Vladimir Turlachev: the market of IT services seriously changes

TAdviser: Tell how in Softline the direction of IT outsourcing and technical support appeared?

Vladimir Turlachev: Our company works at the market more than 20 years. Certainly, together with the first deliveries we began to conclude also the first the service agreement of the implemented solutions. Five years ago, when the amounts of works connected with IT outsourcing and technical maintenance grew to the sizes comparable to core business of the company, the decision on creation of separate division was made. It was made to structure the carried-out works and to purposefully increase the purchased examination.

Vladimir Turlachev

Today most of customers knows that any solution which delivers or implements Softline can be complemented with a range of services on its maintenance.

TAdviser: Tell in more detail how today work of the direction of IT outsourcing and technical maintenance in Softline is organized?

Vladimir Turlachev: Today in the company several hundred highly qualified specialists involved in provision of services on service of solutions of clients work: from call center operators to technical support engineers and developers of information systems. Territorially these employees are in all our offices – from Kaliningrad to the Far East. In addition to optimization of cost of services, such distribution model of engineering resources helps to implement effectively continuous provision of services in the round-the-clock mode. It is important for all our clients – as for the small distributed companies numbering several hundred people (for example, outsourcing of service of IT operation of network of medical clinics), and for the large companies of federal level – telecommunication operators, retail chain stores and banking organizations.

At the moment we have all examination, experience and tools for full maintenance, control and maintenance of operability of the systems of our clients.

TAdviser: For what reason do customers give the systems on outsourcing or technical support of the external company?

Vladimir Turlachev: It is no secret that at most of customers - competent IT personnel which can independently solve many assigned tasks. However loading by a routine and deadlines of implementation of changes do not allow to carry out all tasks facing IT service of the client. Therefore for effective business development customers are ready to shift a part of IT tasks to the external company.

TAdviser: How does your division and what shows results develop?

Vladimir Turlachev: Despite the crisis phenomena continues to develop in the IT industries, the direction of IT outsourcing and technical support actively. For the last year its turnover grew more than by 30%. We continue to expand a service portfolio. Technical support and IT outsourcing in Softline show significant growth today. Our direction is valuable to business of the company in general.

It is necessary to tell that we are not limited only to the markets, usual for the Russian integrators. For example, we actively develop provision of services of IT outsourcing in the countries of Latin America where the Russian integrators not especially aimed still. Also there are interesting projects in the CIS countries.

Today our technical support service carries out tasks in the round-the-clock mode, using modern industrial monitoring systems and request processings. The general flow of addresses is measured by tens of thousands.

TAdviser: How did transition to import substitution policy affect business of Softline and your division in particular?

Vladimir Turlachev: Products of the foreign companies make a considerable part of solutions which we implement and we accompany. At the moment almost all our technical specialists were trained to work with the new products which entered the market. Besides, we create laboratory stands and knowledge bases. On leading manufacturers we will become authorized as the service center to provide services on behalf of vendors. All efforts which we make now allow to accumulate experience, to study possibilities of this or that solution and to estimate as its implementation affects work of business applications and IT infrastructures of our clients. In this direction we offer the complex approach providing maintenance, the guaranteed availability and also observance of requirements for security.

TAdviser: What changed in business of division with increase of crisis in the IT sphere?

Vladimir Turlachev: In recent months it became obvious that the arisen crisis situation had a strong impact practically on all companies. If to speak about Softline, then the last half a year of steel for us the acceleration period.

For Softline as integrator it was expressed not in decrease in a flow of requests from clients, and in high-quality change of approach to them. Present client requests mention not only the IT infrastructure and technological level of service expected by the client, they are more focused on business effect. Said about it long ago, but still a year ago this trend was not so explicit. Now it is possible to speak about the shift of accents in the field of technical support and IT outsourcing as about the come true fact.

TAdviser: What your forecast concerning further developments in the conditions of the continuing crisis in the IT sphere?

Vladimir Turlachev: The Russian market strongly changed for last shock period. I think that top trends will be connected with business requests as customers look for the most effective solutions which will help them to optimize workflows. Also among principal directions there will be a support of cloud structures and mobile complexes. Now practically all systems which we take on maintenance by default mean support of mobile versions. "Clouds" and mobility – trends of our time.

