Softline Softline

Softline has been operating in the information technology market since 1993 and occupies one of the leading positions in the field of software licensing and related services - IT education, consulting, legal support, technical support and IT outsourcing.

Aktivs

The Softline group of companies includes:

• Softline - specializes in working with corporate end users. It is an authorized supplier of companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Symantec, Citrix, Adobe, Corel, Check Point, Trend Micro, Kaspersky Lab and many others.
• Axoft (formerly a division of Softline) is engaged in distribution and partner sales,
• Allsoft.ru - online store
• Active Technologies - Belarusian company, cloud service provider
• Novacom is a Belarusian company, integrator, supplier and developer of information systems as part of Softline since 2012.
• The High Technologies Center (HTC) are an Izhevsk company that provides services for custom development of the full cycle.
• TC "Engineer" - consulting INFORMATION SECURITY-company (from February 2022).

• Softline Venture Partners

Financial performance

Main article: Softline Financial Performance

2023: Growth in turnover by 29% to 91.5 billion rubles

Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and, information security on February 15, 2024, shared TAdviser with its unaudited consolidated financial results for IFRS 2023. According to representatives of Softline, the group's turnover in the reporting year reached a historically record level of 91.5 billion rubles and showed significant growth (by 29%) compared to the same indicator in 2022.

The negative effect of the departure of a significant part of foreign software and equipment manufacturers was offset by the reorientation of the company's business to Russian suppliers and the expansion of its own product line. In addition, the turnover structure continues to change significantly, in which over 23% have already made up their own highly profitable solutions, Softline noted. Thus, during the reporting period, the turnover from the sale of own solutions increased more than 3 times. The most significant increase in the indicator was recorded from the sale of its own services and cloud solutions (+ 265% YoY) and from the sale of its own software and other products, the value of which increased by more than 14 times. At the same time, the turnover from the sale of third-party solutions also showed an increase of 9%.

For the 12 months of 2023, the net profit indicator amounted to 4.5 billion rubles against 6.5 billion rubles in 2022. The decrease in net profit was largely due to the high base of 2022, associated with one-time significant income from the revaluation of the fair value of financial instruments, the company explained. In addition, the growth of net profit in the reporting period was constrained by an increase in interest expenses. In addition, in 2023, atypical and one-time expenses were incurred related to numerous M&A transactions, obtaining public status by the company (placement of the company's ordinary shares on the Moscow and St. Petersburg exchanges, as well as the exchange of Noventiq GDRs for Softline PJSC shares), as well as the placement of the fifth bond issue of Softline PJSC.

According to the group, gross profit at the end of 2023 increased almost 2 times compared to 2022 and also reached a historic maximum of 23.6 billion rubles. The main reason for the growth of gross profit and gross profitability in the company is called the replacement of solutions of foreign manufacturers with a wide range of their own highly profitable products and services, as well as products of Russian IT manufacturers.

In the structure of gross profit, more than half of its share fell on highly profitable own decisions of the group. The indicator increased almost 4 times year-on-year, reaching 14.1 billion rubles. Of these, in particular, gross profit on the company's own services and cloud solutions increased almost 4 times - to 10.9 billion rubles, compared with 2.9 billion rubles a year earlier. At the same time, gross profit on the group's own software and other products increased by more than 15 times.

As a result, the company's gross turnover margin for 2023 increased year-on-year by 8.4 percentage points to 25.8%. The highest gross margin was recorded from the sales of own software and other products (97%) and from the sales of the company's own services and cloud solutions (70%). In general, gross profitability on sales of own solutions for the 12 months of 2023 amounted to 66.0%, from sales of third-party solutions - 13.5%.

Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months of 2023 amounted to 4.4 billion rubles (+ 72% YoY). Adjusted EBITDA margin (as% of gross profit) was 18.8%, a slight decrease of 2.2 pp due to investments made by the group for business development, including in the future development of its own highly profitable products and services.

At the reporting date, the company's net debt amounted to 8.1 billion rubles. The ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months of 2023 was 1.8x, a comfortable level of debt burden for the company. At the same time, at the reporting date, the Group had liquid short-term financial investments totaling RUB 11.0 billion. Thus, the indicator of adjusted net debt minus investments in these instruments becomes negative.

A positive factor in maintaining the group's liquidity in 2023 was the receipt of funds from operating activities in the amount of 8.5 billion rubles.

The number of employees as of December 31, 2023 increased to 8,475, or 68% since the beginning of 2023, with the share of engineers and developers of the group exceeding 55% of the total number of employees.

Within the framework of the approved Softline budget for 2024, it is expected to increase the group's turnover to at least 110 billion rubles. Gross profit, according to the management forecast, will also grow to at least 30 billion rubles. In addition, the adjusted EBITDA indicator, according to the management forecast, in 2024 will increase to at least 6 billion rubles.

The group's adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio at the end of 2024 is still expected to be no more than 2.

"The published results of PJSC Softline's activities exceeded our expectations. We were confident in the growth of the main financial indicators, but a favorable market situation, an effective new strategy and the productive work of our motivated team ensured the receipt of results exceeding the forecast announced by the company, - said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline. - In addition to strong positive dynamics of financial indicators, we consider our great achievement to be a change in the structure of turnover and gross profit. So, in 2023, the turnover from the sale of its own solutions increased more than 3 times, and the share of gross profit received also from the sale of IT products and services of its own production of PJSC Softline increased almost to 60%. The results of 2023 for us are a strong reserve for the future, in which we see ourselves as a backbone player in the IT market and an industry leader. "

Stocks and bonds

Main item: Softline Shares and Bonds

History

2024

Deal to sell 30,020,400 shares

On September 9, 2024, PJSC Softline announced a deal to sell 30,020,400 of its shares (which amounts to 9.27% of the authorized capital) to a large institutional investor (previously these shares belonged to a subsidiary of the Group, Softline Projects LLC). The transaction was concluded at the average market price of the share for the period during the month preceding the signing of the transaction.

The investor is an integrated engineering scientific and technological group of companies, a supplier of complex solutions for strategic megaprojects of the Russian Federation, included in the list of backbone organizations of the domestic economy.

This Transaction is aimed at strengthening the position of PJSC Softline in the direction of forming an industrial cluster of software products and solutions for industrial enterprises. The funds received by the Company as part of the Transaction with the Investor will be used to finance the Company's prospective projects ensuring accelerated growth of the Group's value, including financing of new acquisitions.

{{quote 'author = noted Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline. | The entry of the next institutional investor into the structure of the share capital of our Company is another indicator of the high assessment of the business prospects of PJSC Softline by the market. We are certainly pleased with the growing interest of its professional members in investing in the development of the Group, and are confident that the capital raised will allow the Company to achieve its strategic goals even faster, in particular, through our active M&A strategy. I would also like to add that a large diversification of the share capital structure of PJSC Softline will improve the efficiency and quality of corporate governance within the Group of Companies, }}

Opening a representative office in Vietnam

Softline Group of Companies in September 2024 announced the opening of a new representative office in Vietnam. The company's office began working in Ho Chi Minh City as part of an international expansion strategy aimed at developing business in the markets of friendly countries.

As the group emphasized, the main goal of the representative office in Vietnam is to promote its own portfolio of products and services, including industry IT solutions based on artificial intelligence and information security solutions. The company also intends to promote an increase in the presence of Russian IT vendors in the region for the joint development of technologies and cooperation.

Softline opens in Vietnam

According to the press service of Softline, the choice of Vietnam to create a regional hub in Southeast Asia was due to the high growth rate of digitalization of the country's economy. Vietnam holds a leading position in the region in terms of digital adoption, which is due to the active support of the IT industry from the government and the rapid development of local companies. The national strategy for research and development of artificial intelligence, adopted by Vietnam until 2030, contributes to the further introduction of advanced technologies into the country's economy.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam's digital economy is growing by 10% annually, and by 2045 it could exceed $200 billion. This growth rate makes the country one of the key markets for IT companies focused on international expansion.

Alexander Rozhkov, Director for International Business Development at Softline Group of companies, stressed that before opening the representative office, the company conducted its own market research and studied the IT landscape of the region. Vietnam was chosen due to the positive dynamics of digitalization, favorable attitude towards Russian IT solutions, as well as wide opportunities for the selection of qualified specialists compared to a number of neighboring countries.^[1]

Sale of 9% stake to major institutional investor

On September 9, 2024, PJSC Softline announced the sale of 9.27% of shares to a large institutional investor. The buyer's name was not disclosed, but it is known that this is an integrated engineering scientific and technological group of companies, a supplier of complex solutions for strategic megaprojects in Russia, included in the list of backbone organizations of the domestic economy.

The investor acquired 30,020,400 shares of Softline. The seller was Softline Projects LLC, a subsidiary of Softline, on the balance sheet of which there were a little more than 35 million shares received as a result of the additional issue in the fall of 2023. The transaction was concluded at the average market price of the share for the period during the month preceding the signing of the relevant agreement. If we proceed from the value of Softline shares on the Moscow Exchange as of August 2024, we can talk about about 4.5 billion rubles.

Softline sold a 9% stake to an institutional investor

The entry of the next institutional investor into the structure of the share capital of our company is another indicator of the high assessment of the business prospects of PJSC Softline by the market. We are certainly pleased with the growing interest of its professional participants in investing in the development of the group, and are confident that the capital raised will allow the company to achieve its strategic goals even faster, in particular, through our active M&A strategy, "says Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline.

It is assumed that the deal will help Softline in forming an industrial cluster of software products and solutions for industrial enterprises. The funds raised will be used to finance promising projects that ensure accelerated growth in the group's value. We are talking, in particular, about the acquisition of other market participants.^[2]

Registration of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation prospectus of ordinary shares

PJSC Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, announces the registration by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of the prospectus of ordinary shares of PJSC Softline. The company announced this on September 2, 2024.

The prospectus was registered within the framework of the previously announced decision of the Company's Board of Directors to place an additional issue of Softline PJSC shares in order to finance M&A the transactions.

The Company also informs shareholders about the beginning of the possibility of exercising the pre-emptive right to purchase PJSC Softline shares at the price to be determined by the Company's Board of Directors based on the market value of PJSC Softline shares after the completion of the collection of applications from shareholders. Shareholders who have expressed a desire to exercise their pre-emptive right during the collection of applications make a final decision on the exercise of their pre-emptive right, payment and purchase of shares of PJSC Softline within 5 business days after the Company's Board of Directors announces the offering price.

The period during which a person who has a preemptive right to purchase shares has the right to file an application for the exercise of a preemptive right is 8 business days from the date of the beginning of the preemptive right: from September 02, 2024 to September 12, 2024. The preemptive right to purchase additional shares is held by persons who own ordinary shares of PJSC Softline on 07.07.2024.

{{quote 'author = said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline. | We are pleased to announce important developments that bring us closer to the implementation of the Company's growth strategy approved earlier. I would like to note once again that raising equity capital is a very balanced and, in my opinion, the only sure way that provides us with financing growth faster than market ones. We continue to implement our growth strategy and have already acquired 5 companies in 2024, which will provide us with at least 30% of the announced growth in EBITDA pro-form. In addition, the pre-emptive right for our current investors, which we also announced on September 2, 2024, will allow the Company's shareholders to maintain their stake in PJSC Softline. It is extremely important for us that the rights of our investors are taken into account and respected, this is our most important priority, }}

Acquisition of controlling interest in NTO IRE-Polus

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline) - a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and developing information security a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services - September 2, 2024 announced to the portal TAdviser the acquisition of a controlling stake in a fiber producer lasers NTO "IRE-Polus" from an international group IPG Photonics based in USA and represented in,, and Russia Germany Italy others; countries of the world the minority stake in the deal was received by the company's top management. The transaction amount amounted to about 4.5 billion. rubles More. here

Softline decided to bankrupt the Main Directorate for the Arrangement of Troops

IT-company "Softline" intends to initiate the bankruptcy procedure for the construction enterprise of the Ministry of Defense of Russia - JSC "Main Directorate for the Arrangement of Troops" (GUOV). This became known at the end of August 2024. The company plans to file a corresponding application with the arbitration court, but the specific grounds for appeal have not yet been specified. Read more here

Repayment of part of issued bonds by the Republic of Belarus

Softline on August 26, 2024 announced the repayment by the Republic of Belarus of part of the issued bonds available in the Company's securities portfolio.

PJSC Softline, as the holder of the above securities, received 1.55 billion rubles as a result of the current repayment. Together with the 1.5 billion rubles received at the beginning of the year, the Company received a total of more than 3 billion rubles. Thus, the total financial result of these transactions completed since the beginning of the year amounted to more than 1.6 billion rubles - income is recorded as a change in the fair value of the Company's financial instruments for 2023.

The company also expects the repayment of the bond issue issued by the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus for another 2.6 billion rubles in the near future.

The proceeds will be used to reduce the Group's debt, which consequently reduces the Company's interest expense.

{{quote 'author = said Artem Tarakanov, CFO of PJSC Softline. | We are proud that timely investment decisions have allowed us to achieve good returns at low risk, but after the complete repayment of our entire portfolio of securities, we do not have plans to invest in such assets and will focus on maximizing revenues from the Group's core activities. We are satisfied with the financial result of the transaction, and the liquidity obtained will allow us to significantly reduce the debt burden of the Company. In the context of expensive debt financing, this is extremely important. "}}

Opening a hub in the United Arab Emirates

Softline Group (PJSC Softline), a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, on May 22, 2024 informed TAdviser about the opening of a hub in the United Arab Emirates. According to the group's plans, this center of expertise in the future will allow Softline to offer domestic IT solutions and services throughout the Middle East.

As part of the strategy of international expansion announced earlier, Softline Group of Companies consistently enters the markets of friendly countries. In particular, having opened the first hub in Central Asia (in the Republic of Kazakhstan), the company continues to develop in the east and launches a representative office in Dubai.

The main goal of the group in the Middle East will be to promote its own products and services, as well as the solutions of Russian vendors. At the same time, in the markets of the company's presence, within the framework of a single approach to expansion, a full range of IT services will be provided: implementation, technical support and support.

As specified in Softline, the choice of directions for expansion is justified by our own research conducted by the group, as well as analytical information from various sources, including Russoft, export centers, trade representative offices. The countries of the EAEU, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and India are one of the priority points of international development, where domestic developers focus their attention and predict revenue growth. At the same time, according to company representatives, in these territories as of the end of May 2024, there is no system player focused on the promotion of Russian IT solutions and forming the necessary competence centers for domestic products that can fully engage in the maintenance and implementation of projects. Thus, Softline is systematically becoming a provider of domestic technologies in friendly countries, as well as to a certain extent a support for Russian IT manufacturers, which, according to the group's idea, will allow us to unite efforts in the development of exports of high-tech products.

"Before entering the Middle East market, we held quite a few meetings with potential customers, attended specialized events, exhibitions, conferences, within the framework of which we worked out hypotheses regarding our own products and solutions. We see the greatest potential in our expertise in the field of cybersecurity and business solutions based on AI technologies, computer vision and IoT, "said Alexander Rozhkov, Director of International Business Development at Softline Group of Companies.

According to him, the group forms a diversified export portfolio, which is based both on Softline's own developments and on the expertise of the group's specialists on various solutions and products of leading domestic manufacturers. According to the expert, this will make it possible to offer customers and partners of this region a flexible and at the same time integrated approach to the implementation of their tasks.

In the future, Softline plans to further develop its foreign resource centers and deepen penetration into the Middle East and Central Asian regions. In particular, Softline Group of companies plans to increase its presence in these territories both by increasing the staff in already open hubs and by gradually opening new representative offices, added Alexander Rozhkov.

Opening an office in Kazakhstan for expansion into Central Asia

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline), a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, enters the market of the Republic of Kazakhstan, forming a hub in Almaty, which, according to the group's idea, will become a link between Russian information technologies and Central Asian companies. This was announced on April 22, 2024 by representatives of Softline to TAdviser.

As Alexander Rozhkov, Director for International Business Development of Softline Group of companies, clarified the portal, the hub means a full-fledged office and, subsequently, a resource center for the Central Asia region. According to him, on the basis of this hub, the company plans to provide a full range of services in relation to its own products and solutions of Russian manufacturers, from piloting, implementation to technical support and training. At the first stage, the technical resources of Softline Group of Companies will be actively involved in the project business. As business develops in the Central Asia region, local technical expertise will increase.

Taking into account the multidisciplinary portfolio of solutions with which we enter the market, as well as the wide expertise and experience of GC specialists, we are ready to interact with customers of any level and industry segment, who, in turn, will be ready to consider and implement solutions from Russian manufacturers, "Alexander Rozhkov shared with TAdviser.

As part of the Softline Group of companies strategy announced earlier, one of the priority areas of development is international expansion into the markets of friendly countries. The strategy involves the consistent opening of hubs - centers of expertise Softline - in various countries of the world. Representation in Kazakhstan will be "starting accurate" for entering the entire Central Asian market. This is a fundamentally important step for starting the implementation of the expansion strategy, since this region is adjacent to the Russian Federation, and some Russian software and equipment manufacturers are already actively building interaction with local customers, distributors and integrators, Softline emphasized. At the same time, many customers from Central Asian companies show loyalty and express their readiness to consider Russian software and equipment as an alternative to Western solutions.

According to representatives of the company, thanks to the expansion of the presence of Softline Group of Companies, Russian vendors will acquire a partner in this region who will be able to focus on promoting domestic solutions, implement complex complex projects and provide the necessary support for the implementation and operation of products. At the same time, clients from Central Asian countries will have access to the experience and expertise of Softline Group of Companies. In addition, Russian customers of the Group of Companies, opening offices and branches in Central Asia, will be able to use the usual technologies and services.

The IT distributor Axoft, which is part of the Group of Companies, has also been operating in the Republic of Kazakhstan for many years. Thus, Softline's entry into this market will contribute to the consolidation of the Group's resources and the expansion of the company's capabilities.

"Softline has extensive operational experience in 64 countries. At the same time, the main focus of the company was initially focused on the BRICS + countries. Despite the radically changed foreign economic conditions, we are confident that with systematic work and consolidation of export efforts with vendors, various specialized associations and government agencies, we will be able to ensure the successful promotion of Russian information technologies to the markets of friendly countries, "concluded Alexander Rozhkov, Director for International Business Development of Softline Group of Companies.

Appointment of Rashid Ismailov as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline

Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, announced to TAdviser on April 19, 2024 the appointment of Rashid Ismailov as chairman of the company's Board of Directors. Read more here.

Opening of the Center for Technological Sovereignty in the Skolkovo Technopark

On April 10, 2024, Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline) opened its own Center for Technological Sovereignty in the Skolkovo Technopark. This space is designed to help domestic companies strengthen their import independence by consolidating expertise in the field of Russian products, as well as by developing fruitful cooperation and introducing advanced technologies and solutions.

One of the strategic objectives of the Center is to popularize Russian solutions and attract customers to improve products. In the future, it is planned to hold events for customers within the walls of the Center, and demonstrations of products and solutions of leading Russian vendors and Softline Group of Companies will be held in its demozone on an ongoing basis.

The opening of the Center took place with the participation of Oleg Tremzin, Director of Services of Softline Group of Companies, and Kirill Kaem, Senior Vice President for Innovation of the Skolkovo Foundation.

