Interview with the director of information technology Sibur Pavel Klepinin

Pavel Klepinin In the form of the separate document we have no IT strategy and is not planned, but we have strategic plans of development. Their considerable part is connected with upgrade of IT infrastructure now that is tied to plans of implementation and development of business applications. According to applications we have "road map". One more powerful part of plans is connected with internal IT services in the company. The IT block in the company is service, focused on interaction with internal functional customers, and we are going to increase the level of own customer focus, level of satisfaction of employees with our work, processing speed of addresses to technical support.

Plans for auxiliary projects include document flow optimization, optimization of cost of licenses softwares with calculation of TSO and another.

Also as potential plans we consider a mobility subject: employees should be less dependent on jobs, especially it concerns office employees. In the nearest future we will start some mobile applications, useful to the employees. In general actively we deal with an issue of a gadzhetization of employees. Today everyone has a smartphone, the main thing – to learn it correctly to use.

Pavel Klepinin In the integrated IT of Sibur there is a separate direction which is called "business partners" or BIM (business information managers). This story often meets in the large western companies and in some Russian. A task of these employees – to work with needs of internal customers, i.e. other blocks of the company, on a regular basis.

If someone from heads of business divisions has an idea, a non-standard task of the IT line, then he addresses such business partner who then shifts everything to language, clear for IT, finds out effects for business and risks. After that it transfers collected information to IT department where terms of implementation, costs are defined. Further on the separate commission decides, it is worth doing it or not. An important point here – the tasks connected with support through such business partner are not solved, they are solved through Service Desk. So the partner – all this the level of more major problems and projects regarding IT.

Results are estimated usually through confirmation of the stated benefits from people who for obtaining these benefits were charged. Some effects are visible already right after implementation, and some are put on monitoring with different terms.

Pavel Klepinin The CEO often is a customer, initiating interesting subjects for projects. At the same time he actively participates in implementation process. The project on SAP implementation was supervised, for example, by him personally. The financial block, I think, historically in the companies it was always automated by the first. Similarly and in Sibur. Just three-four years ago IT in Sibur submitted to the chief financial officer. Now on number of tasks the financial block any more not ahead of all company and its role in informatization is not so essential.

Pavel Klepinin The IT is divided into divisions which are engaged in support and development. The most part of support is displaid in absolute "subsidiary" of Sibur - the company gradually we increase different competences of our "daughter" "IT service" and we give it a part of works instead of integrators. The block of development is closely connected just with business partners about whom I spoke above. After study of needs of internal customers they transfer a relay stick to colleagues from the direction of development, and they already conduct work on implementation of new services, systems.

Also there is a direction of the general management, so-called IT Governance. Questions of strategy, goal-setting and assessment, management of the IT budget, licenses and agreements, identification and a mitigation (reduction - a comment of TAdviser) risks, and other — i.e. things which extend to all IT in general concern the last.

Regional part of IT of Sibur from the point of view of role structure copies the corporate center – a set of roles at the enterprises is dictated "on top", it everywhere identical also differs only in number. In regions there are employees who are engaged in user support, infrastructures, budgeting, licenses and agreements, there are also architects on local infrastructure and business applications. We had a special project on alignment of organizational structures of IT at the regional level and optimization of its number. Functionally regional IT submit to the central office, and linearly – are issued at those enterprises where they work.

Total number of IT personnel in Sibur exceeds 1000 people now.

Pavel Klepinin Recently there are no cardinal changes in this respect, perhaps. The choice of suppliers transparent and open, using own public portal for holding open competitions. In spite of the fact that our company does not get under the Federal Law about purchases, we use the basic principles of such legislation. All procedures are published, criteria open.

From the product point of view - sometimes offer us some innovation tools for the solution of our tasks. We are open to innovations and we look at such solutions, but, as a rule, we prefer to use products which already have a certain experience of use and on them there are positive reviews.

The history of work with suppliers is very important for us – "black lists" form and replenished. Also and in the opposite direction – we appreciate and we value partnership with a number of suppliers, but, as a result, when purchasing, the right of rendering services and supply of equipment is defined on the basis of open competitive procedures.

One more principle – when the vendor gives to integrator some special prices and conditions, it is less profitable to Sibur, than direct bidding. Therefore we do not recommend to give the special prices to partners.

In general it is also possible to note that gradually we increase different competences of our "daughter" "IT service" and we give her a part of works instead of integrators, leaving thus from the scheme of subcontracting, leaving both money and knowledge in one "basket".

Pavel Klepinin The budget with increase by 35% of an investment part was protected in November, 2015, however in 2016 there were changes in economy then it was reviewed and reduced: now there was an increase in an investment part approximately for 25% for all 2016. About dynamics of 2017 it is still difficult to tell, but we expect to remain approximately at the same level by an investment part and to reduce OPEX.

Pavel Klepinin At the moment in Sibur SAP ERP already works at two pilot production sites, Voronezhsintezkauchuk and Tomskneftkhim and also directly in the corporate center of the company and in Sibur International. Also logistic verticals are closed sales. In 2016 SAP implementation goes on Sibur Khimprom, the complete functionality of the pilot is replicated: SAP ERP BW BPC GRC.

Pavel Klepinin Sibur has own DPC in Moscow. It is centralized. By the beginning of a pilot project on transition of holding to the SAP platform we expanded it, and global expansion is not planned yet. If to speak about a reservation subject, then we move towards structuring areas of responsibility, we revaluate requirements under each serviced IT system, we optimize the internal processes so that the key systems in which functional customers work worked uninterruptedly. In case of making decision on construction of reserve DPC, we will collect, to centralizovyvat all subject of reservation in one geolocation. It will allow to increase efficiency of recovery of the key systems and will lower complexity of the general scheme of recovery.

If in general to speak about our infrastructure then I can give some digits for a common understanding – more than 800 servers, over 50,000 items of equipment, between the enterprises - more than 80 data transmission channels.

Pavel Klepinin In addition to involvement of integrators to project implementation that, in principle, too it is possible to carry to outsourcing, Sibur has agreements with vendors on support of the equipment: servers, switches, storage systems, etc. The second support line is provided with Sibur, and the part of the third line is displaid outside. Also support of business applications is the same way organized.

On outsourcing we also have a considerable part of service of printing though a situation with it at the different enterprises still different. One of tasks for this year – to centralize it. We are going to sign the uniform agreement on service of printing for all group. Until we solved yet whether there will be it pokopiyny printing or we will leave the equipment, we consider different schemes.

Pavel Klepinin In Sibur Open Source is partially used. I consider that there are scopes suitable for it. For example, in the field of mobility – devices on Android OS can be used. For servers Linux OS can be also used.

In Sibur in the whole Open Source it is used where some highly specialized solutions which several times more convenient, than solutions of vendors. So in our case the choice of Open Source is not caused by economic purposes, namely convenience. At the same time, on serious industrial solutions we would hardly begin to use it. Development in Open Source – very unpredictable and absolutely uncontrollable thing: in it there can be some functions, and some can not appear.

Open Source can be justified provided that it is widespread and there are competences in the company connected with its support.

Pavel Klepinin Something from this – more remote perspective, for example, complemented or virtual reality. At the same time we consider biometric technologies as an alternative to the system of wearable admissions for access to different objects, for example. The biometrics is interesting also in terms of control of health of personnel. It is possible to equip checkpoints with such solutions that at arrival on change it was possible to obtain information on the employee's status: what pressure at it, pulse and other parameters. Perhaps, today it should not work for health reasons. I will tell that at one of our enterprises such equipment will be very soon installed, details will be later.