Clouds for microbusiness: the overview of services in Russia

What is microbusiness and as to automate it?

When it comes about business automation, the first that is represented to the ordinary person - it is corporate systems: dozens of specialists implementers in ties, the presentation with charts and diagrams, a great number of users, a big programming team and the impressive budget. These systems are intended for large and medium-sized companies.

Meanwhile, a huge number of the organizations and individual entrepreneurs can be referred to representatives even not of small, but so-called microbusiness. An official framework of such companies is limited to the number of employees in fifteen people and an annual turnover to 60 million rubles. According to Rosstat for 2011 the number of the functioning microenterprises in our country makes more than one million. If to add to this number still actually acting individual entrepreneurs, then the number of subjects of microbusiness in the Russian Federation will be close to three million. However, less than 15% of the economic and active population are busy here that is significantly lower, than, for example, in Europe or the USA. But, anyway, it is millions of the organizations and many millions of people who work there. At the same time nearly two thirds of the total number of the microenterprises and SP in Russia work in the field of trade and rendering services.

Information technologies entered life of business of any caliber long ago and firmly. What problems software products for automation of the small organizations are designed to solve? Automation in this sphere usually is understood as problem solving, connected with conducting tax and financial accounting - i.e. such accounting which is intended first of all for meeting requirements of regulatory authorities. Operational and, generally, managerial accounting is pushed the background. Nevertheless, in everyday life small business needs to create primary documents, to keep inventory and financial account, to carry out sales, to control cash flow and a status of settlement with partners and also to solve many other problems. It is the most convenient to do it by means of specialized software, but not in spreadsheets, or, in the old manner, using a pencil and a notebook. It is clear, that the interests of business are not limited to accounting, but without it it is impossible to organize work of firm.

Fashionable word "SaaS"

For many years purchase of the suitable program (or licenses) and its installation on jobs of users was the only way of informatization of the enterprise. Recently the broadband Internet was included everywhere into our life and the prices of it (even in the province) fell to impropriety. Together with it there were new methods of distribution of programs which allowed software developers, aimed at mass market, directly to interact with the clients. Probably, the most known and discussed from them now is SaaS, an abbreviation from Software as a Service that "The software as Service" is literally translated.

SaaS is not technology or the platform. It is just a method of distribution of the software product. The user does not set software locally, and gets access to the application through the Internet, usually using for this purpose the web browser. All cares of infrastructure are completely undertaken by provider of service. Certainly, to be on sale in such a way, the software product should be appropriately designed. There is a wish to note words fashionable recently which are everywhere mentioned together with SaaS (and often these concepts are equated): clouds, cloud computing. Cloud computing is a model at which providing the computing resources which are in joint use happens far off at the request of the user. It serves normal the environment of access to cloud resources the Internet. Thus, "cloud" is more an infrastructure component which is necessary for distribution of a product according to the SaaS model.

What qualities should the products intended for microbusiness automation have? First of all, a system should be inexpensive upon initial purchase and have the predictable low cost of ownership - the few from newly made entrepreneurs in our country have a little significant seed capital, and it is necessary to start case at once. Any accounting product needs to correspond to the current legislation - for this purpose it should be updated timely. Besides, a system should work in the multi-user mode as according to the statistics on average at the microenterprise in Russia works three employees. Well and certainly, software should solve the main objective - to automate daily activity of firm. At the same time it should be simple and clear as far as it is possible at the known complexity of data domain. Not all have time for studying of volumes of literature, especially when it is necessary to focus on earning money.

Cult of yellow boxes

The main player (and some even claim, as the monopolist) in the market of automation of small business in Russia, beyond all doubt, is the 1C company which names of products became nominal in the area long ago. Solutions of 1C occupy more than 80% of the market of information systems for small business in our country^[1].

By some estimates for June, 2013, the total number of implementations of 1C in Russia exceeded one million. Proceeding from the fact that subjects of microbusiness as we found out above - 3 million, at least 60% of the companies in general do not use specialized solutions for accounting yet. So about any market saturation it is not necessary to speak so far.

Besides, it is much more profitable to the companies working in this sector to work with medium-sized and large enterprises where the size of projects and budgets is incomparable more. Small business not so willingly spends money for IT.

The basis of sales of 1C is formed by classical, desktop products. Or, as they are often called still, "boxes". Sale, implementation, completion and support of solutions by 1C on places take not the developer, but wide network of the partner franchisee. Partners also create the application solutions based on the technology platform developed by 1C.

What applied products are offered by 1C for small and microbusiness? First of all the following programs on the eighth version of the platform: "1C: Accounting", Simplified tax system, Entrepreneur, Retail, Trade management and "Management of small firm". The first two configurations are intended for automation of accounting and tax accounting and also preparation of the regulated reporting. "1C: Entrepreneur", as the name speaks for itself, serves for a reporting preparation of SP and conducting simple accounting. "Retail", Trade management and "Management of small firm" are intended for automation of trade and answer questions of operational and management accounting. The listed solutions of 1C have extensive functionality, follow the legislation in the respective areas, are constantly updated, and if something happens to you numerous partners of developer in any region of Russia are ready to come to the rescue.