Over the years, Softline Group of companies has gained impressive industry experience in implementing digital and import substitution strategies that are important for us to share with our customers. The Center for Technological Sovereignty will become a new form of dialogue between Softline and clients, a kind of consulting center for a number of our services: IT audit, IT strategy development, import substitution map, budget assessment. When creating this format of interaction with companies, we were aimed at promoting the development of business of customers interested in the transition to Russian solutions. On the site we will demonstrate relevant products, share experience, talk about successful projects. Our equipped center will be used for testing technologies in laboratory conditions and pilot implementations. I am sure that such a comprehensive activity of the center will help strengthen the technological sovereignty and import independence of Russian companies, - said Vladimir Lavrov, General Director (CEO) of Softline Group of Companies.

Using the example of our long-term partner Softline Group of Companies, we see the implementation of a systematic approach to work according to the model of open innovations. The company has built an effective pipeline for finding promising solutions in the market, initiating and scaling internal developments, and mass training of specialized IT specialists. The logical continuation of joint initiatives with the Fund is the demonstration of complex solutions directly in the Skolkovo innovation center - for direct dialogue with customers, new technological partners and government agencies, "said Sergey Dutov, Development Director and Partners of the Skolkovo Foundation.

In the future, Softline Group of companies experts will constantly work at the Center for Technological Sovereignty, which will allow representatives of Russian companies to get advice on the possibilities of switching to domestic products at any time. The open format of the demozones will allow everyone to get acquainted in detail with advanced technologies and products, test them, as well as get advice on the possibility of switching to them. The Center is also a convenient and technological platform for holding a wide range of events - presentations of new products, strategic sessions, technology days, round tables, test drives, etc.

Transfer of 3.8% of Softline ordinary shares to Bank Sinara

Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, on April 8, 2024 announced to TAdviser the completion of the transaction to transfer 3.8% of its ordinary shares owned by a subsidiary of the group - Softline Projects LLC, ECM & Private Equity, to the Sinara Bank division. Earlier, the group announced an agreement in principle on this deal.

According to Softline, the investor has assumed obligations limiting the alienation of the company's securities:

• in 1 year from the date of the transaction - for sale no more than 10%;
• 2 years from the date of the transaction - for sale no more than 25%;
• in 3 years from the date of the transaction - for sale no more than 50%.

The funds received as part of the deal with the investor will be used to finance the company's promising projects that ensure accelerated growth in the group's value, including financing new acquisitions.

"We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the previously announced transaction and are glad that ECM & Private Equity division of Bank Sinara JSC is becoming our strategic partner, whose share in the share capital of Softline PJSC has already exceeded 7%," Vladimir Lavrov commented on the event, CEO of Softline PJSC.

According to Vladimir Lavrov, the company continues to implement the business growth strategy of PJSC Softline. And the financial resources received by the company as a result of the transaction will help achieve the goals of accelerated development of the group at a rate exceeding the average market.

Softline disclosed the terms of acquiring a stake in Borlas and assessing the benefits of this transaction

In the consolidated financial statements published in early April 2024, Softline disclosed the terms of the transaction, in which it had previously acquired 50.1% of shares in the authorized capital of Borlas (Borlas API LLC). So, in July 2023, the company entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the acquisition of this share in exchange for a deferred refund in the amount of 1.626 billion rubles. Read more here.

Offer to join the Softline group

Softline (PJSC Softline), a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, invited domestic IT companies to become part of the Group. To interact with potential candidates on the Softline website, the M&A section was created^[3]where companies wishing to join Softline can leave their application by filling out a small questionnaire. Representatives of Softline reported this to TAdviser on March 26, 2024.

According to them, the group of companies began to conduct the first M&A deals in 2009, and since then has consistently increased its share in, Russian IT market consolidating the industry in various business segments.

"This step is another step in strengthening and continuing the company's M&A strategy. We are conducting a kind of "open call" for those market players who would like to start a dialogue on joining, - commented Vladimir Lavrov, General Director of Softline Group of Companies.

In general, the company acts as a strategic investor and focuses on long-term partnerships with acquired companies. As emphasized in Softline, the group focuses on the harmonious integration of acquired companies: the smooth functioning of the business, the retention of the company's key management, the preservation of brand capitalization, internal expertise and the exchange of best practices.

In addition, Softline Group of Companies strives to ensure the realization of synergy through cross-sales and operational efficiency, the implementation of corporate standards of a public company and the creation of separate business areas with the necessary expertise and processes for companies from each target sector of the IT market.

Each business area is represented by a team of highly qualified specialists and managers with expertise, which allows you to harmoniously integrate the acquired companies, ensuring cooperation and synergy between different divisions, - emphasized in Softline.

This approach is also reflected in the financial performance of the acquired businesses: for example, according to a study by SberCIB for 2023, the average growth rate of companies' revenue in the first year after the acquisition of Softline is 57%.

Companies that become part of the group receive the following opportunities:

• Expanding the number of potential customers through access to the Softline client base and the use of selling resources of the company;
• A single Softline brand that is recognizable in the market and will work to promote the products/solutions of the acquired company;
• Opportunities to exchange expertise, resources and develop joint business with the company's divisions in various IT areas: custom development, information security, software and hardware production, IT integration, educational technologies, etc.;
• Financial stability implying transparency of relationships with counterparties, solvency, possibility of raising financing and other advantages of a large company
• Stability of labor relations with employees, corporate privileges, including various incentive programs

I note that Softline Group of companies already has debugged processes for the development of partnerships with new companies and their integration, which have been showing their effectiveness over the years. Over the past two years, we have carried out 13 M&A transactions, as a result of which the companies that joined the group have significantly improved their results, "added Vladimir Lavrov.

Softline intends to consider all appeals without exception. The final selection will be carried out by companies that meet the internal criteria of the group based on business prospects, financial and business indicators, the possibility of synergy with Softline Group of Companies and its brands.

SL Soft portfolio expansion by Robovoice brand

Softline Group of Companies has expanded the portfolio of its vendor SL Soft, transferring to it the Robovoice brand, a Russian platform for launching voice bots based on AI used in client communications. Softline announced this on February 20, 2024. Read more here.

Two transactions for the sale of a 9.6% stake in the structure of Sinara Bank and a large institutional investor

Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, on February 9, 2024 informed TAdviser about changes in the structure of equity capital.

In particular, the company spoke about the completion of the transaction to transfer 3.6% of the shares in the authorized capital of PJSC Softline, owned by the main shareholder of the company - Atalaya LLC, Private Equity, to the Sinara Bank division. The Sinara banking group includes several regional banks, including Bank Sinara PJSC, the group's main bank, one of the backbone regional Russian banks with 30 years of market experience, Softline noted.

In addition, the company reached agreements in principle and signed a purchase and sale agreement on the transfer of another 6% of shares in the authorized capital of PJSC Softline, also owned by Atalaya LLC, a large institutional investor, which is already a shareholder of PJSC Softline. Thus, the company, focused on "growth equity" investments through the acquisition of significant minority shares in mature technology companies with further potential for growth and expansion Russia in and, countries CIS will increase its interest in the share capital of PJSC Softline to 9.4%.

As specified in Softline, the transactions were concluded at a market price at the time of closing the transaction. Investors have assumed standard obligations related to restrictions on the disposal of the company's securities for the period established under the SPO.

"We have seen increased interest on the part of professional market participants in the business of PJSC Softline from the very beginning of our public history. Successfully completed transactions again confirm our expectations about the fundamental investment attractiveness of the company for the market, - said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline. "We share the confidence of our investors in the further growth of the value of PJSC Softline's business and will continue to provide the necessary conditions for achieving high financial indicators, which, in turn, are the foundation for the growth of the group's capitalization."

Acquisition of shares in two system integrators from the Far East

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline), a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and developing information security a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services - February 5, 2024 announced TAdviser the acquisition of a stake in the IT management of the business of a multidisciplinary group of companies. R.Partner The amount of the transaction is not specified.

R.Partner has more than 32 years of experience in the Russian IT market and head office in Khabarovsk, provides a full range of services from system integration to telecommunications and engineering systems. The group of companies as a whole consists of four legal entities: acquired by Softline Khabeko-Partner and Infokom (with revenue in 2022 in the amount of 435 million and 115.8 million rubles, respectively, according to Kontur. Focus), as well as Lanit-Partner and Safe Roads EAO, whose business is outside the interests of Softline Group of Companies and will soon be separated and separated.

"We have taken a very important step on the more than thirty-year path of our IT-Business. Strengthening our own competencies with the experience and capabilities of Softline Group of Companies will undoubtedly lead to synergy and an increase in the quality of projects performed in the vast territory of the Pacific East of Russia, "says Vladimir Rimer, founder of R.Partner Group of Companies.

Softline thus acquires a stake in the IT part of the R.Partner group business, which includes the following main activities: development of critical infrastructure solutions of Russian and foreign production, configuration, deep integration and full support, repair services for equipment of Russian and foreign vendors, supply and configuration of software products, round-the-clock technical support and maintenance, as well as design and construction of life support systems, power supply and other systems of buildings and data centers.

In addition, according to Softline's calculations, the deal will allow, in synergy with R.Partner, to create a multi-purpose IT cluster in the Far Eastern Federal District. The main goal of the cluster is a permanent platform with three vectors: exposure and promotion of Softline solutions for customers of the Far Eastern Federal District; a platform for the implementation of large state projects, a strong expertise and a team for the emerging tasks of the state in the direction of the Asian region.

"The integration of the R.Partner business, which we announced, will provide Softline with even greater geographical expansion of its business in Russia, will strengthen our position in the domestic IT market, in particular, by gaining a competitive advantage thanks to the acquired expert resources in the Eastern part of the Russian Federation," said Vladimir Lavrov, General Director (CEO) of Softline Group of Companies.

In his opinion, Softline's experience in implementing M&A deals and integrating new companies into the Group will allow in a short time to achieve the set goals according to the approved strategy aimed at increasing the cost of the company's business, including through new acquisitions.

Expansion of expertise and competencies in the field of information security

Softline Group of Companies on January 31, 2024 announced the expansion of expertise and competencies in the field of information security and cloud technologies by joining a team of specialists and acquiring a portfolio of equipment.

The company received competencies in the field of construction and certification of complex information security systems of the level, DPC multi-level distributed information systems, consulting licensing in the field of information security, and also acquired expertise in the field of high-load infrastructures.

The Group also expanded its hardware portfolio with a set of high-performance, fault-tolerant computing equipment that will allow access to federal customers and expand the range of projects and areas of activity.

The joint work of the teams included in the Group with the Russian vendor Inferit (Softline Group of companies) will significantly expand the Company's service and product line in the field of cybersecurity and cloud technologies, as well as ensure an increase in the portfolio of the Group's own solutions.

{{quote 'author = said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO (CEO) of Softline Group of Companies. | We continue to strengthen our portfolio of Softline products and services, which allows us to offer customers turnkey IT solutions and respond as fully as possible to requests from the market. The acquired experience of specialists who have now become part of our team, as well as competencies, technologies and equipment will allow Softline to strengthen its existing position, in particular, in the field of information security and cloud technologies,}}

The competencies obtained will also ensure the expansion of the range of target customers by replenishing our product portfolio with special equipment and technologies that are necessary to work, in particular, with federal customers. The replenishment of the customer base by customers of this type will have a positive effect on Softline's financial results, including due to the increase in the share of recurrent and cross-selling in the Company's turnover. Strengthening the Group's financial results, in turn, is the foundation for further growth of Softline's capitalization. "

Interview with Olga Efimova, Director of Sales Department of Softline Academy

BaseALT and Softline Academy jointly develop the Authorized Training Center for Alt Operating Systems as part of Softline Academy, create educational courses for IT specialists and users, and founded a laboratory for practical classes and events. About how the leading training center and the largest vendor together form a community of virtuosos working with the Alt OS, talk Daria Markova, and. about. Head of Marketing at BASEALT, and Olga Efimova, Director of Sales at Softline Academy. Read more here.

Launch of incentive programs for top management and employees with the allocation of 6% of shares for them

Softline, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, launches long-term motivation programs for top management and for all employees of the group. Representatives of the company reported this to TAdviser on January 25, 2024. As they clarified, the purpose of the approved programs is to motivate top management and employees for long-term cooperation while increasing the company's capitalization and achieving the corresponding financial result.

The programs provide for the issuance of options with the right to receive ordinary shares of PJSC Softline. The number of shares that employees will receive will depend on the fulfillment of the conditions for the programs, as well as on the market price of ordinary shares of PJSC Softline on the Moscow Exchange. The program vesting schedule is designed for several tranches until 2029.

According to the company, it is planned to use no more than 20 million (or 6% of the shares) of PJSC Softline for the implementation of the programs. At the same time, it is planned to use already issued shares belonging to a subsidiary of the company as of January 2024. If there are insufficient shares from the specified source and/or if there is a favorable market situation, the programs can be implemented by repurchasing shares from the market, which will be announced later. Thus, the implementation of the programs will not lead to a dilution of the shares of the current shareholders of PJSC Softline.

According to Natalia Likhodievskaya, HR Director of PJSC Softline, the option programs launched by the company comply with international best practices and fully respond to a request from the market.

"The implementation of motivational programs for employees and top management, tied to the cost of financial instruments and the company's achieved results, is an extremely effective means of attracting and retaining the best qualified specialists in modern conditions. And people are the main resource for the business of PJSC Softline. We are confident that the approved programs will have a positive effect on the involvement of our team, as well as increase the attractiveness of PJSC Softline as an employer, "said Natalya Likhodievskaya, HR Director of PJSC Softline.

The creation and implementation of option long-term motivation programs involving up to 100% of PJSC Softline employees is the most important step for the entire Group, Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of the company, is convinced.

"The conditions of motivation programs developed by us, which will allow us to attract and retain the best IT specialists in the company, will ensure PJSC Softline's position as a leader in the Russian IT market. In addition, developing the culture of the co-owner, we synchronize the interests of top management, employees, as well as all existing and future shareholders of PJSC Softline. This will allow us to move towards a common goal - increasing the value of our business - even faster, "Vladimir Lavrov emphasized.

2023

Participation in the TAdviser study "Russian DBMS 2023"

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline), a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services, took part in the TAdviser study "Russian DBMS 2023." Softline experts helped to draw up criteria for evaluating vendors based on the best world practices.

The study was attended by DBMS architects Nikolai Zorin and Sergey Zimin, providing the necessary technical expertise, as well as the head of the DBMS sales department Ilya Belov, who helped with the coordination of the project.

Softline has been engaged in the direction of DBMS for more than 15 years. Previously, the company was one of the leading partners of the leaders in this area - Oracle and Microsoft. After the vendors left the Russian market, Softline specializes in domestic solutions. As part of the study, the company's specialists provided their recommendations for evaluating products and development companies, based on their experience and world best practices.

In total, 100 questions were formulated to assess the main characteristics of the systems, analytical integration and the capabilities of solutions, setting the performance of requests, the level of availability and continuity of work, opportunities for developers, security mechanisms, databases functioning in the IT high-profile of large companies, as well as implementation, consulting training and support of solutions.

Based on the responses of the companies participating in the study, graphs were formed representing the strengths and weaknesses of each vendor. The highest results were shown by the Postgres Pro product.

"Our questions are based on the requirements that customers have for industry leaders. Customers want to see the same functionality in domestic products. We wanted the research to help our customers navigate the current realities and prospects of the database market. We hope that this will allow potential buyers to more carefully approach the choice of database management systems that would meet their main tasks and needs, "said Sergey Zimin, DBMS architect at Softline.

Interview of Igor Leypi with Daria Markova "BASEALT"

After the departure of foreign vendors, Russian software developers quickly occupied the vacant niches. Today, one of the key tasks of customers is to transfer the IT infrastructure to domestic solutions. There is no shortage of Russian products, but you need to take care of the compatibility of software and hardware. In December 2023, Igor Leypi, Director of the Department for Work with State Organizations of PJSC Softline, spoke about the peculiarities of the market and the activities of vendors and system integrators. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Vice President Andrey Prudazumov

The IT sphere in Russia has already adapted to the new conditions, despite objective difficulties. In the coming years, the market will inevitably face consolidation, and the key to continuing its dynamic development will be the international expansion of Russian IT companies. This was announced in November 2023 in an interview with TAdviser by the vice-president of the Softline group of companies Andrei Prudozumov. Read more here.

The development strategy until 2030 has been approved. Top Priorities and Drivers

Softline is a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services - on November 24, 2023, TAdviser announced the approval by the Board of Directors of the company's development strategy until 2030, within which Softline will strive to take a qualitatively new position in the international and Russian IT markets.

The Group's key priorities on the horizon until 2030 include:

• strengthening the position as an IT supplier, an expert in achieving technological sovereignty and a first choice partner for IT vendors in the Russian market;
• development of IT services, information security services and cloud services;
• Leading growth and leadership in new IT development businesses
• access to international markets;
• implementing an effective pipeline of transactions M&A for business growth and strengthening the ecosystem of products and services;
• improving efficiency, increasing EBITDA and business value;
• ensuring a stable financial position and dividend flow.

Among the main goals of the company - revenue growth, significantly exceeding the growth rate of the IT market; taking leadership positions in all target strategic markets; increase in the share of revenues from own solutions and services with high added value; as well as a multiple increase in EBITDA.

As strategic drivers of growth, the Group identifies:

• Digital Transformation and IT Infrastructure Solutions and Services Delivery Segment. In this segment, Softline is focused on (a) offering customers the best stack of import-substituted IT and information security technologies, (b) developing a unique E2E complex of IT services from consulting to the implementation of application software, custom development and information security services, as well as (c) implementing integrated IT as a service solutions, including financing. The company will continue to focus on providing an efficient sales and distribution system, better customer experience and digitalization of IT delivery.
• The segment of in-house software and industry IT solutions, where the Group plans to capitalize on the growing demand for business automation, replacement of software from international suppliers that have left the market, and innovative technologies in the field of data analytics, artificial intelligence, IoT, robotization through the supply of in-house software and integrated industry IT solutions.
• The segment of cloud services and technologies, in which the Group implements an E2E suite of services for successful Cloud business transformation, development of its own public and private cloud, offering customers multi-cloud services and multi-cloud management solutions, as well as an ecosystem of its own and partner SaaS and PaaS solutions.
• New growth points until 2030, where the Group a) is already developing, investing or testing market hypotheses, for example, domestic infrastructure IT solutions (software, IT equipment), as well as entering the markets of friendly countries or b) can effectively and with high returns make investments in promising growing niches of the IT market.

As representatives of Softline clarified, the ultimate goal of the successful implementation of the strategy will be the company's position in Russia and friendly countries as a leading integrated provider of solutions in the field of information technology.

"The Board of Directors has adopted Softline's development strategy, and this is certainly a very important event for the entire Group. A clear formalization of goals and objectives based on the analyzed market data will help the company, as well as its individual divisions, come to the goals that were adopted by the Board of Directors on time or ahead of time, "said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline.

According to him, the effectiveness and efficiency of the chosen development vector show the latest financial results of the Group. Thus, significant growth was achieved, in particular, in terms of gross profit from the company's own decisions - for 9 months of 2023, the indicator increased more than 4 times year-on-year. Of these, gross profit for the Group's own services increased by more than 6 times.

