SDI Solution

In a product line of SDI Solution systems for management of the corporate reference information and automation of technology preparation of production are provided. These solutions are a component of a design-technology complex and CADCAM CAE are successfully integrated with \\, PLM and ERP- the systems of the western and domestic vendors.

History

• The CAD of technology processes Vertical (ASCON Ltd, start of project 2002) preceded a CAD Avtoproyekt (JSC NIAT, start of project 1987). Copyright of a CAD Vertical belongs to ASCON Ltd. The project manager is a PhD in Technological Sciences Andrey Andrichenko.

In 2002 already under the auspices of Ascon the development team Avtoproyekt started development of a new technology CAD Vertical. After its exit five versions of this system were created. About 4500 licenses CAD of TP "Avtoproyekt" and "Vertikal" work at hundreds the enterprises of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

In February, 2011 the development team of a CAD of TP "Vertical" left Ascon company. This system is one of three basic software products which is a part of a design-technology complex of Ascon. The key staff who worked in the company about 10 years and taking part in formation of the technology direction of Ascon left. The lack of perspective of the innovative development of the technology direction within Ascon company became the reason of leaving.

According to the CEO Askona Maxim Bogdanov, developers of Vertical agreed not with the fact that the product is considered first of all as a part of the complete solution "Ascon" for mechanical engineering. "The collective was interested in bigger freedom of action and made the decision to implement the intentions out of the company", - he says.

In addition to the team which left Ascon, SDI Solution is going to attract to itself several people from among the Vertikali developers who are laid off from Askona during crisis. Besides, in SDI Solution expect that the specialists in Vertikali who remained in Askona will also pass to them.

The developments which came out Ascon the head of the technology direction - Andrey Andrichenko and the CEO the Ascon-central Russia - Sergey Gorokhov became founders of new company SDI Solution Ltd. Shareholders of the company are CAD developers TP "Vertical".

• On June 17, 2011 in article published on the website of CNews (Ascon accuses former employees of theft of the code"), the ASCON company publicly accused us of theft of the source code. In reply the SDISolutions company stated that source texts of the program developed by SDI Solution Ltd "A management system of NSI "Semantic" (registration number ROSPATENT 2011614242) are original. The SDI Solution Ltd company is formed in September, 2010. The main activity – development of systems of management of the reference information and a technology CAD. Specialists of firm are authors of a CAD of TP "Avtoproyekt" (JSC NIAT, start of project 1987), a CAD of TP "VERTICAL" (ASCON Ltd, start of project 2002). On own initiative all specialists of department of development of a CAD of TP from ASCON the lack of perspectives of further innovative development of the technology direction in this organization was a reason for leaving. Offers on creation of a corporate system of management of NSI within the technology direction, were rejected by company management. In perspective projects of ASCON the functionality of a technology CAD was practically minimized.

Design automation of technology processes is not so much formation of a paper documentation kit, how many decision making process on the basis of the accumulated know-how of technologists. According to us, will be transformed by a CAD of technology processes to the expert systems constructed on the basis of semantic technologies. SDI Solutions regards this trend as key, important for development of all types of automated design engineering systems. Between shareholders of ASCON and VERTIKAL developers there was official an agreement, that the direction of technology developments 'is built as the effective profitable business direction'. In two years after signing this agreement was cancelled by ASCON unilaterally. The rights of system developers were also violated also at registration in ROSPATENT of a CAD of TP "VERTICAL". To group of programmers it was refused authorship to this software product. Violation of official arrangements on business, failure in copyright, lack of perspectives of development in ASCON were basic reasons of our dismissal. In this situation the management of ASCON was forced to recognize our moral right to leaving the company. A subject of discussion in article is the code of the management program for technology reference books which is a part of a CAD of TP "VERTICAL". In ASCON one programmer was engaged in this module. The whole group of professional developers worked on creation of the Semantic program. The link to development terms without quantity of the involved resources and specifics of an object of production are deliberate manipulation.