There is one more interesting trend which will gain development - it is consolidation of IT resources and their centralized service. Already today many geographically distributed clients are ready to invest in centralization of service of all regional divisions further not to spend additional resources. Generally it is insurance companies, retail, banks.

It is sure that in conditions when many companies reduce budgets by IT and the number of the planned projects limit, demand for leasing of the equipment will grow. He on himself is an outsourcing element. When the client wants turnkey project implementation, it with high probability means that he is not going to buy the equipment, and will take it in leasing. Especially as it is rather profitable: it is not necessary to distract current assets, to provide pledge, etc. Now every third case on study on IT outsourcing includes service of leasing of the equipment.

TAdviser: Whether renders your division of OEM service?

Vladimir Turlachev: Yes. We actively develop also such direction as support of products on behalf of the producer. The company constantly undergoes certification at different international vendors to act as their service center. So addressing for consultation on different products in Softline company, the customer actually receives the same range of services which are provided by the producer: are equal in this plan of competence.

TAdviser: What is customer support in Softline?

Vladimir Turlachev: Acceptance of service requests of clients is performed by phone, e-mail or via the system interface of ServiceDesk. Level of the provided service is enshrined in agreements on maintenance. Receiving requests, coordinators of requests of Softline work them on the existing knowledge bases or redirect to engineers of the required direction taking into account regional distribution of a support service, working time, need of departure and the current loading of resources. In parallel in structure of department the division on quality management of service works, project managers who control the level of the rendered services entered it while the contract works.

TAdviser: What services are in the greatest demand for customers?

Vladimir Turlachev: If to speak about IT outsourcing, then recently customers are interested more execution of works on places and also assistance to local gurus in implementation of standard works. Despite the routine nature of required transactions, they occupy up to 80% of time in the diagram of ordinary administrators. As a result – they have not enough time for fruitful participation in development of own systems. The trend on resource optimization, especially in the big distributed companies is here too traced.

Also now many clients consider the possibility of maintenance of cloud IT systems (both public, and private, and hybrid "clouds"). As a rule, parameters of services of the top level as a result register in the agreement with the client on maintenance, without going into details – in what infrastructure they are located. If in terms of compliance of technical requirements and cost of infrastructure it is more correct to take out it in "cloud" – "cloud" of Softline or our partners will be used. And what should be stored for some reason on the equipment (on a customer site or in our Data center) – remains there. The integrator at the same time provides normal functioning and system availability in general.

TAdviser: Whether Softline participates in development of IT systems of clients?

Vladimir Turlachev: At maintenance of any IT system it is always required to make some changes. Business Systems Development of clients and, as a result, their IT infrastructure is an inevitable process, and Softline actively participates in it. Advantage of the external outsourcer consists that the changes offered them reflect experience and knowledge accumulated in other projects. Clients receive examination without additional costs on a research and therefore they appreciate such opportunity. Development of IT infrastructure is practically in all our outsourcing contracts: from the small systems for the SMB-companies to the large distributed companies of federal level.

TAdviser: Describe, please, how interaction of specialists with customers of your services when planning changes in manual operating systems is made?

Vladimir Turlachev: As we are responsible for availability of services and we provide maintenance of IT systems of the customer, any change should be followed by obligatory verification. So we should confirm in terms of operation that reliability of a system will not suffer. If for some reason there are doubts or explicit risks, we together with the client look for options of a way out and the painless solution of a question. Also on a periodic basis there is obligatory creation of reports on requests, according to solutions, load graphs of systems and productivities are under construction. If we see that for some reason the client "sinks" or breakdowns on any section of a system became frequent, it is submitted for discussion with the client for acceptance of the warning measures and development jointly of the system solution.

TAdviser: What your expectations and plans for the forthcoming financial year?

Vladimir Turlachev: Expectations more likely iridescent. In spite of the fact that year it will be explicit very interesting and will not allow us to miss, quite real point of growth for the successful system integrator was created. A technical support service and IT outsourcing are demanded more than ever now. The market under a stress became more mature, requests from clients - are more better.

Plans, as usual, – significant increase in volumes of services, expansion of a portfolio and, of course, development of foreign markets. In a current economic environment it is really feasible tasks which will help our company to save the leading positions in the field of providing IT services.