A well-thought-out way of creating value for shareholders in priority development areas will help Softline systematically, but dynamically and decisively achieve new heights, "the top manager concluded.

Softline has a new large investor - the name is not disclosed

On November 20, 2023, Softline announced a deal to transfer to a large institutional investor a 4.2% stake owned by the company's main shareholder, Atalaya.

The name of the new shareholder in Softline is not disclosed. It is only known that it is an independent investment company focused on "growth equity" investments (investments in existing public companies with great growth potential) through the acquisition of significant minority stakes in mature technology companies with further growth and expansion potential in Russia and the CIS countries.

We are pleased to welcome Softline's new major shareholder and thank him for his confidence in our business and positive assessment of the company's prospects. The fact of a strategic deal with an institutional investor indicates an increase in the interest of professional market participants in our business, says Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline. - In addition, such changes in the structure of the company's share capital create additional opportunities in terms of control over the corporate management of Softline and taking into account the interests of minority investors, whose share has increased significantly after the transaction.

Atalaya as of October 17 owned an 82.1% stake in Softline.

With the current capitalization of Softline of about 43.2 billion rubles, the cost of the package sold is about 1.8 billion rubles.

The announcement of the emergence of an institutional investor was preceded by the positive reporting of Softline under IFRS for the third quarter and nine months of 2023. The company's turnover during this period increased by 52.3% to 22.1 billion rubles. Adjusted EBITDA came in at RR 610 million versus negative in Q3 of 2022, while EBITDA margin was 2.8%.

The turnover of the Softline group for 9 months increased by 16% year-on-year, to 52.6 billion rubles, net profit - to 6.5 billion rubles after a loss a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose to 1.7 billion rubles against 6.6 million rubles. for the nine months of 2022.

Over the past year, Softline has significantly diversified its product portfolio. So, in its report for the first half of 2022, it was said that Microsoft accounts for 33.58% of the total supply. Over the year, Microsoft's share decreased and in the first half of 2023 amounted to 11.8%, follows from the reporting for the corresponding period. And the largest vendor for Softline for the same period was Kaspersky Lab, which slightly overtook Microsoft - the share of the Russian information security developer was 12%.

As of November 2023, there was a 5% stake in Softline on the Moscow Exchange.

As of the end of the first half of 2023, Softline's key vendors are, Kaspersky,, Microsoft,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, UserGate Positive Technologies InfotecsRusBITex GoogleSecurity Code Cyberprotect CommuniGatePro PostgresPro Huawei Lenovo Adobe NovCommTech Group-IB,,. They collectively Dr.Web Yandex account for more than 60% of the turnover, indicated in the company's statements.

For 9 months of 2023, the turnover from the sale of Softline's own solutions has grown more than 2 times. The most significant increase in the indicator was recorded from the sale of own services and equipment of its own production. The turnover from the sale of third-party solutions increased less significantly - by 0.9%.

Opening of the office "Softline Arctic"

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline) on October 30, 2023 announced the opening of Softline Arctic LLC. This branch will become the starting point for the development of the company in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Read more here.

Open Demo Zone

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline) on October 23, 2023 announced the opening of a demonstration zone. The multi-tender exhibition of products from Russian and Chinese manufacturers was the first project of its kind for Softline.

The stands show the most popular products in several segments: server equipment and client solutions, printing equipment and video conferencing solutions. The selected composition of IT products is the result of careful selection, comprehensive assessment and testing by a professional team of specialists.

The main goal of demozones is to introduce customers to current IT products in their market segments and choose the best solutions for the transition to a new IT architecture. This will help to shape the technological landscape of the organization in accordance with the needs of the business and comply with all the necessary restrictions. The permanent exhibition makes it possible to test the equipment and clearly assess its quality.

The Softline demonstration area presents domestic solutions and equipment:

• computer equipment from the Aquarius Group of Companies;
• ready-made workplace, as well as servers, laptop and all-in-one DEPO Computers;
• laptop, all-in-one and mini-PC from the manufacturer "Graviton";
• laptop, system unit and Techno All-in-One ICL;
• all-in-one, laptop and iRU mini PC combined with LightCom monitors;
• TrueConf Video Interface Solution.

Customers can also get acquainted with the equipment of Chinese manufacturers:

• Machenike laptops;
• monoblock, monitors and laser printer from HIPER vendor;
• MFP manufacturer. Pantum

This demo zone will be the starting point for customers to familiarize themselves with the independent solutions presented in Softline. It is important for us to create an environment of like-minded people and maintain the ability to quickly respond to modern challenges, offering effective solutions for our clients, "said Yuri Baev, Director of the Softline Product and Technology Expertise Development Department.

EBRD sold 5.3% of Mosbirzhi shares to Softline IT group

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sold its stake (5.3%) in the Moscow Exchange to Softline IT group. This deal became known on October 23, 2023. Read more here.

Establishing a Telecommunications Equipment Development Company

In early September 2023, Softline created a company for the development of telecommunications equipment - BVPG LLC. Its main activity is "scientific research," as well as a number of additional ones, including the production of switching systems, digital transport systems, communication equipment, etc., according to the SPARK-Interfax system. Read more here.

Transaction for 5.9 billion rubles. Softline revealed the cost of buying a Bell Integrator software developer

The purchase of the developer of Bell Integrator software cost 5.87 billion rubles to Softline. The latter announced this in its financial statements published in August 2023. Read more here.

Issuance of shares of PJSC Softline to depo accounts of employees of Softline Group of Companies

The main shareholder of PJSC Softline - Atalaya LLC - issued shares of PJSC Softline to the accounts of depots of employees of Softline Group of Companies as part of the long-term motivation program LTI Pre IPO. Representatives of Softline announced this to TAdviser on August 11, 2023. In total, at the time of publication of this material, employees of Softline Group of Companies received 19.5 million shares of PJSC Softline - as specified in the company, this is a series of first tranches. By August 20, 2023, the program participants are planned to issue a total of 30 million shares of PJSC Softline.

Even before Softline Holding PLC's IPO in London, which took place in 2021, key employees of the company received options for Softline Holding PLC shares as part of a long-term incentive program. After the allocation of the Russian part of the business, a certain share of options for Softline Holding PLC shares, in agreement with employees, was converted into options for shares of the Russian company - PJSC Softline. Under the terms of the separation of the Russian and foreign circuits, shares were issued by Atalaya LLC, the main shareholder of Softline PJSC.

According to the company, soon the number of participants in the programs of additional motivation of Softline Group of Companies will increase - it is expected that this will be an additional incentive for the speedy achievement of the goals and objectives set for the Group employees, as well as to an even greater extent synchronize the interests of employees and other shareholders of the company, including future ones. According to the company's plans, in the medium term, as part of the development of the culture of the co-owner, up to 100% of Softline Group of companies employees will be able to become participants in the company's long-term partnership programs.

"Our motivational program, which in the future will involve almost all employees of Softline Group of companies, corresponds to the most effective international practices and contributes to attracting and retaining the best qualified specialists in the Group, and people are our main resource," said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline. "In addition, the program synchronizes the interests of employees, top management and other shareholders of the company."

Obtaining the public status of the Company

PJSC Softline (Softline JSC) is a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services - August 9, 2023 announced the receipt of public status of the Company. The relevant amendments were made to the charter of the Company, as well as to the unified state register of legal entities.

"We are systematically implementing a pre-announced action plan. The acquisition of public status for us is another very important step, bringing PJSC Softline closer to the listing on the Moscow Exchange. The focus of our attention continues to be the interests of all interested parties, in particular, our shareholders, "commented Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of PJSC Softline.

Purchase of a 50.1% stake in Borlas Group of Companies

Softline Group of Companies closed the deal to acquire a 50.1% stake in the player company of the information technology market in Russia and SNGGK Borlas. This was reported to TAdviser on July 13, 2023 by representatives of Softline. The financial terms of the transaction in the company chose not to disclose. Read more here.

Purchase of the developer of secure computer equipment "Barrier"

Softline Group of Companies, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, closed the deal to acquire the Russian developer AKB Barrier. This was reported to TAdviser on July 10, 2023 by representatives of Softline. The group of companies expects that this will significantly expand the product area of ​ ​ the Inferit vendor. Read more here.

How Softline Enterprise Agreement solves the problem of switching to the Russian software stack in the public sector

Russian public sector The task is to migrate from foreign software products to. Russian software At the same ON time, organizations have to move away from using an established stack, which until 2022 was accompanied by the usual agreements on the purchase licenses and provision of a certain level of service. However, in the new reality, customers can get comfortable conditions for purchasing licenses, their support, as well as user training and other useful services. Softline collected the best Russian technologies and combined them under the Softline Enterprise Agreement, offering customers a choice to purchase software in the format of one-time deliveries, in installments or by subscription. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Director of Government Relations Igor Leypi

The events of last year led to dramatic changes in the Russian IT market. Now all customers no longer face the question of whether to carry out import substitution or not. There are simply no alternatives. This was announced in June 2023 in an interview with TAdviser by the director of the department for work with state organizations Softline Igor Leypi. Read more here.

Refund from Netcom through the courts

At the end of June 2023, it became known that Softline, through the court, had ensured that the Russian software distributor Netkom returned the money to him for inactive certificates for software technical support at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Due to the fact that the Indian developer of this software HCL Technologies has left the Russian market. Read more here.

Purchase "Forward Leasing"

On June 14, 2023, it became known that Softline was buying Forward Leasing. Financial and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more here.

Combining several product areas under a single brand "Inferit"

Softline on May 31, 2023 announced the decision to combine several product areas under the same brand name "Inferit." Now the vendor will specialize in the development and production of computer equipment, server equipment, system software, cloud solutions and services. The proposed solutions are compatible with computer technology and create the foundation for performing critical processes for the enterprise. Read more here.

Acquisition of Bell Integrator

Softline Group closed the deal to acquire an expert company in the field of custom development - Bell Integrator. This was announced on June 1, 2023 to TAdviser by representatives of Softline. According to them, as a result of the deal with Bell Integrator, Softline developers will have a staff of about 3,000 people. The amount of the transaction in the company did not specify. Read more here.

Forming SL Soft to Develop and Sell Business Applications

The provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security Softline Group of Companies on April 24, 2023 announced the formation of a company under the SL Soft brand. According to representatives of Softline, the company will become one of the largest vendors of business applications for corporate customers in the Russian market. Read more here.

Acquisition of control in the companies "BOSS. Personnel Systems, "" Preferentum "and" Robin "

Softline Group of Companies, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, acquired a controlling stake in three corporate business application development companies - BOSS JSC . Personnel Systems, Robin LLC and Preferentum LLC - and the rights to the relevant software products from Applan Group of Companies. This was announced on April 20, 2023 to TAdviser by representatives of Softline. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. Earlier, in February 2023, Tagir Yapparov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aplana Group of Companies, became vice president of Softline and joined the board of directors of the company.

"Softline Group of Companies consistently and actively develops its own solutions and services and already closes the needs of corporate clients in hardware Inferit (), cyber security (), Infosecurity cloudy solutions (), Softline Cloud custom development (" ") and Develonica others. Strengthening the portfolio of Softline's own products is another step towards creating an ecosystem Vladimir Lavrov of business solutions that can cover the full range of needs of our customers, "commented Softline Russia CEO.

"BOSS. Personnel systems "acts as the developer HRM of solutions" BOSS-personnel officer"to automate personnel accounting and human resources management processes of large enterprises and holdings. In turn, Robin is a developer of the Russian platform ROBIN for automation business processes using software robots () and. RPA chat boats Preferentum is the developer ML of a platform for Preferentum intelligent processing of unstructured and a series of data applied business solutions based on it.

According to the representatives of Softline, all the listed solutions have many years of experience in implementation and support, have high stability and are included in the Register of Russian software. In their opinion, the presence of teams for the development and development of products capable of ensuring the continuous development of technologies and the implementation of applied solutions based on them opens up wide prospects for the further development of companies' business within the GC.

Igor Kasimov, General Director of the ATI management company of the Aplana Group of Companies, is convinced that the joining of three product companies to the Softline group will create a "new leader in the Russian market for corporate business applications" and help hundreds of enterprises ensure the digital transformation of their activities based on Russian technologies.

"Software products created within the framework of the Applan Group of Companies occupy leading positions in their niches. These popular, technologically mature platforms and applications are used in hundreds of large Russian enterprises. Today, when corporate customers are implementing strategic plans for a complete transition to domestic import-independent IT products, the market potential has grown many times over, "added Igor Kasimov.

Acquisition of the Russian developer of products for managing digital documents "Citros"

Softline Group of Companies, a Russian provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, has signed an agreement with the Russian product development company to build an ecosystem for document management LLC Citros on its acquisition. Softline representatives reported this to TAdviser on April 14, 2023. Read more here.

Strategic Partnership Agreement with BASEALT

BaseALT, the developer of Russian operational systems Alt, and Softline Group of companies, a leading provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, have brought cooperation to a new level. The companies entered into a strategic partnership agreement and synchronized their "road maps" to more effectively help customers ensure technological sovereignty in the IT field. On April 12, 2023, representatives of BASEALT shared this with TAdviser. Read more here.

Igor Borovikov decided to sell Softline to engage in investments and personal life

The founder of Softline Igor Borovikov, after more than 30 years of active participation in the development of the Group, made a decision and announced his intention to resign from Softline shareholders. This was announced on April 6, 2023 to TAdviser by representatives of the Softline group of companies. According to them, Igor Borovikov, as well as a group of investors, reached agreements in principle on the sale of 100% Softline to a fund under the management of the independent management company TETIS Capital LLC. The sale is scheduled to be fully completed by April 30, 2023. According to Igor Borovikov, he, in turn, plans to focus on "new investment projects and personal life."

According to representatives of Softline, the updated ownership and management structure will best contribute to the long-term growth of the business and the achievement of strategic goals facing the company's team, as well as take into account the interests of both current and future shareholders of Softline JSC.

"First of all, I would like to thank Igor Borovikov not only for his invaluable contribution to the creation of Softline, a key player in the Russian market and a company far known beyond its borders, but also for what he has done to develop the domestic IT services market as a whole, largely defining its landscape and development directions," said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline Russia.

As he emphasized, the company is already experiencing outstripping growth in priority areas of activity in Russia - this is the production and implementation of its own software and solutions of vendors available in the Russian Federation, the implementation of information security projects, digital transformation of vertical industries, the development of its own services and the Softline Cloud, the production of hardware under the Inferit brand, strengthening the Softline Finance program.

"I've spent over 30 years building Softline. Together with a team of employees and management, we created one of the leaders in the IT market. But it all ends once upon a time. And now I am putting Softline in safe hands. I convey with a light heart and with confidence in success, - Igor Borovikov commented on the event. - I am confident in the quality of management by the Board of Directors and management headed by Vladimir Lavrov. I am confident in further business growth. I am confident in the new horizons and prospects that Softline has. The company will always be close to its customers, employees and will provide the highest level of service and support.

As he noted, in recent years, as part of the development of the culture of the co-owner, management and operational control has completely passed to Softline management. Soon, employees and management will directly own up to 15% of the shares of Softline JSC, which is expected to further synchronize the interests of employees and other shareholders of the company. According to the founder of the company, this will be an additional incentive for the speedy achievement of the goals set for management. In turn, the option program of long-term motivation adopted in Softline will bring the share of ownership of employees to 25-30% in the medium term.

It is important for me that employees are co-owners of the company, while it is also important to ensure the format of participation in the share capital of Softline of those minority shareholders and owners of GDR Softline who believed us at the past IPO. On my own behalf, I can firmly assure that the interests of both investors will be unequivocally respected, and all of them will be able to monetize their connection with Softline, "added Igor Borovikov. - Details of this process will be announced to the market in the very near future.

Training of 50 engineers to work with products of Russian vendors

Softline on March 22, 2023 announced that it had trained more than 50 engineers to work with the products of Russian vendors.

Softline has expanded its capabilities for technical and incident support, implementation, deployment and migration to Russian software solutions. Specialists received in-depth training both at the Softline Training Center and in the educational centers of the vendors themselves.

The company selected 12 developers whose products are most relevant and popular in the Russian circuit for March 2023. Among the selection criteria were the number of requests for services related to the products of these vendors, the manufacturability and availability of training.

Thanks to the training, Softline has acquired a special technological expertise on products from Skala^r, Cyberprotect, Communigate Pro, PostgreSQL, SafeMobile, Eltex, Astra Linux, Aerodisk, VK Cloud, Zvirt, IVA and R7.

In the future, it is planned to conduct in-depth training of the company's personnel on other domestic solutions in order to close all current customer needs both for the provision of support and for the integration of any class of solutions.

We at Softline strive to develop not only the product portfolio, but also employees in accordance with the challenges of our time. Staff training improves the efficiency of the company and allows employees to be more involved and loyal and adapt faster to the modern requirements of the IT market. Applying the skills and knowledge gained during the training process, each employee improves his performance, which together increases the competitiveness of the entire company. In 2023, we will continue to maintain an environment of continuous training to strengthen the expertise of our teams, - said Yulia Krivenda, HR business partner at Softline.

Softline formed a board of directors. List

Softline Group, a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, has formed the Board of Directors. It included four independent directors and five company management representatives. Softline representatives reported this to TAdviser on February 28, 2023.

According to the group of companies, the creation of the Board of Directors will allow the company to adhere to the best world practices in making strategic decisions and will make it possible to maintain adherence to the principles of responsible and advanced corporate governance. In particular, one of the priorities of the Board of Directors will be the formation of a long-term Softline strategy with an emphasis on key points of business growth.

Members of the Board of Directors have extensive experience in executive positions in the field of information technology, finance and investment. Its composition as a whole included:

• Independent Director Yulia Solovyova - elected Chairman of the Board of Directors;
• Independent director Vitaly Pyltsov;
• Independent director Boris Shcherbakov;
• Independent Director Vsevolod Rozanov;
• Softline CEO Vladimir Lavrov;
• Softline CFO Artyom Tarakanov;
• Elena Volotovskaya, Vice President of Investment at Softline;
• Softline Vice President Tagir Yapparov;
• Director of Softline Legal Department Vladimir Razuvaev.

"Softline approached the search for independent directors to create the Board responsibly and thoughtfully and brought together highly motivated, energetic and high-performance professionals. These are people experienced in business management who understand the modern realities of the Russian IT circuit and are ready to make maximum efforts to develop Softline in unique market conditions, "said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline Russia.

Yulia Solovyova, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Group of companies, Managing Director of Google in the emerging markets of the EMEA region in Dubai, noted that in her current role I would like to focus together with the company's management on formulating key points of business growth, while paying great attention to preserving the culture and main values ​ ​ of Softline.

"I am honored to take on the responsible role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me. The creation of the Board of Directors is an important strategic step for any company that wants to build an effective and transparent corporate governance structure. I am sure that the Board of Directors and relevant committees will allow Softline to think even more about strategic priorities both in Russia and outside it, set ambitious goals and fulfill them for the benefit of customers, employees, partners, shareholders and society as a whole, "added Yulia Solovyova.

