Interview with the Chief information officer of Avtomir company Andrey Zaborovsky

Head of department of IT of Avtomir company Andrey Zaborovsky

TAdviser: Andrey, tell, please, what is represented by a hardware component of IT infrastructure of Auto world? Whether the company has own DPC?

Andrey Zaborovsky: The Avtomir company uses a distributed infrastructure: we have also own scalable DPC and also there are server capacities which are located at our filial salons in regions. The last are necessary locally to place on them business applications and databases. "Auto world" performs car sale and spare parts, service maintenance, including – additional services on insurance and crediting, and this activity should be continuous even in case of breakdown of communication channels with some of regions. Therefore we have a difficult infrastructure in which everything is reserved, and in case of refusal the equipment – is transferred to our main DPC.

Besides, the company has a reserve DPC which it rents. In the main DPC more than 50 servers, and in reserve – about a half of these capacities since we reserved the most critical applications are based.

TAdviser: What main business applications are used in Auto world?

Andrey Zaborovsky: The main business processes in the company are automated based on products of 1C - on the 1C: Enterprise 8.2 platform and also products of Microsoft which were significantly finished under requirements of Auto world. On technologies of Microsoft, for example, our internal portal,a storage system and the system of a business intelligence is constructed. For personnel management the standard packet Boss Kadrovik is used.

Also we use the CRM system. Now we approach a question of its replacement: the current solution is based on Navision Axapta 3.0 – the configuration which is released still before this technology passed to Microsoft. Now we study the concept of a new system and we decide on the choice of the platform based on which it will be created.

TAdviser: How long Auto world uses the system of a business intelligence and what it is?

Andrey Zaborovsky: In a new type – on the Microsoft Analytical Services platform - it is used since 2010, and before we had too a system which allows company management to trace all main business indicators. It covers indicators in a large number of the directions: the fact of the sold cars, a margin, inventory, what number of arrivals of machines was in a day on each platform, loading of normochas on development, etc. The management receives reports from the system of analytics in the form of mailing by e-mail.

TAdviser: In regions the same applications, as in the central branch in Moscow are used?

Andrey Zaborovsky: Yes, both in Moscow, and in regions employees use identical applications. Our salons are standard therefore for them uniform standard configurations of software solutions are used. Total number of users of business applications across Russia at us is about 1.2-1.3 thousand people, at the same time 60% from them are users in Moscow.

TAdviser: How many people work in IT service of Auto world and how it is arranged?

Andrey Zaborovsky: Today 85 people who are engaged in development and support of IT solutions are on the staff. Here also service staff in branches enter. IT personnel number significantly does not change within several years as is more economic for us in a number of the directions to use outsourcing and outstaffing.

Now we on outsourcing have several development teams under our business processes and projects.

TAdviser: Tell, please, about the key IT projects implemented in 2013 and plans for 2014.

Andrey Zaborovsky: In 2013-2014 replication of a system of sales of the new and supported cars comes to an end. In 2013 we also completed the project of creation of a centralized system of training and personel assessment. We use it according to the SaaS model, this solution of Mirapolis company. The project on electronic archive for storage of all primary documentation in electronic form also belongs to last year's projects. Besides, in 2013 we made online store of spare parts through which first sales began in November.

Among the implemented projects also - "funnel" of sales on cars and on services for quality improvement of service of our clients. I will explain concerning the last: all information around a car business, all customer information gets to our systems, we register the address of each client for understanding of his requirements.

Now at us the project work treasury also comes to an end - it is the system providing the centralized passing of information on all payments of the company including planning of payments, financing limits, etc. In an active stage in Auto world there is also a project of the automation system of insurance – replacement of our self-written product by the boxed solution of Polisofis company which we join to our business processes.

In addition, at us the project in the centralized reference books which, should update purity of data in our systems started. In 2014 we also begin approach to the project "1C: Service" which now at us is written on the version of platform 7.7 we will change it for the version of 1C 8.

TAdviser: You mentioned about opening of online store of spare parts. What your plans for development of this sales channel?

Andrey Zaborovsky: For the end of 2013 the percent of the spare parts sold through online store was small so far, but it only the beginning of such format of work for us. Further, for example, we are going to create mobile application for convenience of our clients through which it will be possible to perform the order of spare parts and to control accomplishment of addresses.

According to global trends, the percent of sales on the Internet at the companies annually increases by 2-3 times, in some directions and that it is more. Concerning spare parts we see big activity now here in the market therefore now, in our opinion, very correct moment to start work in this direction.

TAdviser: How will the IT budget of Auto world in 2014 in relation to last year change?

Andrey Zaborovsky: Our company grows therefore also the IT budget grows. This year our budget rose more than 10% in relation to last year's.