounting. Further, I think, we will look for all new and new processes which we will integrate and centralizovyvat. In general, one of the key principles of modern IT is a centralization, and here we already see efficiency.

The second direction which is crucial for us it is digitalization of the social sphere as this industry is connected with large budgetary funds. The budget of Chelyabinsk region as, likely, and other areas, socially oriented, i.e. expenses in this direction reach 75-77% of the budget of the region. Therefore we should think of how information technologies will allow to use this money most effectively. We should understand personally on each inhabitant: if we speak about a social assistance – what measures of support he needs to render if it is the pupil – what to educate it and what to create a vital trajectory if this health care – what services to render him and as to make it most effectively and quickly.

The following priority direction is a control and supervising activity. Here for us the main call, considering specifics of the region, are ecological types of control and supervision (first of all, for the large industrial cities Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk) according to the Decree of the President RUSSIAN FEDERATION: monitoring of quality of an atmospheric air and that is very relevant, water qualities.

One more project in which we are engaged and to which we try to pay rather close attention – import substitution.

Alexander Kozlov: After superservices and state services which I mentioned earlier the following very important direction of application of forces we defined ensuring openness of the power for citizens. We consider that now in society very high request for justice, for trust to the state that it is impossible without demonstration of openness, without explanation of decisions which are made state or municipal by the employee. Therefore, as well as many other territorial subjects of the federation, now strenuously we are engaged in implementation of such public services as "The active inhabitant 74" (an analog of the Moscow "Active citizen"), "Our city", "The analysis of initiatives" (crowdsourcing and crowdfunding projects).

The second on what we see very great demand at residents of the cities, is projects of "The smart city". The urban environment should change, become more convenient, clear, comfortable, and in it the large role is played by information technologies. We some of the first went to pilot projects, so, in 2017 the pilot in the town of Satka with the assistance of Rostelecom company was started; now we conduct these works and in other cities, since the capital of our area, the city of Chelyabinsk. Together with Rosatom began project implementation in our closed science city of Snezhinsk – we hope, as there we will be able to work the technologies useful to inhabitants. After that there will be a problem of replication of experience to all cities with the population over 100 thousand people, and to other cities which will already be ready to it.

The third moment to which it is necessary to pay attention is a request of inhabitants for security. And, of course, too the majority of the Russian subjects is engaged in the technologies promoting increase in security of life now. In the region security systems are implemented: KSEON, a System-112, also systems which are more relevant for the cities: photovideo fixing, "Citizen police", "The smart on-door speakerphone" – many tasks is crossed with the Smart City project, but there is an aspect of security, and it should be considered and implemented in a special way.

Alexander Kozlov: About 10-12 years ago spoke about finance more. But if to list, since the most important, then the first and the sharpest are a personnel now. There are not enough qualified specialists in all directions: and programmers, at the same time many information systems are developed and improved; experienced implementers; there is not enough, unfortunately, trained personnel at functional customers – those which understand what is digitalization, and are ready to analyze together with us the processes and radically to improve them. Large-scale training of specialists is required. Here, in our opinion, it is necessary to take only quantity: it is necessary to gain the critical mass of people who understand this terminology and are ready to implementation of new technologies.

The following after all remains a question of financing – it is still relevant for regions, especially for municipalities.

And still it is necessary not to forget about the problems connected with reforming of the regulatory legal base. It strongly limits possibilities of implementation of many projects, and here precisely is what to work on.

Alexander Kozlov: We came also at ourselves in the ministry, and in subordinated organization that recently entered the HR specialist's position. We understood that digitalization personnel recruitment, motivation of this personnel are separate, very serious processes in which not only the head of the relevant organization constantly should be engaged, it should be helped by specially trained people. We consider, it is necessary to enter systemically such rates, to select the person who will deal only with these issues.

Alexander Kozlov: The first waiting concerns infrastructure – all digitalization is based on it.

We support the initiative of the Ministry of digital development, communication and mass communications of the Russian Federation of change of structure universal communication services, defined in the federal law "About Communication"; agree that it is necessary to bring a task to such solution when not just the optics comes to the locality and when people begin to receive necessary services, in particular cellular communication and wireless access to the Internet and also connection to a global network of all socially important objects.

It is necessary to interact and build up effectively the relationship with the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation – on construction of new residential districts, on ordering of access for telecom operators to apartment houses, on use of airspace for communication networks that "clear sky" was not an exception, but the rule.

It is important to define the principles of construction and reconstruction of roads. We consider that communication on the road should become its integral attribute. And if treats road construction taking into account this principle, we will be able to solve a problem of wireless communication on roads.

Infrastructure requires the essential financial investments, big investments of private companies. It is necessary to push from federal level them to that they went to small localities, to give them preferences, accesses. But it is not necessary to impose these obligations only on telecom operators, it is necessary to approach the solution attentively, in a complex, that also power engineering specialists somewhere on rates moved, and infrastructure operators who own towers and columns, joined in a problem of elimination of digital inequality too.

The second waiting from federation is a certain plan or the system project on development and deployment of federal information systems in which it will be accurately visible that becomes, during some period where a role of regions and who, for what as a result will pay. These moments cleared up a little after adoption of the National program "Digital Economy", but all the same still there were very many spaces and questions.