Together with the creation of the Board of Directors, within the framework of the process of building the Russian holding structure of Softline Group of Companies, a decision was made to change the corporate name of the parent company of SoftLine Trade JSC to Softline JSC. The number of declared ordinary shares of Softline JSC in the amount of 200 001 000 shares was also determined.

2022

2nd place in the ranking "Largest IT suppliers in Russian banks"

Softline took 2nd place in the TAdviser rating, prepared on the basis of revenue from the implementation of IT projects in Russian banks in 2022 and published in December 2023. Read more here.

Acquisition of 51% of Polimatika Rus LLC

The group of companies, Softline a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and, information security announced the signing of an agreement to acquire 51% the Russian of the company LLC, "Polimatika Rus" which develops a wide range of low-code analytical tools designed for, visualization of data multidimensional analysis, large amounts of information creation of models machine learning and construction of decision-making strategies in automatic mode. This was announced on December 22, 2022 by TAdviser representatives of Softline. terms of Financial the transaction are not disclosed. More. here

IT Partner Program Update

Softline Group of Companies has updated the Partnership Program for vendors. The updated model of cooperation will offer partners transparent and uniform standards of work based on a high level of expertise of Softline specialists, increase the efficiency of cooperation, bring the partnership to a new stage of development, as well as implement more joint projects on the Russian market. The company announced this on December 9, 2022.

Softline offers vendors a clear and convenient channel for promoting and selling their products, joint services, tools to increase demand, joint marketing and other business development opportunities. The program includes four levels of partnership: Strategic, Key, Focal, and Authorized. Each level corresponds to a certain set of criteria and advantages when working with Softline Group of Companies, including a joint business development program with approved goals, opportunities for marketing promotion, exchange of expertise and readiness for joint investments in development.

Softline is a single point of entry for the full sales cycle - from opportunities to results. The company is a platform that unites more than 100 thousand organizations from all industries with more than 1000 IT manufacturers. This allows Softline to select the best solutions on the market for the implementation of any client tasks.

Historically, Softline pays great attention to the development of partnerships with vendors, so we are ready to invest the company's resources in joint projects and the implementation of various initiatives. The landscape of solutions is changing, and we are rebuilding with the market. The partner program is aimed at meeting the challenges of time. I am sure it will become a convenient platform for interaction with all manufacturers and will allow us to strengthen our position in the digital transformation and cybersecurity market, "commented Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline Russia.

Softline has extensive experience in building partnerships, so in our program we have formed a clear and understandable approach that will allow us to interact in the most effective way. As a technology company, we are open to new products and developments, to cooperation both with already established market players and with new ones. The updated cooperation program will help us open up great prospects for joint growth with vendors both within the Russian circuit and in friendly markets, "said Elena Tipisova, director of the Softline product and technological expertise department.

We assign a special role in cooperation to joint marketing. Thanks to this program, we will be able to improve the promotion of vendor solutions in the market, increase the recognition of partner brands and strengthen leadership generation. Softline has a professional team of marketers with extensive experience and knowledge of the specifics of working in the Russian IT circuit. As part of the partnership, we are ready to share our expertise and conduct joint marketing campaigns to achieve success, "said Elena Shedova, Softline Marketing Director.

Acquisition of Serbian fintech product developer Saga Group

IT-distributor Softline (operates in international markets under the Noventiq brand) announced the purchase of a Serbian IT company. Saga Group The amount of the transaction and the size of the acquired stake were not disclosed, it is only known that Softline acquired a controlling stake in the the Serbian company. This became known on November 18, 2022. More. here

Details of Umbrella Infocare acquisition

ITdistributor Softline - revealed details of the acquisition deal. During Indian system integrator Umbrella Infocare the transaction, 100% of the company's shares were acquired, which were valued at $6.215 million. This became known on November 8, 2022. More. here

Purchase of 10.3 million bonds of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation

At the end of June 2024, it became known that the Russian company Softline, which was previously part of the Noventiq group, bought 10.3 million bonds of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Their total cost exceeded 6 billion rubles.

The transaction was carried out in the fall of 2022. The bonds were purchased in the amount of $67.5 million for the purpose of subsequent sale at a higher price. Subsequently, their fair value increased to $72.16 million. According to CNews, referring to information received from the financial director of Softline Artem Tarakanov, the purchased securities were fully sold without any difficulties. Their cost at the end of 2022 amounted to 6.3 billion rubles.

It is also reported that other structures, at different times part of the Noventiq group, are actively buying up securities and sovereign debts of various countries. In particular, in the summer of 2022, Argentine national bonds in double currency were purchased with a maturity date in the summer of 2023. The procedure was carried out "in connection with restrictions on the exchange of Argentine pesos for American dollars, its purpose was to reduce foreign exchange losses from activities in Argentina." By the beginning of 2023, Noventiq had 3.3 million Argentine national bonds with a fair value of about $3.2 million. Investment profits are estimated at $1.2 million.

In addition, at the beginning of 2023, Noventiq structures acquired 4.5 million shares of the Egyptian Commercial International Bank (CIB), whose network has more than 200 branches. This deal was carried out in order to reduce foreign exchange losses amid a shortage of American dollars in Egypt. As of March 31, 2023, the Noventiq group owned 3.4 million CIB shares worth $5.6 million. Moreover, these investments turned into losses in the amount of $1.9 million.^[4]

Acquisition of the developer "O: Labs"

Softline on October 18, 2022 announced the acquisition of O : Labs, a Russian software product company OSA HP (On Shelf Availability Hybrid Platform) - online monitoring of the availability of goods on the shelf, based on ML and Big Data technologies. Read more here.

Value Point Systems Acquisition Agreement

Softline on October 10, 2022 announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the Indian company Value Point Systems, which provides solutions and services in the field of digital infrastructure and information security. Read more here.

Softline founder Igor Borovikov will focus on the Russian part of the business after the division of the company

The founder of SoftlineIgor Borovikov on October 10 told how the business will develop after the division into Russian and global. Two days earlier, we recall, Softline announced the division of the company, during which the Russian business will be bought by Borovikov himself for a symbolic $1. The buyback will take place through a company controlled by him. At the same time, Borovikov's share in the global Softline will remain, but will decrease to 44%. The assets will be divided based on the ratio of the value of Softline's business in Russia and beyond as 1:3. And in order to compensate the holders of securities for the blurring of their value, the company proposed a bonus issue. A vote on the issue is scheduled for October 25. More details - in the block below.

The decision to split the business was dictated by the external situation, Igor Borovikov explained at an online meeting with investors, analysts and the press on October 10. At the same time, the geopolitical situation had a disproportionate impact on the market value of Softline. The chosen path of business separation should contribute to the creation of fair market value for both companies, and all employees will be able to benefit from long-term incentive programs in both companies.

When deciding on the issue of division, the company took into account the fact that business in Russia and beyond is increasingly different in terms of current activities, priorities and market strategy.

Igor Borovikov noted that he himself will focus on business development in the Russian Federation. The global business will develop in accordance with the previously identified priorities, including entering the markets of new countries, expanding the service portfolio, etc. And on the Russian market now "an interesting situation," says Borovikov. Softline Russia, based on current realities, has formulated several areas of growth for itself.

Direction number one - import substitution. Previously, many import solutions were purchased in Russia, and now all this must be replaced. This is not an easy task, and the volume of this market is very large, says the founder of Softline.

The second is the production of its own software and hardware. The company recalled that Softline in Russia has its own production of hardware solutions. It plans to enter production from 100 to 300 thousand units per year in the next few years. We are talking about a wide range of products for both corporate and personal use, including servers, AWS, tablets, POS terminals. Proprietary software solutions include EDMS, information security products, etc.

The third direction is its own clouds. Softline has a team and expertise in this area. Now this business area is growing at a rate of more than 100% annually, and this growth will continue, says Igor Borovikov.

Another important area of ​ ​ growth is the development of Softline Russia's own services. This includes, among other things, outsourcing of software development, technical support. Today Softline Russia has more than 2 thousand software developers. This is a resource that is used for both migration and application development and refinement. Softline Russia plans to increase the number of developers to 5 thousand in two to three years.

Custom development is an important element of Softline's strategy, because the main slogan with which Softline goes to customers is the slogan about digital transformation, Igor Borovikov explained. Any business must go through it in order to be competitive, and it needs programmers who will translate business processes into a new format.

The fifth direction is information security. Now Softline Russia employs more than 300 information security engineers. In addition to being a partner of all leading information security vendors, the company also has its own information security solutions.

Another direction of growth for Softline Russia is the development of the above business lines outside Russia, in friendly countries, added Igor Borovikov.

Softline Russia CEO Vladimir Lavrov believes that "the potential of the Russian market is gigantic."

Intention to divide the Russian and non-Russian part of the business

On October 7, 2022, Softline informed TAdviser of its intention to proceed with the separation of the Russian (SLR) and non-Russian portions of the business (the "Split") and the issue of common stock or GDRs representing the Company's common stock (the "SLH Bonus Securities") for zero consideration (the "Bonus Issue," and together with the "Transaction" split).

The separation will be effected by the sale of SLR to Mr. Igor Borovikov (the "Founder" (or company controlled by the Founder) for a consideration of $1 and the dilution of the share of the Founder and SGI Limited (controlled by the Founder and the Company's largest shareholder) in the Company. In order to compensate Softline securities holders for the value erosion resulting from the sale of the Russian part of the business, the Company proposes to issue the Bonus Securities to all Softline securities holders except the Founder and SGI Limited (a company controlled by the Founder and the Company's largest shareholder), which have waived their right to SLH Bonus Securities.

Therefore, the Founder's share (and SGI Limited's share) in the Company will be eroded as a result of the Separation and it is expected to decrease to 44% upon completion of the Division. The division is carried out taking into account the ratio of the value of Softline's business in Russia and outside Russia as 1:3.

The bonus issue requires approval from Softline securities holders ("Softline Securities Holders"). On October 7, 2022, the Company issued an information letter to shareholders and convened a General Meeting to enable Softline securities holders to vote on the issue of bonus issue (the "General Meeting"). The split also depends on approval from Russian regulators.

The Board of Directors believes that the Separation and adoption of the resolutions set out in the Information Letter are in the best interests of the Company and Softline shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Board of Directors unanimously recommends voting on matters to be put to the General Meeting. The Founder, as a director, did not participate and abstained from voting at the relevant meetings of the Board of Directors to review and approve the Division.

The announcement of the Split is the result of a study of existing opportunities to change the structure of the group's assets, as well as the structure of ownership of them in order to preserve their value for all interested parties, which Softline announced in May 2022. This intention was dictated by the situation in which the group's business in Russia and outside Russia began to differ significantly in terms of operating activities, priorities and market strategies. Recent geopolitical events have led to major changes in the Russian technology market. International suppliers suddenly stopped their local activities, in fact, changing the structure of available technologies. Operational problems, including difficulties with international payments and recently imposed restrictions, also mean that Softline in Russia faces completely different business conditions.

From the shareholders' point of view, events in Ukraine also led, among other things, to the termination of mutual settlements between the London and Moscow stock exchanges, which made trading of the Company's GDRs difficult. This led to a drop in GDR liquidity. Insufficient trading volumes at some sites do not allow investors to accurately determine the current value of Softline. The situation had an impact on the employees of the Group, since the Company in this situation cannot implement the Long-Term Employee Motivation Program (LTEPP).

The directors believe that the differences between the Russian technology market and the international technology market outside Russia will continue for the foreseeable future. It is also expected that the lack of liquidity of the GDRs will continue in the foreseeable future.

Based on the results of the strategic study, the Board of Directors decided to separate the Softline Russia group of companies from the Softline group of companies. The board believes this will enable Softline Global to improve its customer experience, capitalize on its growth strategies and optimize value.

After the Division, the business outside the Russian Federation will be called Softline Global, although the Board of Directors does not exclude that after the completion of the Division, this name may be changed as a result of rebranding. Softline Global intends to maintain its public status on the London Stock Exchange.

Softline intends to continue to protect the interests of all stakeholders, including securities holders, employees, customers and suppliers, and believes that the actions taken will best serve the interests of the company's securities holders. The geopolitical situation for autumn 2022 had a disproportionate impact on Softline's market value, while the separation of businesses is carried out with the intention of obtaining an adequate assessment of both businesses of the group, which would reflect their strong profitable business growth and high fundamental value.

These changes will allow employees to get the most out of the market-leading long-term employee motivation (LTEPP) programs in each of the companies, which in turn will create the conditions for hiring and retaining talented professionals, while continuing to develop the culture of the co-owner employee within both new companies.

Softline recently announced excellent results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 ending June 30, 2022, with very strong gross profit growth of 25% overall and a 44% increase in permanent currency turnover in the international business, which now accounts for more than 50% of Softline's total turnover. The company has a very stable balance with a cash surplus.

The Company has taken significant actions, spent considerable time and resources, and incurred significant expenses over the past few months to develop and implement the structure of the transaction to separate Softline Group's Russian business in a very complex and changing regulatory and business environment. The purpose of the process was to find a solution that would best protect Softline securities holders and at the same time allow for timely separation. Among other things, the Company and its consultants sought to provide for an option in which Softline shareholders would have the opportunity to purchase shares in Russian business if they wished.

However, despite the best efforts of the Company, in the context of a difficult sanctions situation, it was not possible to find a structure to provide such an opportunity to Softline securities holders. In particular, EU sanctions against NSD actually blocked operations between Euroclear and NSD and made any distribution of Russian shares through clearing systems impossible. As a result, the only option was the direct distribution of SLH securities, to compensate Softline securities holders for the blurring of value due to the sale of the Russian part of the business.

Accordingly, the Board of Directors determined that the structure of the Separation is the only viable structure of the transaction available, given the importance and urgency of the separation of the two companies.

The separation will be effected by selling 100 per cent of JSC SoftLine Trade"" (holding company SLR) to the Founder (or company controlled by the Founder) for a fee of $1 USA and denying the Founder and SGI Limited (the company controlled by the Founder and the largest shareholder of SLR) the right to the SLH Bonus Securities.

To compensate Softline securities holders for the value erosion caused by the sale of the Russian part of the business, the Company proposes to issue a bonus issue to all Softline securities holders (except the Founder and SGI Limited). Softline securities holders who participate in the Bonus Issue will be entitled to participate in the following proportions:

Participating Softline Securities Holders will receive [0,6066] SLH Bonus Shares for each SLH security held by them at the time of cutoff

The share of the Founder (or company controlled by the Founder) in the Company will decrease from 53% to 44% after the end of the division. Payment of $1 The United States is sent directly to the company, since the shareholders of the company, but not the company directly, benefit from the blurring of the Founder's share.

The bonus issue depends on the decision-making of Softline shareholders at the General Meeting. The separation depends on the approval of Russian regulators.

Although the Company intends to carry out the Split and Bonus Issue at the same time, the Split is independent of the Bonus Issue and may therefore be carried out independently of (or without) the Bonus Issue if the Board of Directors determines that it is in the best interests of the Company and Softline Securities Holders as a whole. This may occur if Russian regulatory approval for the Division is obtained prior to the General Meeting (or if the Resolutions are not approved at the General Meeting). The priority of the Split is such that the Board of Directors has authorized the Split to take place independently of the Bonus Issue.

Although the Split is independent of whether a Bonus Issue is made, the Bonus Issue depends on whether the Split occurs. Accordingly, if the Split does not occur for any reason, the Bonus Issue will not take place.

Subject to decisions by Softline shareholders at the General Meeting and approval by Russian regulators, the Company expects to complete the Separation in early to mid-November 2022.

{{quote 'author = said Jacques Gers, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Group of Companies. |

Softline remains committed to protecting the interests of all stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. Over the past few months, we have taken significant action to develop and implement a separation structure in a very complex and changing regulatory and business environment. The board decided this was the only viable way forward given the importance and urgency of the need to separate the two companies. The Board of Directors believes that the announced transaction and decision-making are in the best interests of the Company and Softline securities holders. Such changes will allow both companies to improve the quality of customer service, and employees to get the most out of the leading long-term employee motivation programs (LTEPP) in the market. Looking ahead, I will say that we have the right leadership team with tremendous experience, and we have a very strong foundation for success. These changes will position us in a very advantageous position as we continue to partner with our customers on digital transformation and information security solutions and services around the world, which will benefit both companies,}}

Шаблон:Quote 'author = noted Sergey Chernovolenko, Chief Executive Officer.

Softline acquired Makronet

On September 21, 2022, Softline announced the purchase of Makronet. The company did not disclose the cost and other parameters of the transaction. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Director of Services Implementation Department Alexei Pilipchuk

The TAdviser director of Alexey Pilipchuk the service implementation department answered questions about the prospects for the development of the service direction in business and the problems of migration to new products. Softline More. here

TAdviser interview with the head of the information security department Dmitry Vasiliev

The Russian market for information security solutions will never be the same. About which positions companies should evaluate the strategy and methods of import substitution of corporate information security, TAdviser in September 2022 was told by Dmitry Vasiliev, head of the information security department of Softline. Read more here.

Rebranding and renaming Softline computers

Softline computers rebranding and renaming. The changes will affect the entire product line produced. The changed brand name - INFERIT - means deep immersion of the brand in the sphere hardware and at the same time. information technology This was announced on September 1, 2022. Softline More. here

Softline will significantly increase the production of computer equipment under its own brand

Softline expects to significantly increase the production of its own equipment. About this, answering questions from TAdviser, on August 16 at an online meeting dedicated to quarterly results, said Vladimir Lavrov, general director of Russian Softline.

We are going to significantly increase the design capacity of our production line, our plant, and the production of products that we plan to supply to our customers should be several times more than in 2021, "said Vladimir Lavrov. - Potentially this is a very promising topic and business for us.

Lavrov added that already now the company produces a fairly wide range of PCs, laptops, tablets, servers. Also in 2022, Softline opened a line of sales equipment production: points of sales support, which are especially in demand in the banking segment and in retail.

The equipment is sold by a division under the Softline Computers brand. At the beginning of 2022, when Softline announced the beginning of the release of software and hardware complexes based on its own software, information appeared that they were produced in the science city of Fryazino^[5].

As of mid-August, more than a dozen product categories are presented on the Softline Computers website, including servers based on a motherboard manufactured in Russia^[6].

The share of equipment in Softline's overall business is now small. Most of the turnover continues to fall on the software and cloud segment. But for the 1st quarter of fiscal 2022 (ended for the company on June 30) in dollars, it grew by only 1.4%, the company cited data. Such dynamics came out mainly due to the Russian market. A similar indicator for global business is at the level of 30%, said Artyom Tarakanov, global financial director of Softline, at an online meeting.

The company announced plans to strengthen the hardcore direction against the background of the transformation of its business. Over the past few months, Russian and foreign Softline businesses have been increasingly different from each other in terms of current activities, priorities and market strategies. Against the backdrop of a changed geopolitical situation, Softline decided to separate its Russian and international businesses and create two independent companies, as previously announced, in July. In the coming weeks, the company plans to submit a circular with the details of the division of the business.