It would seem that here to think? Select (or rather buy) a system from 1C with required opportunities and use! But not everything is so cloudless. The software products offered by 1C Company are divided into Basic and PROF versions. The first are deprived of a possibility of adaptation according to customer requirements (this, probably, not most critical condition for small business), do not work in the network mode and use electronic key of protection (the number of installations of the application is limited), but updates on the Internet are provided for them free of charge. For the PROF version the user is obliged to subscribe after the expiration of the free period for receiving information and technology maintenance - a disk of ITS, the price for which in a year starts with nearly 25 thousand rubles. Besides, "boxes - PROF" are many times more expensive than "basic". Because of the cost of purchase and further ownership, "basic" versions for small business look more attractively, but they, unfortunately, work only in a single user mode. At the same time the business model of work of the franchisee does unprofitable sale of "basic" versions of products and maintenance of their users who are not ready to pay tens of thousands of rubles a month for automation of the activity.

Certainly, there are both commercial, and free products of other producers, but they at the moment cannot compete with the market leader neither on prevalence and support, nor by the given opportunities in terms of functionality.

But will be enough about desktop applications. Let's return to other modes of work with software products, and, first of all, to SaaS. How does our leader feel here? Still a year ago the share of sales of solutions SaaS of 1C made significantly less than a percent from sales of the traditional boxed systems^[2]. However the company considers priority a problem of ensuring availability of application solutions on the 1C: Enterprise platform in cloud environments. New versions of products are released with a view to delivery to the user according to SaaS, the others - adapt. 1C stakes on development of partner model of distribution of the products, adapting it to cloud realities. Besides, the company works also with option of independent delivery of the solutions to the end user. It is possible to mention its own 1cfresh.ru project and 1cair.ru, joint with the partner of Intalev. Also in 2011 1C became the co-owner of MyWayhouse service which provides the online solution for conducting inventory accounting and trade management.

SaaS: advantages and perspectives

For June, 2013 positions of traditional products of 1C are represented firm. But as for the SaaS market in Russia, it is still very young and potentially can give many surprises. So the others? Whether there is an opportunity at other developers to compete with 1C which actively falls within the scope of SaaS?

Cloud products represent as rather long ago declared in this sphere:

• SKB Kontur with the system circuit.accounting,
• Lognex company with already mentioned MyWayhouse system,
• Moyedelo LLC with the service of the same name,
• and rather young projects - Nebopro from Nebo Online-bukhgalteriya LLC and
• Big Bird service of development of Eteron company.

At the same time "MyWayhouse" and Big Bird are positioned as a system for conducting inventory and operational accounting, and all other solutions - as online accounting. All listed products initially represent web applications and see the audience individual entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Advantages of the software products distributed according to the SaaS model and using cloud computing are obvious both to users, and to developers of such applications. For users - this lack of need to put software on the computer (remember, what is the time you spent for reinstallation of programs after a premature demise of your operating system), considerable reduction in cost of ownership (the lack of initial costs, the fixed subscription fee which cost includes technical support and updates cares for "iron" and safety of data provider), a possibility of remote work on the Internet (usually do not impose on SaaS services strict requirements to the operating system or the user's browser). It is simpler to developers to contain, service and develop solutions in a cloud, interacting at the same time directly with the client that allows to offer tempting rates for use of SaaS services.

The directions and opportunities for development of SaaS products are very wide. Various additional services which, most likely, will be also actively demanded by target audience, and the main thing, for which it in principle is ready to pay allow to develop such solutions. Here it is possible to refer delivery of the reporting on the Internet directly in tax, integration with marketplaces of online stores, transparent ensuring access to relevant information bases (for example, the USRLE, the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, a BIC and to others), joint work with the specialized systems (for example, Internet banking or a task management). Separately It should be noted growth of popularity of mobile devices - the tablets and smartphones connected to the Internet for which SaaS-application looks as the most natural method of access to a product.

The business model of 1C is under construction on big network of the franchisee. They under a trademark of 1C sell 'boxes', carry out implementation, accompany and update the software. Partners can also lease software of 1C including via the Internet. In this light desire of 1C to work directly with end users of the software products, acting as SaaS provider, contradicts the interests of partners of the company. Whether 1C will saw a bough on which sits and to undermine the existing order of things? It is trusted hardly, and it gives additional chance to solutions SaaS developers to compete with monopoly of 1C in the market of automation of small business in Russia.

In 2013 services for conducting online accounting are multiplied as mushrooms after a rain. What of them "will shoot", will show time. Beyond all doubt, the competition - it is good, and the user will only win, having had an opportunity to select a product on the taste and a purse, without being limited to boxed programs. And, judging from the fact that historically we lag behind in IT sphere the West for several years, already in about three years we are waited by the mass growth of number of users cloud SaaS services.

Author: Oleg Sidorenkov