• * at the beginning of July, 2011 it became known that the conflict between the Ascon CAD domestic developer and a team of his former employees which recently created SDI Solution home company approaches end. After exchange of strong statements last month, both parties of scandal over Semantic, a flagship product of SDI Solution, sung small. In a conversation with CNews they carefully expressed aspiration to pre-judicial conciliation.

"We are ready to discuss joint ways of an exit from current situation", - the official representative Askona Olga Kalyagina reported CNews.

The chairman of the board of directors of SDI Solution Andrey Andrichenko says that in SDI are ready to issue the settlement agreement about removal of claims in a pre-judicial order if Ascon "admits the fact of violation of the law about the competition". According to the source close to SDI, in the company would welcome peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The packet of mutual claims Askona and its former employees belongs to the first flagship product of a startup of SDI Solution: to a management system for the normative reference information Semantic.

In Askona in June, 2011 with doubt treated news of Semantic release. A developer CAD assumed that the SDI command had not enough time for creation of own product, and, therefore, when developing Semantic "the intellectual property of Ascon was taken as a basis".

It is interesting that developers Semantic on own website call a prototype of the product UTRB (Universal Technology Reference Book), being the part of a CAD Vertical created by the same development team which makes SDI Solution now.

However, the chairman of the board of directors of SDI Solution Andrey Andrichenko emphasizes, is first "the system of the class Master Data Management (MDM) constructed using semantic technologies and adapted to conditions of domestic engineering industry". According to him, failure of the management Askona from this direction of works became one of the reasons of departure of developers in home company: "The management did not interest this direction, management of corporate handbook data of the enterprise, and we in it see a key trend – maynstry".

After Semantic start the official representative of the company said that "Ascon without fail will carry out expertize (license purity of Semantic - a comment of CNews) and will prepare documents for appeal to the court because theft should be punishable". As far as we know CNews, by these put a position of a part of top management Askona into words.

SDI in return then certified CNews of license purity of source codes of Semantic, and accused Ascon of unfair competition. On July 1, 2011 the CEO of SDI Sergey Gorokhov published the open letter (to download PDF) to the management of the former employer in which once again confirmed purity of the product and told several unpleasant facts from history Askona. Judging by the open letter, during operation the current staff of SDI over a CAD Vertical in Askona, "to group of programmers it was refused authorship to this software product".

In particular, failure in recognition of copyright and also "lack of perspectives of development" became basic reasons of an outcome of Vertikali developers from Askona at the beginning of 2011.

By the fall of 2011 the development team of SDI Solution will add two more components of a software package to already written Semantic: A CAD of Timeline and an automated workplace of labor and material regulation then the software package SDI Solution will approach on functionality Vertical.

Meanwhile, in Askona support and creation actually of Vertical continues. Ascon is going to prepare its next release by 2012. The company reported to CNews that "the product is transferred to development center in Kolomna, it is taken in hand and Askona will develop according to plans".

Development plans

The company will continue work in the field of automation of technology preparation of production of the Russian engineering enterprises. An exit of a new automated design engineering system of technology processes is planned for fall of 2011.

First of all, succession of solutions will be provided: Avtoproyekt – Vertical – technology from SDI Solution. Practices of users will remain, regardless of where and with whom our command will work.

The principles on which the new CAD will be constructed, are declared in the company name Esdiay (SDI – semantic data integration) - semantic data integration. All CAD is in fact expert systems therefore the outlined trend of change of an object paradigm with semantic is so important. It is maynstry which opens new opportunities of representation of knowledge and improvement of mechanisms of decision making in a CAD.

The SDI Solution company has plans of involvement of the strategic partner from among the known western vendors which are engaged in development of CAD, PLM, ERP systems to propose the joint solution to the enterprises, interested in removal of technology preparation of the production on new level. The company is also ready to consider all offers on investment into business of the company.