Softline founder and CEO Igor Borovikov said in June#.D0.92_Softline_.D1.83.D0.B2.D0.B8.D0.B4.D0.B5.D0.BB.D0.B8_.D0.B4.D0.BB.D1.8F_.D1.81.D0.B5.D0.B1.D1.8F_.D0.B2.D1.8B.D0.B3.D0.BE.D0.B4.D1.83_.D0.B2_.D1.83.D1.85.D0.BE.D0.B4.D0.B5_Microsoft_.D0.B8_Abbyy_.D0.B8.D0.B7_.D0.A0.D0.BE.D1.81.D1.81.D0.B8.D0.B8 that in Russian business the main topics for Softline are now import substitution, focus on their own services and clouds, as well as their own products that Softline will develop. And outside of Russia, the focus is mainly on partnerships with foreign vendors: Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, etc.

Microsoft products, in particular, traditionally occupy a significant share in Softline's business. At the same time, Borovikov said that the company sees for itself a certain benefit from the departure from the Russian market of foreign vendors, including Microsoft. Softline expects to replace Microsoft in its portfolio in Russia with other, more high-margin products, including its own solutions.

Softline CEO Sergei Chernovolenko calls the increase in demand for various services, including services for maintaining the existing infrastructure, one of the trends in the Russian market. This direction as a business, along with those already indicated above, Softline also has a priority for 2022. In the 1 quarter of the 2022 financial year, the service segment in Softline's business showed high dynamics.

Softline's total turnover in Russia in the 1 quarter in dollars decreased by 23% year-on-year. Artyom Tarakanov explained that revenue in Russia demonstrated negative dynamics primarily due to the pace of curtailment of business volumes by foreign software manufacturers. This process took place "significantly faster" than Softline originally expected.

In accordance with the previously outlined trend, the share of Russian business in Softline's total turnover also decreased: it amounted to 32.9% of the total $545 million earned for the quarter. At the end of all 2021, Russia accounted for just over half of the revenue^[7].

Softline's international business, meanwhile, grew 44% in Q1 2022.

Growth outside the Russian Federation remains our focus, and we see significant market prospects for this, "said Artyom Tarakanov.

Disclosure of SoftClub Acquisition Deal Terms

Softline has disclosed the parameters for the acquisition of Belarusian software developer for the banking sector Softclub. This became known on August 8, 2022. Read more here.

Service division of the Russian office of Xerox became part of Softline

Softline included the service division of the Russian office of Xerox. TAdviser was told about this in August 2022 by a source familiar with the activities of the companies.

According to him, on the basis of the transferred Xerox team in Softline, a new division was created that deals with services based on Xerox technologies. The company provided office printing management services in Russia and the CIS, a centralized printing service, was engaged in the processing of financial and accounting documents, and also outsourced projects for mass production of documents.

Responding to a TAdviser request, Softline did not confirm, but did not deny the fact of the Xerox team's transition.

We are actively hiring the best specialists in the market and do not plan to reduce recruitment. We consider candidates with various experience, including from companies that have suspended activities in Russia. The business model and methodologies in foreign vendors and Softline are very similar, so basically there are no difficulties with adaptation, - told TAdviser in Softline.

In March 2022, Xerox notified the Russian market about the suspension of equipment supplies to the country. The company did not make any statements about the complete termination of business or suspension of the service unit. However, in the summer she closed all job vacancies in Russia, the last of which date back to June 2022.

Xerox supplied equipment and provided services not only to commercial organizations, but also to government agencies, participating in public procurement procedures. So, according to the service "Kontur. Focus," in 2021 , the Apparatus of the Federation Council acquired from Xerox services for servicing copying equipment for 31 million rubles. The All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development signed a contract with the company for the maintenance of a documentation processing center in the amount of almost 13.5 million rubles. An agreement was concluded with the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg for 2.1 million rubles for the maintenance of Xerox office equipment.

According to Kontur. Focus, at the end of 2021, the revenue of the Russian division of Xerox (Xerox CIS) increased by 13% and reached 14.3 billion rubles, net profit increased by more than 600% to 161.4 million rubles.

Acquisition of a controlling stake in Your Payment Guide

Softline, a provider of IT solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, announced to TAdviser on August 1, 2022 that it had signed an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Your Payment Conductor LLC, which specializes in developing software and solutions in the field of cashless payments. Read more here.

Start the process of dividing Softline into two independent companies

Softline, a global provider of digital transformation and information security solutions, on July 19, 2022, informed TAdviser of its intention to continue the separation of the Russian and non-Russian parts of the business after receiving all required regulatory approvals, including approval from the company's shareholders. This decision is the result of a study of existing opportunities to change the structure of the group's assets, as well as the structure of ownership of them in order to optimize value for all interested parties, which the company announced in May 2022.

As specified in Softline, the company has already launched the separation process and hired a number of third-party consultants, including Allen & Overy.

We see a number of uncertainties and think that the process will take some time, but it is extremely important that it does not affect the fundamental principles of the Group and its obligations to customers and technology partners. In the future, Softline intends to promptly notify all interested parties about the decisions made and next steps, the company said in a statement.

In general, the intention to divide the business was dictated by the situation in which the group's business in Russia and outside Russia began to differ significantly in terms of operational priorities and market strategies. The dynamics of the two different markets changed so much that after a comprehensive consideration of alternative options, the board of directors decided to create two different companies. This is expected to deliver improved customer experience, enable the company to take full advantage of various growth strategies, and maximize value.

After the division, the Group's business in the Russian Federation will be called Softline Russia, and the business outside the Russian Federation will be called Softline Global, although it is possible that these names may be changed in the future. The company intends to maintain public status on the London Stock Exchange for Softline Global. Subsequently, the future board of directors and the board of Softline Russia will decide how to increase the liquidity of shares owned by Russian shareholders. Softline's board believes both new companies will be competitive, well structured and managed.

At the same time, Softline intends to continue to protect the interests of all stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and manufacturing partners. According to company representatives:

• The actions taken will best serve the interests of all shareholders. The current geopolitical situation has had a disproportionate impact on Softline's market value, while the separation of businesses is carried out with the intention of obtaining an adequate assessment of both businesses of the Group, which would reflect the profitable growth of the company's businesses and its high fundamental value.
• The separation will allow both businesses to continue to provide services for digital transformation and information security, as well as other services to existing and new customers in all geographical regions where Softline operates. There are significant opportunities in all markets, and both companies will be better positioned to develop their growth strategies using the opportunities in the respective markets.
• These changes will allow Softline employees to get the maximum benefit from long-term employee motivation (LTEPP) programs in both newly created companies, which, in turn, will create the conditions for hiring and retaining talented professionals, as well as developing the culture of a co-owner employee within companies.
• Both independent companies will be able to best implement market entry strategies for all Softline partner manufacturers - both regional and global.

Due to the split, Softline also announced upcoming management changes that will take effect from August 1, 2022. In particular, Chief Operating Officer Sergey Chernovolenko will become Chief Executive Officer of Softline Holdings Plc and will lead the separation process. Once the existing restructuring opportunities are fully explored, Roy Harding will leave the post of Chief Executive Officer of Softline Holdings plc and continue to serve on the board as Executive Director, as well as serving in an operating role responsible for integrating strategic acquisitions into Softline Global.

Following the separation of the Russian and non-Russian parts of Softline's business, Sergey Chernovolenko will become the chief executive officer of the newly formed Softline Global. At the same time, he will continue to work as a member of the board of directors. The current chief executive officer Herve Tessler of Softline International will take over as president of the newly created Softline Global. Current financial Softline International director Burak Ozer will become CFO of the newly formed Softline Global. Sergey, Herve and Burak are residents, Great Britain where Softline Global is headquartered.

In turn, the CEO Russia Vladimir Lavrov will become the CEO of the newly formed company Softline Russia. The current CFO of Softline Holdings plc Artem Tarakanov will become the CFO of Softline Russia. Vladimir and Artem are based in, To Moscow where the future headquarters of Softline Russia will be located.

"The changes we announced will create two leading players in their markets, optimising growth strategies, operations and shareholder value for both independent companies. Based on a comprehensive review of options for changing the group's asset structure and ownership structure, we believe that the proposed split is in the best interests of the current company and all stakeholders, including our shareholders, customers, employees and suppliers, "commented Jacques Gehr, Chairman of the group's Board of Directors.

Buying an ICT system integrator from the UAE

Softline, a global provider of digital transformation and information security solutions and services, informed TAdviser on July 1, 2022 that it had signed an agreement to acquire UAE-based Seven Seas Technology (SST). The deal is expected to allow Softline to substantially expand its operations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and continues a string of mergers and acquisitions as part of a three-dimensional growth strategy. Read more here.

Softline saw a benefit in the departure of Microsoft and Abbyy from Russia

Softline sees for itself a certain benefit from the departure from the Russian market of Microsoft, the business on the products of which traditionally occupies a significant share in the company's revenue. This follows from the words of the founder and general director of Softline Igor Borovikov at a public online meeting held on June 30 with a representative of the Moscow Exchange, where the shares of^[8] are quoted].

Before the "current events," the business associated with Microsoft occupied about 30% of Softline's total turnover in Russia. But if you look at Microsoft's share in the company's gross margin, it was about 10%. This means that the margin of this business was small, Borovikov explained.

Now a large part of Microsoft is leaving, one way or another, I think it will disappear from the Russian market - somewhere under pressure from the state, somewhere under pressure from other factors. But we are confident that we will be able to replace Microsoft with other products, and the margin of these products will be higher than at Microsoft, says the head of Softline.

The sale of Russian products is generally more marginal business than the sale of imported products, he added. In fact, there is no need to sell a Western product - it sells itself as a brand. There, the role of value-added companies such as Softline is small. And Russian products need promotion and additional services. In this case, the work on the part of Softline is more voluminous and, accordingly, Softline, as a company, receives a larger margin on these products, explains Borovikov.

Microsoft in June announced a gradual reduction in its business in Russia, "until in the end there is almost nothing or nothing left." Russian products are able to replace Microsoft software at a "sufficient level of quality," Borovikov said. For example, if you compare MS Office with "MyOffice" or "P7-Office," then a user who uses about 10-15% of the functionality, at first glance, probably will not even understand the difference. The difference can be noticeable if the user applies advanced functions.

I must say that in other countries Microsoft products at Softline account for almost 50% of the turnover. Such data in the company voiced at the end of 2021. The share of this vendor was previously higher in the Russian business of Softline, but decreased due to the growth of the share of other brands.

If you now look at Softline's business as a whole, then it is naturally divided into two different parts with two different approaches, says Borovikov: Russian and foreign. In Russian business, the main topics are import substitution, focus on its own services and clouds, as well as its own products that Softline will develop. And outside of Russia, the focus is mainly on partnerships with foreign vendors: Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, etc.

These businesses are becoming different, they have different dynamics and drivers, - said the founder of Softline.

Softline is now investing a lot of effort and money in the development of its products. And she has a number of developments that show "explosive growth." As an example, Borovikov cited a company in the perimeter of Softline, Soica which develops a platform for automatic processing and analytics of documents. It uses, among other things, recognition technologies.

Prior to that, Abbyy was the leader in this market segment. Now she has left this market, and tremendous opportunities are opening up for us. The volume of sales has grown tenfold, the volume of the payline of transactions - hundreds of times, - says Igor Borovikov. - We will accumulate such products as Softline, and the block of our own products, according to our plans, should bring us up to 33% in EBITDA in the next 2-3 years.

Abbyy in January 2022 removed almost all of its products from the register of domestic software and transferred the rights to them to its American legal entity. And in May, Abbyy separated Russian business from its group of companies . Sales and technical support of users and partners in Russia were transferred to Content AI (Content AI LLC), Abbyy's technology partner.

TAdviser interview with CEO Vladimir Lavrov

In June 2022, the Vladimir Lavrov CEO Softline Russia TAdviser spoke in an interview about customer requests and ways to make a solution. More. here

25% pay cut for employees

On May 23, 2022, it became known about Softline's decision to cut employee salaries by 25%. That 25% goes into a "premium" that will only be paid if the employee reaches a certain level of performance on the margin plan, with the margin plan in 2022 up about 20% from the 2021 plan.

As Forbes writes with reference to the presentation for the company's employees, changes in the salary will remain until the end of 2022. At the same time, the Russian supplier of IT solutions stressed that if financial performance improves, this innovation may be canceled.

A source close to Softline explained that the vast majority of the company's employees in Russia were selling Microsoft solutions, but by the end of May 2022, the business "actually got up." In March 2022, the American corporation suspended work in the country due to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. As the source said, Microsoft's sales in Softline revenue accounted for about 45%.

The company's management also announced that the fall in Softline's income in April was about 30%, so it is "logical to proportionally reduce" the number of employees. Softline studies this proposal and is thinking about its implementation.

Softline told Forbes that "to strengthen the focus on the result," they will change the structure of employees' income, in which the premium part will increase. The company plans to reorganize one of the divisions of the Russian office. Softline said it would retain the payment of options to retain specialists based on the price of $7.5 per share (as of May 20, 2022, their price on the London Stock Exchange is $1.12).

Softline managed to avoid suspension of trading on the LSE: in early March 2022, the London Exchange stopped trading in receipts of 27 Russian companies in connection with "events in Ukraine and in the light of market conditions in order to maintain order in the markets."^[9]

TAdviser interview with Director of Government Relations Igor Leypi

In May 2022, Igor Leypi, director of the department for work with state organizations of Softline, in an interview with TAdviser, spoke about digitalization in the new conditions. Read more here.

Agreement with the "Computer Academy TOP" for the implementation of educational projects

The provider of solutions and services Softline on May 13, 2022 announced the conclusion of a memorandum of cooperation with the TOP Computer Academy. The companies intend to develop and implement joint educational projects, including international ones, in order to improve the quality of education in the field of information technology. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Yuri Berkman and Sergey Terletsky

In May 2022, questions from TAdviser were answered by Yuri Berkman, director of digital technologies and administrative services at KNITU, and Sergey Terletsky, head of education at Softline. Read more here.

Shareholders

Among Softline shareholders for April 2022:

• Softline Group Inc. (55,4%)
• Broadreach Limited (11,1%)
• Da Vinci Funds (9,1%)
• Zubr Capital (2,7%)
• SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc (5,8%)

The company's executives at this time included:

• Igor Borovikov - Executive Director of the Board of Directors
• Sergey Chernovolenko - Chief Operating Officer
• Vladimir Lavrov - CEO Softline Russia
• Alexey Butakov - Director of Digital Transformation and Sales Efficiency
• Alexander Firsov - Director of the Federal Sales Center Softline
• Oleg Tremzin - Softline Services Director Russia
• Elena Shedova - Softline Global Marketing Director
• Natalia Likhodievskaya - Softline HR Director

Completion of NCIP integration

The provider of IT solutions and services Softline on April 18, 2022 announced the completion of the integration of the National Center for Development and Support (NCPR), which specializes in the field of open and secure information technologies. Read more here.

Appointment of Hervé Tessler as CEO of Softline International

Softline on March 28, 2022 announced the appointment of Hervé Tessler as CEO of Softline International from April 1, 2022. Read more here.

Appointment of Vladimir Lavrov as CEO of Softline in Russia

The company Softline is a provider IT of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and - information security on March 15, 2022 announced TAdviser the appointment of Softline as CEO, Russia Vladimir Lavrov which has 30 years of experience in IT companies. More. here

TAdviser interview

TAdviser In March 2022, the Director for Business Nikolay Ivanenko Development answered questions on the use of weight and dimensional control systems, photo and video recording systems. Softline More. here

Softline founder Igor Borovikov resigns as chairman of the board of directors

The founder of Softline Holding Igor Borovikov will leave the post of chairman of the board of directors, the company announced on March 4, 2022^[10] in^[11]. Instead, the current non-executive director Jacques Gers will become chairman. At the same time, Borovikov will retain a place on the board of directors and will head the M&A committee outside the CIS.

The message has been released in English. It emphasizes that Softline is a global provider of IT and digital transformation solutions, registered in Cyprus with headquarters in London and operating in 60 countries.

I am very keen that the company I founded 28 years ago grow and bring value to its customers in attractive emerging markets around the world. Our three-dimensional growth strategy will continue to be the basis for the development of the company and our energetic M&A activities will support it, - Igor Borovikov quotes Softline in his message.

The company also announced a reshuffle in management: Sergey Chernovolenko will step down as CEO and take the position of operating director. Instead, the holding will be headed by Softline International President Roy Harding.

Two members of the board of directors also leave Softline: co-founder of Almaz Capital Alexander Galitsky and founder and managing partner of Da Vinci Captial Oleg Zhelezko. The new chairman of the board of directors of Softline thanked them for their significant contribution on the way from a private to a public company.

Agreement with BellSoft to unify the Java stack

Softline and BellSoft will offer solutions for unifying the Java stack. Softline announced this on February 28, 2022.

This will expand Softline's line of products and services for government and commercial companies with critical information infrastructures and provide the necessary conditions for migration projects to the Java platform of the Russian developer. The partnership agreement will help the provider of solutions for the public sector in Russia accelerate the transition of a responsible business to open technologies with Russian technical support.

BellSoft software products are included in the register of Russian software and at the same time accumulate world-class expertise on the Java platform. They provide the most secure, reliable, and cost-effective approach to application creation and unify the organization's Java development environment. BellSoft technologies are used in systems that require a high level of security, complex IT landscapes of companies in the state, financial, fuel and energy sectors and other industries, document management systems, APCS, to create and support both monolithic and microservice architecture.

Thanks to a partnership with a system software developer, Softline's portfolio of solutions has been replenished with products:

• The progressive Java Liberica JDK Pro runtime is a single cross-platform OpenJDK solution for cloud, server and desktop systems, as well as Docker containers, verified for compliance with the Java SE standard.
• The standardized LiberCat application server is based on Apache Tomcat and Apache TomEE and, in conjunction with Liberica, JDK Pro provides a comprehensive certified solution for both Java SE and EE specifications, ensuring the highest level of security and performance.

BellSoft's connecting technologies support a large set of operating systems, DBMSs and hardware systems, including domestic ones. The partnership agreement will allow Softline to offer customers end-to-end solutions that ensure the transfer of government information systems and other Java applications to the domestic software and hardware stack as soon as possible and with minimal investments. And the release of the Java Liberica JDK Certified runtime and the LiberCat Certified application server, certified by the FSTEC for 4UD, will facilitate and speed up the certification of state information systems.

Liberica JDK Pro is the only Java distribution included in the Unified Register of Russian Programs for Electronic Computers and Databases, and we are pleased to replenish our portfolio with this solution. Now our customers will be able to develop their own software using specialized solutions from the registry. Java is an environment for development, so we believe that Liberica JDK Pro and LiberCat products will certainly have demand from our customers from the banking sector, telecommunications, law enforcement agencies, industry and other areas sensitive to external sanctions and obliged to comply with the requirements of regulators to switch to domestic software, - said Denis Korsakov, Head of Domestic System Software at Softline.

We are pleased that one of the leaders of the IT market has joined our partner program. This promising collaboration opens up prospects for expanding our ecosystem, and for Softline customers - opportunities to optimize the corporate Java stack and safely transfer critical systems to open technologies with 24/7 support in their native language, "said Alexander Belokrylov, CEO of BellSoft. - The expertise of our engineers is used by the largest software developers in the world and leaders in various sectors of the economy. This confirms the high professionalism of the team and the opportunities for development within the company. Users and developers of Java applications can be sure that they will receive the necessary level of quality and competence that meets the requirements of business and the state.