The third waiting – import substitution support. If to solve this problem seriously, then not to do without essential federal investments. There are areas of the software where the western countries invested decades huge investments – we this way, without federal support, will not pass. I do not speak even about a hardware component so far – there a situation, in our opinion, only at the beginning of a way.

What is important, import substitution surely should be coordinated to export support as, working only for domestic market, we will not make the solution which will long live and will be the most effective. And it is a problem of federal level too, we consider, one of first-priority.

And one more waiting is clear rules of access to federal information resources: without this condition even regional information projects "fly up" not really successfully.

Alexander Kozlov: Here we cannot boast yet that implemented model of PPP in that sense which invests in it the relevant federal law. But elements of model of PPP, of course, are present at the region.

Probably, it is possible to consider such element subsidizing of telecom operators which work in Chelyabinsk region. The region compensates to CAPEX operators which they put in construction of base stations in small localities. It turns out that they can invest in construction of facilities in those localities in which, from our point of view, construction would not take place without the state support.

It is possible to give still an example of an element of PPP when we built the system of photovideo fixing of traffic offenses. We did not create a system – it was constructed by the frequent company, we bought service, service.

As for concessions in the field of information systems, so far we could not implement any similar project, and generally creation of information systems for state agencies we implement within Federal law No. 44-FZ, ottorgovyvy these means at the expense of the regional budget.

Alexander Kozlov: Seriously we deal with this issue since 2016. The governor approved the plan of import substitution of government institutions of Chelyabinsk region.

Replacement of computers in all managements of a social security of the region within upgrade of a system of the automated social protection became the first implemented project. These are about 2 thousand jobs – monoblocks with domestic circuit engineering, with domestic operating system Astra Linux, with the domestic office suite which is built in it.

Two years ago we began work in executive authorities of area, and today already about one thousand jobs (a little more than 40% of government employees) work on domestic operating systems too.

Certainly, arose and there are many difficulties. In particular, not all federal information systems allow to work from a "domestic" workplace – some demand browser Internet Explorer that does not allow to speak about anything, except operating system Windows. For this purpose we thought up infrastructure of a transient period: on Astra Linux we put virtual machine, and from under it Windows is already started. As soon as the question is removed, at once we remove this virtual machine and we pass on domestic software. Learned to do it rather technologically. Even special scripts are written: we start to the government employee a script on the working machine in the evening, in the morning he comes and already sees the domestic operating system with all transferred data.

In general, it is such complex serious project including including, the training program of government employees.

I can tell that we learned import substitution of information technologies, but from year to year we aim at improvement of these processes.

Alexander Kozlov: I personally believe that the software can share. Moreover, it seems to me, everything that is developed for the state money, should take place somewhere on a centralized basis and to be available to non-paid use: national money and therefore any can receive are invested and further develop this product. The modern resource where the state will spread the projects is absolutely necessary for us, using the existing platform or having created the national platform. It is necessary to enter an obligation of the state bodies developing any system with the exclusive rights to it to place without fail all codes and to assign the rights to their use.

is a single platform of interaction of representatives of the regional power concerning digital transformation. The platform accumulates experience and the best practices of digitalization of a state administration of dozens of regions and hundreds of authorities (to learn in more detail).

Now the analog – Fund of algorithms and programs works. We have an experience of use of products from this Fund. But as it, in our opinion, which is insufficiently worked and modern, was succeeded to implement not all projects from that software which we took from Fund successfully. Among successful examples of application there is a regional portal of state services and the system of ensuring town-planning activity. So the Fund works, but, in our opinion, needs improvement and in further development, and technologies of implementation and the subsequent technical support need to be perfected, of course, still. As far as I know, the Ministry of digital development, communication and mass communications of the Russian Federation announces upgraded version of Fund of algorithms and programs.

If to speak about specific projects, we agreed with colleagues from St. Petersburg about transfer of the platform to us which they developed for sale of a hardware-software complex "Safe city". We with pleasure will accept at them all codes, documentation and we will try to implement the platform at ourselves. I hope, we will be able to use what is already implemented in this case in the city of St. Petersburg. It will allow us to save both certain budgetary funds, and time.

Alexander Kozlov: In what our colleagues and from western are very strong, and now from east countries is in how they learned to support startups, to develop the companies in very short terms developing products which win then the world.

It seems to me, first of all, we should adopt this experience. We have cool scientists, the superqualified programmers, but for some reason we few little develop a technology entrepreneurship, for example, in Russia critically few IT companies – "unicorns" (the startups based after 2000 which current value is more than $1 billion). In Chelyabinsk region literally units of the companies which can become like those. So far I cannot tell that the region economy in an essential measure depends on any IT company and in other subjects the IT industry share in regional VRP does not exceed units of percent. Unlike the industries of metallurgy, agriculture, there are no "unicorns" in the IT sphere. Questions: why and what to make that they appeared?

This foreign experience is most interesting. We look at it, we study the principles of the organization of funds of support, help options at different stages of development of the company and so forth.

Alexander Kozlov: The first sign – existence of the command operating in a constant duty which is aimed at digitalization of economy of the region which will consider any project (new or existing) through a digitalization prism. Speaking about a command – I mean both managers, and technology entrepreneurs, and specialists.

The second sign – the developed IT infrastructure, first of all, communication and availability of data processing centers.

The third – quality of data which are in the organizations of this region. In order that the region was digital, it is necessary that data were qualitative, verified, were not duplicated and that in them there was an order.