Within the framework of the partnership, BellSoft will comprehensively promote the development of expertise of Softline commercial and technical specialists in the product line and Java technologies in general. The company's plans include conducting technical mitapes with the participation of engineers, training and marketing webinars, joint project management with end customers, including needs assessment, elaboration and formation of specifications, testing organization, as well as regular information exchange on technological trends and market development.

Inclusion of Imredi platform in Softline Digital portfolio

Imredi, a resident of the Skolkovo Foundation, and Softline entered into a partnership agreement. The Imredi digital platform has been included in the product portfolio of Softline Digital, a division specializing in the development and implementation of digital solutions for industry tasks. About this Softline company announced on February 25, 2022. The Imredi platform was specifically designed to help retailers and other businesses with an extensive structure manage points of sale and employees.

At the heart of the digital platform Imredi is a mobile application with which field employees receive tasks, report on their implementation and can track their own KPIs. Imredi digitizes communication between the central office and remote employees and departments, accelerates data collection from stores and provides operational control over the entire network. Digitalizing processes and increasing performance discipline with Imredi brings economic benefits to the retail business and accelerates its development.

We see Softline as a very strong partner who will help convey our decision to a large number of corporate customers both in Russia and in the future - in international markets. Getting into the portfolio of recommended industry solutions Softline Digital is an excellent verification and confirmation of the market demand for those Imredi use cases that we are already implementing with customers, "said Imredi Commercial Director Maxim Semirenko.

Imredi, as a developer and resident of Skolkovo, offers a product that, firstly, is based on the current technological stack, and more importantly, on the most current scenarios for digitalizing processes with a fast and transparent return on investment indicator. Now the capabilities of the platform and the experience of Imredi customers from the retail business are available as part of the industry and technological expertise of Softline Digital, - said Yulia Pchelintseva, director of business development at Softline Digital.

The Imredi platform is available as a cloud service, or through its deployment on the physical infrastructure of the client. More than 30 ready-made business cases are available to retail companies, as well as the functionality of an enterprise-class solution with the ability to customize for individual business requirements.

Signing agreement to buy Indian cloud provider Umbrella Infocare

The company, a Softline global provider of IT digital transformation solutions and services and, in information security line with its 3D growth strategy, announced on February 7, 2022 TAdviser that it had signed an agreement to acquire the company Umbrella Infocare located in. Delhi This transaction is expected to significantly expand Softline's presence in, while India significantly strengthening the company's position in. The amount of global cloud services market the transaction was not disclosed. More. here

Acquisition of consulting information security company TC "Engineer"

Softline, a global provider of IT solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, announced to TAdviser on February 2, 2022 that it had signed an agreement on the acquisition of the Engineer shopping center. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. As Softline specified, this acquisition corresponds to the company's three-dimensional growth strategy, as it expands its cybersecurity capabilities. Read more here.

Interview with TAdviser by Services Director Oleg Tremzin

In January 2022, Oleg Tremzin, director of services at Softline, spoke in an interview with TAdviser about the development of competencies, key areas and bright projects implemented in the pandemic. Read more here.

Purchase of SoftClub software developer

At the end of January 2022 Softline , acquired a developer ON for banks and stock exchanges. SoftClub Financial the company did not disclose the terms of the transaction. More. here

Purchase of MMTR Technology software developer

At the end of January 2022, Softline announced the purchase of MMTR Technology. The company did not disclose the value of the transaction. Read more here.

Long-Term Employee Partner Program

Softline Holding PLC, a provider of IT solutions and services, on January 25, 2022 announced its intention to introduce a Long Term Employee Partnership Program ('LTEPP').

Softline operates in an industry where talent plays a key role in business development and competitive differentiation. As part of our broader value proposition for employees, the board is committed to encouraging a culture of increased ownership of shares by company employees.

Employees of the company will be entitled to receive options on the company's shares in the amount of up to 45% of their annual earnings each year at the discretion of the board of directors upon reaching certain targets for the growth of the share price. Options will be converted to shares (vest) for a period of up to five years after granting, depending on their size.

In addition, the company plans to offer a stock purchase program for all employees, giving them the right to buy shares worth up to 15% of their annual earnings with a 15% discount at the time of acquisition.

Softline is a talent-focused business and the program is a key tool to help attract, retain and motivate the best employees. If the goals of the program are achieved, then if the share price rises with a CAGR of 30% or more, the share capital is expected to be diluted by about 4% per year. As announced, Softline also implemented a share buyback program designed to offset the dilution impact of long-term management incentive plans.

{{quote 'author = said Igor Borovikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Group of Companies. |

Our goal is to establish a long-term partnership with employees who represent our core value and a key asset in the market. The company that is able to attract and retain the best personnel wins in the market. We strive to be the best company in the market, creating conditions for the overall success of our employees in which we could all thrive. We, as a public company, have an additional tool for this. This is our partner option plan. A significant difference between our plan and its counterparts is that it is designed for all employees of the company. This not only makes us more attractive in the market, but is also motivated by our desire to add more value, underpinned by the long-term support of our people as we execute our 3D growth strategy. With this innovative partnership plan, we align the goals and objectives facing our shareholders and employees. And we are confident that this plan will be well received by all employees. We are convinced that this very attractive partnership plan will be well received by all employees, it is in the interests of our shareholders and investors and will help us become even more competitive in the market,}}

Acquisition of 85% stake in ATI Academy

Softline on January 11, 2022 announced to TAdviser the signing of an agreement to acquire the iT Academy, which will allow it to strengthen its position in the rapidly growing technical education sector around the world and in the field of educational technology solutions. Read more here.

2021

Strengthen IT Services

For fiscal year 2021, companies were acquired: SoftClub, MMTR Technology Ltd, ATI Academy, Engineer shopping center, etc., which made it possible to further strengthen the company's expertise. In 2021, Softline significantly strengthened the team of the IT services division: as of June 2022, there are more than 4,000 developers, architects, information security specialists and other specialists in the team.

In 2022, the Softline team will continue to advise Russian organizations on the selection, implementation, support, training in working with Russian software and equipment and other solutions for the Russian market.

Focusing on the needs of the business, in 2022 Softline will continue to develop areas that will help customers accelerate their digital transformation. Thus, due to the high demand for IT services, the corresponding Softline division was significantly strengthened, which will be able to carry out a larger number of projects. As for custom development, the provider will help companies in integrating, customizing and developing the functionality of the software used, taking into account the peculiarities of business processes. At the same time, Softline customers will have access to both platform solutions such as BPM, CRM, and custom development services from scratch. In addition, the company will continue to develop its own software and produce solutions in the field of hardware, in particular Softline Computers servers, which are included in the register of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In addition, Softline will continue to ensure the information security of its customers with reliable solutions, implement projects to protect data, code, and infrastructure. Softline will also provide cloud technologies, cloud migration services, cloud infrastructure management and invest in the development of its own Softline Cloud.

As of June 2022, more than 250 vacancies have been opened in Russia, "said Vladimir Lavrov, CEO of Softline Russia.

Softline is a provider of IT solutions and services in the field of digital transformation, cloud technologies and information security. The company also offers a full range of services for the design, modernization and technical support of the IT infrastructure.

The package of solutions for ensuring remote business work includes: digitalization of business processes, organization of remote access of employees, ensuring the security of remote workplaces. In addition, Softline provides services for the implementation of WMS systems, BPM platforms, EDMS and BI systems.

Softline has opportunities for custom development, implements a range of work for customers to deploy computer-aided design tools from foreign and domestic manufacturers. For more than 18 years, the company has been conducting professional business and IT training in all regions of Russia and the  CIS. Finally, Softline is engaged in solving any licensing problems for Microsoft and other leading Russian and international vendors.

Among the services are financial services. The company offers leasing as a means of modernizing and strengthening the business without significant diversion of working capital. The Softline Finance service provides installments for payment of products. This is a deal without guarantors and collateral on 90 days to 1 year.

Softline decided to motivate employees with options amid a shortage of IT personnel

Due to the acute shortage of IT personnel, Softline plans to introduce a motivational program based on options in the company in the near future. Softline founder, chairman of the board of directors Igor Borovikov spoke about this, answering TAdviser questions at an online meeting with the press. According to him, the program will cover every programmer, every engineer. But the matter is not limited to them: the initiative is designed for 100% of the company's employees.

The fact that we are a public company gives us the opportunity to use our shares, our options, as an additional element of motivation, - said Igor Borovikov.

An option is an exclusive right to purchase a security on certain terms. For example, at a fixed price below the market price or free of charge, but when some results are achieved in the work.

Softline, we recall, at the end of October held an initial placement of securities (IPO) on the London and Moscow exchanges. Having become public, the company raised $400 million.

Now the whole world is faced with a shortage of IT personnel, and it must be understood that such a deficit is most likely a long-term trend, said the chairman of the board of directors of Softline. Motivational options for employees are one of the measures to solve these problems. In addition to this, the company in all other respects corresponds to the market: "market salaries, comfortable working conditions, and so on." And the third area of ​ ​ work is active cooperation with universities and schools, inviting university graduates to work at Softline.

As of the beginning of December 2021, the company employs about 2 thousand developers and engineers. Their number is planned to increase to 5 thousand in the next 2-3 years. In total, Softline now employs about 6 thousand employees. Igor Borovikov gave TAdviser an estimate that approximately 30-40% of Softline programmers are in Belarus, 40-50% in Russia and 10-15% in India.

As already mentioned, all employees will receive options, and not only in Russia. Accordingly, the Indian and Belarusian colleagues of Softline will also get them, the founder of the company specified.

Moreover, all companies that we will buy will also be included in this program, - said Igor Borovikov, answering a TAdviser question.

In November, Igor Borovikov said that Softline intends to spend most of the funds raised during the IPO on acquiring companies in other countries - about 30 different companies^[12]. Of course, not all of them are transformed into real transactions, but some part is being implemented, Borovikov noted. By the end of its fiscal year, by March 31, 2022, Softline plans to close two or three transactions that are already at an advanced stage.

Many companies in the market have recently spoken about the worsening IT personnel and are taking various measures in this regard, including financial ones, to hire and retain qualified specialists. So, for example, in the spring of 2021, the BlaBlaCar service gave all its employees, including in the Russian office, shares of the company. To get them, the employee had only to work in the organization for at least two years. Google also pays bonuses to employees in the form of securities and options.

Back in 2014, the option program helped Epam Systems retain more than 700 employees^[13] Epam IT companies it had taken over]. And recently, Epam, against the background of a shortage of IT specialists, has begun to invest even more actively in attracting developers from the countries of the former Union. The company opens offices in these countries and hires and trains local professionals. Recently, in addition to the existing Epam, an office has appeared in Uzbekistan.

Softline reveals details of Crayon investment

November 18, 2021 Softline revealed the details investments in his Norwegian competitor - the company. Crayon The parameters of the relevant transactions are described in the Softline investment prospectus posted on the website of the Financial Regulator (FCA Great Britain) as part of the company's initial placement of shares () on. IPO London Stock Exchange

Softline became a shareholder of Crayon in 2018, acquiring 10.1% of its shares. Further, the company agreed with a certain third-party investor to create a joint venture (JV) OEP Its Holdings in Holland. In it, Softline and a third-party investor transferred their shares in Crayon. As a result, the joint venture began to own 29.5% of Crayon. As of the end of 2020, it was Crayon's largest shareholder. Softline received a share of 31.7% in the joint venture.

Who was a partner of Softline in this transaction is not reflected in the materials of the Russian company. However, from Crayon's messages published on the Oslo Stock Exchange website, it follows that the owner of the remaining 68.3% in OEP ITS Holdings was another Dutch company with a similar name - OEP Its Cooperafief Holding.

Behind this structure, in turn, is the American investment fund OEP Capital Advisors (operates under the One Equity Partners brand). This fund was created in 2001 as a division of the American Bank One. In 2004, US investment firm JPMorgan Chase acquired Bank One, after which OEP Capital Advisors became an exclusive private equity platform for JPMorgan Chase. In 2014, JPMorgan Chase sold half of its stake in OEP Capital Advisors.

In the summer of 2021, the joint venture sold a 10.2% stake in Crayon for $114 million. This amount was a discount of 8% to the market price of Crayon shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange. After that, Softline agreed with its partner on the division of the joint venture.

The OEP Capital Advisors entities received their portion from the cash the JV gained from the sale of part of Crayon's shares and a pro rata share from the JV's remaining stake in Crayon. According to CNews estimates, OEP Capital Advisors structures were supposed to receive cash worth $77.5 million and a 13.1% stake in Crayon.

After that, OEP Its Holdings became a 100 percent subsidiary of Softline and was renamed Axion Bidco Holding (previously the parent structure of Softline was called Axion Holding Cyprus). Now Softline, through this joint venture, owns a 6% stake in Crayon. The market value of this package is NOK 918 million ($105 million).

Softline was also supposed to gain $36.5 million from the sale of part of the share owned by the joint venture in Crayon. Thus, Softline from investments in Crayon received assets totaling $141.5 million. For how much Softline bought a stake in Crayon in 2018 is unknown. The Vedomosti newspaper estimated the cost of this package at $12 million. Accordingly, Softline has currently received a 12-fold return on its investment in Crayon^[14].

Creation of a consortium "Digital Technologies" together with KNITU

Kazan National Research Technological University (KNITU) and Softline have created a consortium for the joint development and implementation of digital solutions in the field of chemistry and petrochemistry. Softline announced this on November 17, 2021. Read more here.

Softline to spend 80% of IPO revenue on asset purchases

In November 2021, Softline announced its intention to spend 80% of IPO revenue on asset purchases. Thanks to the listing on the London Stock Exchange, the company earned about $400 million. Thus, about $320 million will go to mergers and acquisitions.

We have M&A a strategy, the current pipeline [list of potential targets for the takeover - approx. TAdviser] for $1.5 billion. These are approximately 30 different companies. Of course, not all of them are being transformed into real deals, but some part is being implemented. Until the end of our financial year, by March 31, 2022, we plan to close two or three transactions that are now at an advanced stage, - said the founder and head of the company's supervisory board Igor Borovikov in an interview. RBC

According to him, in the next three years, the company plans to expand its geography to 30 new countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, both "organically" and "not organically," through purchases. In addition, with the help of transactions, the company expects to strengthen its portfolio and positions in certain areas.

We want to expand our service expertise on AWS, information security and digital transformation services, "Borovikov told RBC.

He noted that by November 2021, out of 6 thousand employees of the company, about 2 thousand "provide services, help customers," while Softline plans to increase their number to at least 5 - 6 thousand.

Igor Borovikov noted that Softline is mainly interested in small companies with a turnover of $100 million - $300 million. Their owners are ready to negotiate a sale, a partnership, because for them to have a future, they need to invest a lot of money in themselves, he added. Softline's plans for the near future include the purchase of not only foreign companies, but also Russian ones.^[15]

Acquisition of NCPR

On November 3, 2021, it became known that Softline paid $10 million for NCPR, a company specializing in secure open source software products. Read more here.

The number of IT systems development staff has grown to 500 people

The staff of the Softline Information Systems Development Department by 2021 reached more than 500 people, the number of development centers increased to four, and the number of projects implemented is more than 3,000. Development centers conduct projects for large retailers and financial organizations, in the field of media and entertainment, digital medicine, develop mobile applications, ensure information security and modernize internal systems. Among our clients of the company are giants of the Russian industry (Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff, ivi, STS) and large international firms (Nissan, Samsung, National Geographic and others).

The information security team performs hundreds of projects a year

Softline has formed a cybersecurity team that performs hundreds of projects a year. The company's range of services in 2021 included many areas such as secure workplace, cloud security (CASB), secure communication channels (VPN), employee training/verification (Awareness), data protection (DLP ) and many others.

Separately, it is worth noting the cybersecurity management center (SOC, Security Operation Center). Softline SOC Information Security (ISOC) records and prevents incidents, improving the quality and level of information security. Security events are delivered from the customer's infrastructure to ISOC, where they are analyzed to identify incidents and launch response systems. Round-the-clock security monitoring; advanced consultation and online host analysis allows you to discover the causes of incidents and resolve them. Softline carries out a full range of work to investigate and eliminate threats.

Softline ensures that customer security systems comply with regulatory requirements. This implies auditing the current state of security, selecting and implementing certified information security tools, carrying out the necessary organizational measures, regulating business processes, passing certification and inspections of regulators (Roskomnadzor, FSB of Russia, FSTEC of Russia).

The Softline information security team protects the critical infrastructure. It CUES means systems, networks and other IT resources, the failures of which can lead to serious consequences, including of a political, social and environmental nature. Such information systems are subject to mandatory safety requirements in accordance with Federal Law No. 187. Softline implements a number of protective measures for the protection of CII for customers: categorization of CII objects; design and implementation of solutions for their protection; coordination of requirements assurance works 187-FZ with the regulator (FSTEC); connecting to - GosSOPKe a single complex of geographically distributed centers that exchange information about. cyber attacks

Softline also conducts penetration tests (penetration tests). As part of the test, information security specialists use (simulate) various types of information security attacks, system hacking, phishing, as well as social engineering techniques and much more. Pentests help protect the company's assets and at the same time not spend unnecessary resources.

Softline has several proprietary products that provide information security. It is an ETHIC: External Threats & Human Intelligence Center service designed to identify threats on the Internet and Infosecurity Darvvin, which detects social threats in a teenage environment.

Participation in the TAdviser conference of the Softline Apple Practice team. Mac Choice: Free Device Selector

Apple Team Softline Practice will take part in the HR IT Day conference. Apple Head of Practice Stavisskaya Sophia and product owner Alexander Gladky will present to the participants of the Mac Choice event - a corporate loyalty program as a service.

The program is based on the possibility of free selection by the employee of the working device. Mac Choice is designed to increase the engagement and loyalty of current employees of companies, as well as increase the attractiveness of the company as a potential employer.

Purchase of Egyptian IT company DigiTech

On September 21, 2021, Softline announced the purchase of a stake in DigiTech. The financial details of the deal have not been named. Read more here.

Strategic cooperation with Docsvision

Under the strategic cooperation agreement, Docsvision granted Softline the rights to sell and implement the Docsvision platform and additional marketing, technological and methodological support necessary for implementation by customers. Softline reported this on September 16, 2021. The system will allow Softline to implement digital transformation projects for large and medium-sized businesses.

Softline Digital has 500 employees

Digital transformation is carried out by Softline the Digital division, which works in several areas:,, and business analytics artificial intelligence. big data industrial internet of things The team consists of more than five hundred specialists who are engaged in the search, development and pilot implementation of advanced technological solutions in the field of,,, CV RPA,, AI ML,/. IoT Big Data VRAR The main customers are companies from the industry, and, and. oil  gas retail financial institutions

In addition to general-purpose solutions, the company also implements specialized solutions. For example, smart helmets implement remote monitoring of compliance with safety rules by employees. In real time, the solution controls: the presence of a helmet on the head; signals serious blows, a person falling from a height, prolonged immobility; provides geopositioning; possibility of providing an SOS signal.

Softline offers digital transformation services for government organizations. The main directions are: 1. Import substitution

• AWS of the Civil Servant
• Supply, setup, evaluation of compatibility ON from Rosreestr HF Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the
• Supply and integration of equipment from the Unified Register of RRP GISP of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
• Own production of PC SL Computers

2. Education

• Digital University
• RES and proctoring systems
• Integrated equipment of schools "Digital School"
• Implementation of projects within the framework of the FP "Digital Educational Environment," "Growth Points," "Centers for Gifted Children"
• Equipping all Quantorium Quantimes , including Mobile Quantoriums

3. Health care

• HCP AWS
• Telemedicine  iVKS

4. Region of the future

• Intelligent Transport Systems:
  • Softline Traffic-SL automated traffic control system
  • Photo and video recording
  • Automated weight and dimensional control system

• Public safety and epidemiological protection systems
• Equipment of MPSC, including call centers
• Social portals

Purchase a software licensing business from Squalio

On September 10, 2021, Softline announced the acquisition of a software licensing business from Squalio. Thanks to this transaction, the buyer will enter the Baltic market. The financial side of the agreement is not disclosed. Read more here.

Partnership with MMK-Informservice

In July 2021, Softline included the ATACH electronic document management system (EDMS) ( developed by MMK-Informservice) in its portfolio of solutions. This will allow the company to provide customers with a digital platform for managing business document management processes and creating a unified information space of the future, where the speed of information transfer and processing directly affects the efficiency of all enterprise activities.

Strategic Partnership Agreement with DSTU

IT company Softline and DSTU will develop new products and technologies for the development of intelligent transport systems. The agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation was signed by the rector of the reference university Besarion Meskhi and the director of business development in the region of SoftLine Trade JSC Alexander Kunitsyn, Softline reported on May 25, 2021. Read more here.

PowerStore Universal DSS Specialization

In March 2021, Softline received a specialization in the PowerStore solution - a universal storage system (DSS) from Dell Technologies, which entered the market in 2020. Engineers of the global provider have confirmed their competence both in the installation and configuration of the PowerStore, as well as in after-sales service and technical support of the installed solution.

Obtaining the PowerStore Implementation Engineer certificate for all PowerStore models allows Softline engineers to carry out commissioning work anywhere in, and the PowerStore Platform Engineer certificate allows specialists to further service these systems. Thus, the provider's experts can now provide a full cycle of service - from installation to further maintenance of this system, providing consulting support and preventing various incidents, Softline reported on April 19, 2021.

TAdviser interview with Regional Business Development Director Viktor Algazin

In April 2021, Viktor Algazin, director of business development in the regions of Softline, answered TAdviser's questions on the development of the company's regional business, participation in national projects, and the digitalization of the state segment during the pandemic. Read more here.

Secrets of successful import substitution

In March 2021, Softline revealed the secrets of successful import substitution. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Director of Government Relations Igor Leypi

Softline import substitution TAdviser In March 2021, the director of the department Igor Leypi for work with, spoke about how knowledge is applied in projects that the company performs for customers. government organizations Read more here. [1]

Advanced Specialization of Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure

In January 2021, Softline, a global provider of digital transformation and cybersecurity services, received an expanded specialization of Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure. This international status confirms Softline's expertise, extensive experience in implementing projects related to the transition to the cloud and the transfer to Microsoft Azure of customer solutions based on Windows Server and SQL Server.

2020

Buying Embee Software, an Indian IT company

On January 20, 2021, Softline announced TAdviser the acquisition the Indian IT of a company Embee that specializes in the provision cloudy of services, licensing, solutions in the software field and services cyber security. system integration The parties did not disclose the amount of the transaction. The buyer of the stake in Embee Software Pvt Ltd was Pvt Softline Services India Ltd, a Softline division located in the west of the country. More. here

Acquisition of 63.38% shares of Softline AG

On December 15, 2020, it became known that Softline, a global provider of IT solutions and services, announced the purchase of a 63.38% stake in Softline AG, an international IT consulting services company specializing in software and IT asset management (SAM/ITAM), cloud technologies, information security, and digital workspace technologies. Read more here.

Delivery of more than 30 thousand SolidWorks Education Edition licenses to Russian universities

In 2020, Softline granted more than 30,000 SolidWorks Education Edition licenses to universities. Students and faculty received a complete list of 3D design products that can be installed both on stationary computers in classrooms and on users' personal devices. This was reported on December 3, 2020 in Softline. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Sales Management Director Alexander Rozhkov

In November 2020 Alexander Rozhkov , the director of the sales department Softline spoke in an interview TAdviser about the market IT services and in IToutsourcing 2020. Read more here [2]

Softline bought Aplany's software development outsourcing business

Softline Holding acquired a software development outsourcing business from the Applan group of companies. Aplana announced the deal on November 2, 2020. Read more here.

Attending TAdviser: Optimizing Your IT Infrastructure

What should a modern workspace look like now? How do I adapt my business to new business realities while protecting corporate data? The answers to all these questions can be heard in the report of Softline representative Dmitry Argunov "Universal Workspace. Goodbye office, down with the VPN. "

Softline is a leading global provider of IT solutions and services, operating in the markets of East, Europe America and. Asia Softline helps customers digitally transform their business and protect them from threats by means of. cyber security We offer comprehensive technology solutions, clouds, software and hardware, and a wide range of IT services.

TAdviser Registration: Optimizing IT Infrastructure

Softline Management

For September 2020:

• Igor Borovikov - Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Sergey Chernovolenko - Global CEO
• Harding Roy (Roy Harding) President, Softline International
• Jacques Guers - Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Morrison Andrew - Vice President, Softline Global Services

Opening an office in London

Softline on September 9, 2020 informed TAdviser about the opening of an office in London. According to Softline's expectations, the office in the capital of Great Britain will allow the company to expand its international presence, strengthen relations with leading vendors, and strengthen its position in the global market.

Increasing the share of presence in the global market is part of the company's long-term strategy as provider IT solutions and services. The office London will manage Softline's international business. Among the key tasks facing the top management of the company when opening this office are the development of relations with, Global IT Alliance (GITA) strengthening interaction with strategic partners, key vendors and expanding the list of global suppliers. Partnerships with global organizations allow Softline to maintain direct access to global technologies and maintain positions in the countries of presence. The representative office also intends to work in the field of developing special programs for large clients of the company in the world market.

Softline's office is located at 26-28 Hammersmith Grove, London W6 7HA.

The opening of an office in London is an important step in the internationalisation of Softline's business. We plan to further strengthen the company's position in the global market. We are confident that the expansion of our international presence will allow us to actively develop our own expertise, work more effectively with key partners and vendors and increase the competitiveness of the company as a global provider of IT solutions and services, "commented Igor Borovikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline.

As of September 9, 2020, Softline is represented in more than 50 countries of the world, has strong positions in the markets, Latin America, the APAC region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Softline is a platform with expertise in doing business abroad for Russian technologies and vendors who want to move to the BRICS + countries.

As noted, Softline seeks to take a leading position in the field of digital transformation and cybersecurity in the regions of presence. IT provider experts are implementing large-scale projects around the world in the field of digital transformation of business and power, the development of cloud technologies, and the construction of integrated information protection systems. The company's portfolio of solutions includes products and technologies from more than 3,000 foreign and Russian vendors. The number of group employees around the world at the beginning of September 2020 is 4700 people.

TAdviser interview with Maxim Melsitov, Deputy Head of Business Solutions

In August 2020, Maxim Melsitov the deputy head of the Softline business solutions department TAdviser spoke in an interview about why an increasing number of corporate IT systems critical for business are under the "umbrella." BPM Read more here.

Interview TAdviser with the head of the information security department Vladimir Lavrov

In July 2020, the head of the INFORMATION SECURITY company Softline Vladimir Lavrov told the interior, TAdviser which makes the management of organizations think about the transition to a service model of information security consumption, and in what ways it can be implemented. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Regional Business Director Viktor Algazin

In June 2020, Victor Algazin the director of the company's regional business Softline spoke TAdviser about what drivers are directing informatization processes today in. public sector Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Global CEO Sergey Chernovolenko

In May 2020, in an interview with TAdviserSergey Chernovolenko, Global CEO of Softline, spoke about the results of 2019 and plans for the future. Read more here.

TAdviser interview with Valentin Martins and Nikolai Ivanenko

In April 2020, in an interview with TAdviserValentin Martins, Director of Sales Development complex projects of the company Softline and, Nikolay Ivanenko the Director for Business Development talked about why weight and dimensional control of a truck transport is essential for regional routes, and how it is implemented in practice. Read more here.

Agreement with KUKA to implement industrial projects

On March 5, 2020, Softline announced the signing of a partnership agreement with an international manufacturer. industrial robots KUKA The parties will join forces in the implementation of industrial projects, as well as the development of the vocational education system.

Cooperation with one of the manufacturers of robotics will allow Softline to increase expertise in the field of industrialization and robotics. For KUKA, the agreement will provide an opportunity to get a large partner with a wide range of expertise in the field IT and expand its presence in the market.

The partners intend to develop the direction of automation of enterprises based on industrial robots, as well as implement joint projects in the field of education, offering educational institutions equipment and training programs for laboratory, research and design activities. In addition, the KUKA line has special software for simulating various production processes and complexes. Software can be used to train students of specialized higher and secondary educational institutions, as well as in advanced training and repurposing programs in the areas of robotics.

{{quote 'author = said Roman Selivanov, director of work with state and academic organizations Softline in the Central Federal District' Softline meets the needs of its clients and develops with them in other areas for itself. The partnership with KUKA will allow us to fully automate not only information processing processes, but also the operation of production lines within the framework of complex projects, which will give customers the opportunity to increase labor productivity, increase production and increase profits. We have already had experience of interaction with the vendor as part of the implementation of the national project "Education." The signing of the agreement will be the next step in strengthening relations and the opportunity to improve the efficiency of our clients and their movement towards Digital Business Transformation, }}

KUKA's partnership with Softline is a significant stage for the development of the industrial sector of the Russian economy. Softline has serious experience in implementing IT solutions at Russian enterprises. It is important that the company expands its competencies in the field of creating robotic systems and seeks to become one of the key players in this market, stated Dmitry Kapishnikov, General Director of KUKA Russia

Creating a laboratory for artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things together with Skoltech

Softline and the Skolkovsky Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) have created a joint laboratory "Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of Things Systems." Softline announced this on February 4, 2020. The project expands Softline's portfolio of consulting services and solutions in the field of data analysis, and is also another step of the company in the development of industry expertise. Skoltech students who will participate in the laboratory will gain experience in solving complex business problems for companies in various industries, which will increase their qualifications and become an important stage in the path of professional growth.

The link between the company and the university was the Softline Digital division. On the part of Skoltech, the project was initiated by the Center for scientific and Engineering Computing Technologies for Tasks (large data arrays CDISE) and directly by the Center for Competencies in NTI Wireless communications to the Internet and Things (Central Committee of the NTI BSIV). Softline is a member of a consortium of industrial companies, coordinated by the Central Committee of the NTI BSIV.

The popularity of artificial intelligence technologies, machine learning and the Internet of Things is constantly growing. Not only industry flagship enterprises, but also small and medium-sized businesses are in dire need of high-tech solutions that significantly increase the efficiency of business processes. The opening of a joint laboratory will allow Softline to solve digital transformation problems at a different level.

Another goal of the project is to form a powerful team of professionals in the field of Data Science. It is she who will have to realize large-scale tasks: expand the portfolio of consulting services and Softline solutions necessary for data analysis, and constantly increase industry expertise. Skoltech students who have been trained in the laboratory will have a wealth of experience in solving real business problems coming from Softline customers from different industries. Project participants will see the specifics of work in the public and financial sector, health care and retail, industry, telecom and other areas of the economy. In addition to students, the working groups will include representatives of the faculty of Skoltech and Softline experts. The wide-ranging knowledge of the specialists of the company and the university, as well as the experience gained in the laboratory, will make it possible to fully meet the needs of customers.

Softline will offer further cooperation to Skoltech graduates who have successfully completed their practice in the laboratory.

Cooperation with Skoltech for us first of all is an opportunity to work together with innovators, visionaries and leaders. We are talking not only about scientific and technological partnership, but also about our future contribution to the processes of business transformation both in and abroad. In addition, the laboratory we have discovered is a real 'forge of personnel' in the field of Data Science. Graduates who have completed the practice here will already have experience in implementing projects in various industries. For us, this is another very important competitive advantage that will allow Softline to further strengthen its position in the global IT market, shared his expectations Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Igor Borovikov

Cooperation with Softline is a significant step for Skoltech in the direction of developing expertise in the field of artificial intelligence applications, machine learning and the Internet of Things. The creation of competencies at the intersection of science, education and industry is the basis of the digital transformations that are taking place in the country. These areas determine our future, and we expect that the partnership with Softline will allow Skoltech graduates to contribute to the implementation of a technological breakthrough in Russia, commented on the creation of a joint laboratory, Director of the Skoltech Center for Scientific and Engineering Computing Technologies for Tasks with Large Data Arrays (CDISE) Maxim Fedorov

2019

Betting on Cloud Solutions and Cybersecurity

"Last year was very successful for Softline as a global provider IT solution and services. At the end of the year, we hold our position in the top of Russian IT companies. The company participates digital transformation in the process of customers in and abroad. Softline operates in 50 countries of the world, cooperates with world IT leaders, has access the most advanced solutions and the ability to observe the development of the IT industry in different parts of the world in real time. It gives us a competitive advantage. Many countries are ahead of Russia in terms of technology development. Those solutions, services and products that are already in demand there will become relevant here in a year or two or three, and we will already have an expertise on working with them, " noted Sergey Chernovolenko, Global CEO of Softline

Following global IT trends, in 2019 Softline continued to successfully develop one of its key areas -. cloud technologies According to its own research, IT infrastructure cloud the number of Russian enterprises ready to be completely transferred to is increasing by 20% annually. Helping its customers carry out digital transformation, the company uses not only vendor, but also its own solutions, including the Softline cloud. After evaluating all the advantages of the platform, the international organization "" ASSMANN Beraten + Planen placed a design management system in it. Pilot-ICE Another ready-made solution from Softline is "." Secure Cloud 152-FZ Using its functionality, the assistant company "Europe Assistance CIS fulfilled the requirements of federal legislation, reduced the cost of implementing the system personal data protection and received a fault-tolerant infrastructure as soon as possible.

Every year Softline implements a large number of not only Russian, but also foreign projects based on cloud solutions and services. For example, for the needs of Gamuda Berhad Corporation, a industriallyconstruction group in Southeast, Asia Softline implemented. And Microsoft Office 365 with the help of the cloud platform Sharepoint , the system was automated at document flow the Myanmar Brewery Limited brewery in. To Myanmar International experience helps Softline strengthen its position on the key. IT markets

In 2019, Softline continued its development as a global provider of cybersecurity solutions and services. Tightening legislation in the field of information protection and a number of incidents in large Russian organizations have generated increased demand for the implementation of cybersecurity projects. For example, as of May 2020, about 100 projects for building SOC for customers in Russia and the CIS are in active development of the Softline Group of Companies team. In the summer of 2019, Softline and its member Infosecurity launched the ExternalThreats & HumanIntelligenceCenter (ETHIC) service. The service became in demand among Softline customers, one of the first ETHIC functionality was tested by SKB-Bank. At the end of 2019, the company announced the launch of the Information Security Incident Monitoring and Response Center service on the global market based on the Microsoft Azure Sentinel solution. Customers from India, Russia and other countries of Softline's presence will be able to use the first pilot service.

Softline helps to organize the digital transformation process for its customers, offering business tools to reduce costs and improve efficiency. At the end of 2019, sales figures for business solutions increased 2 times compared to 2018. The company's portfolio has solutions that have strengthened its position in the market of BPM (Business process management), RPA (Robotic process automation), business analytics, as well as in the field of logistics and Industry 4.0. Softline experts have implemented a number of large projects in the field of automation of industrial enterprises, business process management, robotization of routine operations.

In 2019, the company implemented a large-scale project to equip regional roads of the Omsk region with automated weight and dimensional control systems within the framework of the national project "Safe and High-Quality Roads." Softline experts have completed a full cycle of work from the design of nine points of weight control, supply and implementation of equipment to the integration of the entire created system with the information base of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Effective operation of ASVGK will allow the Omsk region to eliminate the causes of rapid wear of the road surface, which will make it possible to significantly reduce the number of accidents and save about 1.8 billion rubles on repair and restoration work. Softline is ready to implement similar projects in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

"Last year, the company developed and adopted a business development strategy for three years 2019-2021, and we clearly follow it by specifying annual goals. In particular, in 2020 we will continue to implement the M&A program, will increase expertise in the field of cybersecurity, custom development, take part in national projects in the Russian Federation and similar initiatives in other countries. In the period of five years, we set ourselves the goal of entering the TOP global IT leaders and taking a noticeable position in key high-tech markets, " noted Sergey Chernovolenko, Global CEO of Softline

Agreement with VGAU in the field of digitalization

On November 14, 2019, Softline announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with the Voronezh State Agrarian University. Partners intend to develop education in the field of digitalization, conduct joint research and cultural activities. Read more here.

Agreement with VSU to improve the quality of education

On October 14, 2019, Softline announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with Voronezh State University. The parties agreed on cooperation aimed at improving the quality of education, the development of research and cultural activities. Read more here.

Agreement with GTLC on cooperation on a number of national projects

Softline and the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) signed an agreement of intent on August 30, 2019. The document was signed by the global general director of Softline Group of companies Sergey Chernovolenko and the general director of the State Transport Leasing Company Sergey Khramagin. The companies plan to work together in a number of national projects, including Digital Economy and Safe and High-Quality Roads, as well as the development of innovative IT products for Russian and foreign users, Softline reported on September 3, 2019. Read more here.

Alexander Galitsky joined the board of directors of Softline

At the end of April 2019, it became known Alexandra Galitsky that the Cypriot company Axion Holding Cyprus, which consolidates the assets of the IT holding, was joining the board of directors. Softline More. here

Agreement with TIU on joint research and development in the field of digitalization

On December 4, 2018, Softline announced that it had signed a partnership agreement with the Tyumen Industrial University (TIU). Within the framework of the agreement, it is planned to carry out joint research and development in the field of digitalization. Read more here.

2018

Softline told how to properly manage software assets

Software asset management used to come down to inventory ON and compliance with license agreements. Now, as IT develops, SAM projects are also being transformed. The deputy director of the business department consultingSoftline Ilya Pankratov told how they help strategic planning, whether the business tasks facing companies are taken into account and whether they change with the advent of clouds. Read more here

Allocation of Softline Outsourcing Business Unit

Softline Group of Companies, an international provider of IT solutions and services, on August 21, 2018 announced the start of providing the "accounting as a service" service for state authorities and budgetary institutions. Read more here. A separate business unit, Softline Outsourcing, has been allocated for the project within the group, in which its own team of specialists works.

Buying a 10% stake in Crayon

In June 2018, information appeared about the purchase by the Russian IT company Softline of a 10% stake in the Norwegian IT company Crayon. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, however, according to observers, based on the quotes of the shares of the Norwegian company, the acquisition of its share cost the Russian company about $12 million. As a result of the transaction with Softline, Crayon has 47.4% of the shares in free float. Read more here.

Purchase of Infosecuriti

On February 12, 2018, it became known about the sale of the Infosekuriti group of companies to the IT solutions and services provider Softline. Thanks to the deal, Infosecuriti is going to enter the international market. Read more here.

Strategic Partnership with NicGrade

NicGrade and Softline announced a partnership agreement in January 2018. Under its terms, Softline has become a supplier of the NicGrade cloud marketing automation platform in, the CIS and far abroad and will advise customers on the implementation and support of the solution.

In 2017, NicGrade launched the sale of the eponymous marketing automation platform. The solution allows companies of all sizes and business profiles to automate customer experience at all stages of sales, from first contact to service. The functionality of the platform includes tools for lead management, conducting advertising campaigns on the Internet and their automation of advertising campaigns, technologies based on artificial intelligence for working with the client base.

2017

ISO 37001 Audit: 2016

In December 2017, Softline was audited for compliance with ISO 37001:2016. The auditor was the international organization PECB Group. The audit results confirm that Softline has implemented and operates an anti-corruption management system that incorporates international best practices.

The anti-corruption management system allows minimizing the risks of corruption both within the company and in external relations, and also increases the level of confidence of business partners, Softline emphasized.

The implemented system develops a risk-oriented approach that Softline applies in various aspects of management. For many years, the company has implemented and is developing a quality management system, which in 2017 was certified for compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015, since 2016, the Softline information security system has confirmed compliance with ISO 9001:2013.

ISO 37001:2016 is a standard developed by an international standardization organization that establishes requirements for the creation, implementation and operation of an anti-corruption management system. As noted in Softline, the adoption of obligations to fulfill it is voluntary. Adherence to the standard prevents corruption risks, thereby increasing the pace of economic growth and the attractiveness of the company for partners and investors.

We are convinced that compliance with the anti-corruption standards adhered to by the largest companies around the world is one of the important conditions for sustainable business development and improving the business environment. Softline is open about zero tolerance for corruption and calls on its partners to do so. Softline has implemented global anti-corruption practices. This initiative is supported by various divisions of the company, the coordinated work of which made it possible to successfully pass the certification audit. Our plans include scaling the implemented processes and procedures to the company's offices around the world and building the Compliance service, "said Vladimir Razuvaev, Director of Legal Support and Compliance at Softline Group of companies.

Zubr Capital Investments

On December 7, 2017, it became known about the purchase of a stake in Softline by the Belarusian company Zubr Capital. The amount of investment is up to $10 million, but it is not reported how much it is in shares.

The funds provided by Zubr Capital will be used to develop the Belarusian Softline perimeter, which is included in the international business of the group of companies (GC) and which includes projects with an emphasis on the global market.

Among such projects is ActivePlatform, which develops a platform for automating the main business processes of providing cloud services, focused on service providers and telecom operators. 

The teams of the Belarusian perimeter of Softline are involved in the global business group and participate in the implementation of projects in 30 countries of the world.

Softline has a powerful Belarusian business, which is well integrated into the international one. The solutions and technologies being developed in the Republic of Belarus have obvious export potential. As an investor, we are part of the capital of an international company and invest in the future growth of the Softline group as a whole and its individual structural units - such as, for example, ActivePlatform, which has proven experience in creating and implementing cloud solutions within entire countries. Investing in such companies is really part of the fund's strategy, "said Oleg Khusaenov, head of Zubr Capital.

The company adds that the transaction with Softline has become part of a strategy involving the purchase of shares in companies with great export potential in terms of the technologies and solutions created and in terms of the competitiveness of teams in the international market.

Elena Volotovskaya, Vice President for Investments at Softline, believes that the investments of the new co-owner of the group will help accelerate business development in areas important from the point of view of investors.

Purchase of Enaza

On October 20, 2017, it became known about the sale of the developer of platforms for distribution of software by subscription Enaza to Softline, which, through the deal, could strengthen its position in the field of cloud applications. Read more here.

ISO 9001:2015 recertification audit

Softline on September 18, 2017 announced the passage of a recertification audit for compliance with the ISO 9001:2015 standard.

The audit took place in the Softline group of companies in July-August 2017, after the expiration of the previous certificate received three years ago.

In 2015, the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, introduced the next version of the standard. It pays great attention to risk management, making management decisions based on their assessment. For Softline, preparation for certification meant a fundamental revision of the current management system and its refinement to the requirements of the new standard.

In accordance with the ISO 9001:2015 standard, Softline specialists analyze processes, taking into account the important business opportunities and consequences of risks. In practice, this is implemented in such a way that instead of ready-made templates, the performer receives a tool for making an optimal decision. This is a fairly flexible and less formalized management system that supports business, the company noted.

The standard has become closer to the needs of Softline's business. The risk-oriented approach made it possible to revise the attitude towards the management system, to eliminate unnecessary restrictions in key processes. When auditing, the auditors noted that this approach is deeply integrated into the daily life of the company. Employees constantly work in the "opportunities - risks" coordinate system and make informed decisions. Of course, such significant changes should take root in the company. It takes time for a sustainable culture of working with risks to form. But today we have an understanding that the approach that the version of the standard offers us opens up great opportunities for the development of a quality management system, "said Dmitry Shirshov, Quality Director of Softline.

Acquisition of Insight Technologies Solutions

In July 2017, Softline became the owner of Insight Technologies Solutions. The acquired asset will be renamed Softline Enterprise Solutions and will work with customers in developed countries as part of Softline (# [3] in more detail).

Falling under Ukrainian sanctions

On May 16, 2017, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, by his decree, enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on sanctions against Russian companies and their subsidiaries in Ukraine. In total, 468 legal entities were on the sanctions list, of which 81 were related to the IT sphere. Among the companies that fell under the sanctions were also Softline Group and Softline Group Ukraїna. Read more here.

Associate Program Advisor British Standards Institution

Having become a participant in the Information Security Management System program, Softline confirmed its expertise in the development and implementation of information security management systems at enterprises.

The BSI ACP Associate Advisor Program is developed by the British Standards Institution, a world leader in management methodology and building systems. Its participants provide advisory assistance in the field of information security management.

Having joined the program, Softline, as an associate consultant, can conduct a survey of customer infrastructure for compliance with ISO 27001, ISO 20,000, ISO 22301; analyze information security risks with the provision of recommendations; provide consulting support during internal audits; develop information security management systems and prepare them for certification. The presence of a rich expertise guarantees Softline customers a high quality of implementation of projects, including those requiring detailed forecasting of information security risks, and the provision of world-class service.

2016

Management

As of 2016:

• Igor Borovikov - Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Ruslan Belousov - General Director
• Irina Krivenkova - Director of Softline Training Center.

How the owner of Softline helped Rostec build export IT-Business

Rusinformexport"," which became famous in December 2016 for concluding a contract with the Syrian government for the supply of elements of electronic government, almost this year worked for the owner's money, a Softline Igor Borovikov source in "" told TAdviser Rostec(# 0.Dll

Softline engaged in non-core business with billion dollar potential

In December 2016, Softline officially announced the launch of a new service - Hadware-as-a-Service (HaaS). It boils down to the fact that the IT integrator itself seeks funding for the purchase of equipment and sells it to customers on lease. So far, this is one of the few cases on the market when an IT company takes on, in fact, a non-core service - a financial service. One of the reasons, as the company explains, is the general crisis state of the market.

The company began to try, test the innovation in the summer of 2016. As of December 2016, Softline has about 10 contracts in its portfolio: both with large customers and among small and medium-sized businesses. Of these, 5 are in the regions.

According to this model, the client receives all the hardware at once and pays its cost gradually - every month, in equal parts. Upon completion of the contract, he can either buy the equipment at residual value or return it to Softline. The customer can buy any IT equipment - from workstations to entire server racks. Softline notes that there were also requests for the purchase of machines and expensive diagnostic devices.

Dmitry Shaleev, Business Development Manager of the Softline Cloud Technology Department, gives an example of cooperation in the following scheme: a large architecture, design company rented a full set of IT infrastructure. Softline built a private graphically accelerated cloud, channels, network equipment for it - that is, the customer received a ready-made infrastructure, "without investing a penny" in capital expenditures (CapEx). When buying, the customer would have to pay 70 million rubles at once, and they would pay about a million a month.

For large companies, replacing all equipment at once can result in very serious costs, or they will be able to replace only part of the hardware. According to the HaaS scheme, customers can transfer capex to operating costs, and without one-time investments, replace not part of the equipment, but the entire IT infrastructure, explain in Softline. At the same time, the integrator not only supplies hardware, but offers a comprehensive solution for creating an IT infrastructure. The Customer can choose which equipment to install, which software. If desired, the contract includes the integration of equipment and its support.

Softline as an IT company becomes a "single window" for the customer to contact. The IT integrator undertakes to raise money for the project, agreements with financial organizations of vendors or simply with external financial organizations, agreements with distributors, logistics.

Dmitry Shaleev explained that Softline uses both its own and borrowed funds for financing. At the same time, the conditions for the customer can be more profitable than in the bank, because Softline has the opportunity to buy equipment cheaper due to direct agreements with manufacturers.

The term of contracts can be different - from 1 year to 5 years. If the customer buys a standardized package of equipment, then after the completion of the contract he may refuse it. If initially the order was for its own software and hardware complex for specific tasks, then the contract should be at least 3 years.

Softline takes the equipment that the customer refuses. Dmitry Shaleev notes: "Servers with a working life of 1 year are an excellent asset. Our clouds are growing. "

Softline expects that the demand for this service will seriously increase, and in 2017 they will conclude three times more contracts.

We very much hope that by the end of 2017 the company will receive monthly payments of up to 100 million rubles a year, - Dmitry Shaleev voiced his wishes.

There are similar offers from Softline competitors in the market, the company notes, but most often there is an intermediary in the scheme - a leasing partner.

What is more profitable - buying equipment as a property or leasing scheme - depends on the specific parameters of the transaction and the company's tasks, IT specialists say TAdviser.

If [the company] has priority over operating costs, then leasing is the most advantageous instrument. In this case, the owner of the purchased equipment is a leasing company, and the buyer does not formally have capital expenditures. If there is no need to move CAPEX to OPEX, then buying property is much easier and clearer, "says Yuri Mazurov, deputy head of the commercial directorate for strategic projects of the Asteros group.

In the spring of 2016, the purchase of IT equipment for leasing was rather exclusive, Yuri Mazurov told TAdviser. In particular, because IT services should be provided by a leasing company, which sometimes simply cannot do this.

We believe that the future lies with the IT service model. With this approach, the customer does not purchase equipment (no matter what method), but acquires an IT service - and exactly to the extent and for the period that he really needs. In these specific cases, the service approach would not look like a purchase or leasing, but like the purchase of a service for operating a computing complex with set performance and availability characteristics, "said Aleksey Uchamprin, deputy director of the service center for service quality at Jet Infosystems.

Other companies will soon enter the HaaS market, IT experts say. Contracts with large customers here can be multibillion-dollar: for example, at the beginning 2016, Russian Post leased servers (for 646 million rubles), as well as computers and MFPs ( for 1.2 billion rubles).

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that an IT company takes on a business that is not directly related to information technology. For example, in the spring of 2016, the retail chain Five"" transferred outsourcing to the company IBS the process of selecting and hiring store personnel - cashiers, storekeepers, etc. The IT company did this with the help of its own development - "HR Analytics IBS" (for more details, see a separate article).

Softline attracts investments from Da Vinci Capital funds

In the summer of 2016, the shareholders of the global IT solutions and services provider Softline included two investment funds managed by Da Vinci Capital Management - Da Vinci Private Equity Fund II L.P. and created with the participation of the Russian venture capital company Da Vinci Pre-IPO.

Softline plans to use the funds received to diversify the product line and strengthen the cloud business, as well as to actively M&A expand in emerging markets. As part of its international development strategy, Softline previously acquired Compusoftware, one of the largest IT companies. Brazil The purpose of the shareholders is to bring Softline to the IPO on the international exchange in the next 3 years. The deal with Da Vinci is a new step in this direction: at the end of 2015, Sovcombank became a minority shareholder in Softline.

Buying Brazil's Compusoftware

On January 17, 2016, it became known about the purchase of Compusoftware, which is one of the largest IT distributors in the Brazilian market. Read more here.

2015: Softline is represented in 81 cities of 28 countries

As of 2015, Softline is represented in 81 cities in 28 countries of the world.

In, the company has offices, including in the following cities: Moscow; Saint Petersburg; Arkhangelsk; Barnaul; Belgorod; Vladivostok; Volgograd; Voronezh; Yekaterinburg; Izhevsk; Irkutsk; Kazan; Kaliningrad; Kemerovo; Krasnodar; Krasnoyarsk; Murmansk; Nizhny Novgorod; Novosibirsk; Omsk; Orenburg; Penza; Perm; Rostov-on-Don; Samara; Saratov; Surgut; Tomsk; Tyumen; Ulyanovsk; Ufa; Khabarovsk; Chelyabinsk; Yaroslavl).

In CIS countries, the company has representative offices in such cities as Brest (); Belarus (Gomel Belarus); (Minsk Belarus); (Vitebsk Belarus); (Mogilyov Belarus); Almaty ( ); Kazakhstan (Astana Kazakhstan); (Aktobe Kazakhstan); (Karaganda Kazakhstan); Bishkek ( ); Kyrgyzstan Chisinau ( ); Moldova Kiev ( ); Ukraine Tashkent ( ); Uzbekistan To tank ( ); Azerbaijan Yerevan ( ); Armenia Dushanbe ( ); Tajikistan Ashgabat ( ); Turkmenistan () Tbilisi Georgia and many others.

Among the cities of presence in the far abroad - Ulaanbaatar (); Mongolia Istanbul ( ); Turkey (Ankara Turkey); Caracas (); Venezuela Hanoi (); Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam); ( ); Bucharest Romania Buenos Aires (); Argentina Bogota (Colombia); Medellín (); Colombia Kuala Lumpur (; Lima (); Malaysia Phnom Penh Peru (); (Laos); Cambodia Santiago Vientiane (); ( ). Chile San Jose Costa Rica

2014

Softline is ready to return personal data of customers to Russia

On December 24, 2014, Softline presented a package of services that ensure compliance with the requirements of the Federal Law No242 "On Personal Data."

The law, which prescribes the storage of information about citizens of the Russian Federation only on Russian servers, may enter into force on September 1, 2015.

New legislative requirements contributed to the growth of investments of Russian IT market players in the development of domestic cloud infrastructure. Softline has expanded the geography of cloud sites in Russia to provide virtual server infrastructure and the company's cloud solution equipment is located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok.

The regulations for the processing and storage of personal data of users in the "clouds," formulated by Russian legislation, stimulated the need for commercial organizations to comply with regulatory requirements.

Compliance with the requirements of the law entails the acquisition of information protection solutions certified in Russia. In particular, customers can use the necessary technical means valid in Softline data centers.

An important factor is the correct classification of personal data. It depends on the category of processed personal data, their volume, belonging, current security threats. The higher the required level of personal data security, the higher costs will entail bringing the infrastructure in line with the requirements of the law. It should be borne in mind that legislative changes entail a revision of the documentation and results of already implemented projects for the protection of personal data.

"Indeed, the requirements of regulatory documents are formulated in such a way that often when they are implemented, many difficulties arise for organizations. Especially if their IT infrastructure is located outside the Russian Federation or foreign services are used. However, practice shows that those companies that plan to develop their IT infrastructure taking into account the requirements of regulators significantly reduce the risks of both reputational and financial losses, "said Mikhail Plakhuta, head of the development department of the information security department at Softline

.

"Of course, the earlier entry into force of the law requiring data storage in Russia led to many new customers. Right now, about ten projects are in the works to transfer data from their foreign data centers to the Softline cloud infrastructure, "said Leonid Anikin, head of the Softline cloud infrastructure department. - We prepared for such an influx in advance: Softline information security specialists designed their own cloud infrastructure, including all the protective equipment necessary in accordance with 21 orders of the FSTEC. This allowed us to offer customers current solutions for working with personal data. "

IT development staff increased to 250 people

The staff of the Softline Information Systems Development Department grew by about 25-30% per year and by 2014 reached 250 people, Director of the Department Alexander Rubanov told TAdviser in March 2014. According to him, this department is in the stage of active development, and, gradually increasing its staff and experience, the company plans to increase its share of its presence in the development market.

Rubanov says that in the direction of development Softline actively cooperates with such vendors as Oracle, Microsoft, Google, 1C-Bitrix. The portfolio of services in this area, which can be considered typical, at the beginning of 2014 includes more than 15 items.

The key areas for the company are the development of solutions based on Oracle products, such as WebCenter, Siebel CRM, RightNow, the development of mobile applications, the creation of complex sites and portals based on SharePoint, Bitrix and other platforms, as well as the creation of billing systems, says TAdviser Alexander Rubanov.

In addition, the department is engaged in the implementation of Open Source projects and the development of software for order.

In 2014, the company also launched a new priority area in the department's work - the development of information systems based on the Oracle Commerce platform, designed to provide individual customer service at all points of interaction with them, including the Internet, mobile devices, social networks, ordinary stores, contact centers, etc. According to Alexander Rubanov, at the initial stage, about 30 people will deal with this direction.

Softline launched its own software development in early 2009, launching the DeskWork enterprise portal solution developed on the basis of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0., with a declared implementation speed of about two days.

A year earlier, a functionally similar product of its own design was released by 1C-Bitrix. At that time, experts predicted an 80% increase in software sales in the corporate portal segment in 2009.

2013

Representative offices in 79 cities in 29 countries. Sales growth in foreign countries - 74.1%

At the end of the 2013 financial year, Softline had representative offices in 79 cities in 29 countries. In 2013, eight new offices were opened: in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore (India ); Cordoba (Argentina); São Paulo, El Salvador (Brazil); Miami, Redmond (USA). Softline's business growth in the markets of non-CIS countries during the reporting period amounted to 74.1%.

If Softline previously announced plans to open offices in Mexico, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, then in 2013 the company "reoriented short-term plans for geoexpansion to countries where work had a greater effect," said Ruslan Belousov, CEO of Softline. We are talking primarily about Brazil and India, where Softline used the opportunity to obtain Microsoft LSP status.

Mexico, Puerto Rico and Ecuador still remain in the company's medium-term (to 2020) plans. The same can be said about such countries as,,,,,,,,, countries of the Dominican Republic Panama Canada Indonesia Philippines Thailand Australia China Spain REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Persian Gulf,,,. Angola Mozambique Nigeria

In all foreign countries, business is growing due to Microsoft products, said the head of Softline. The US office serves primarily clients in Latin America, while it also sells the largest volume in the direction of Microsoft Office365. The share of foreign business in 2013 amounted to 5% of the company's turnover.

Software Development Center opened in Krasnoyarsk

In early 2013, the Center for Custom Development of Internet Solutions was opened software in Krasnoyarsk. The development department Softline consists of 4 development and support departments located in Novosibirsk Taganrog, Orenburg and, with Voronezh a control center in. To Moscow More than 150 specialists are part of the team of the division - these are Internet project managers, programmers of various specializations, system analysts, testers, layout designers and designers. The development is carried out according to modern methodologies, which allows you to achieve maximum project quality with a reasonable time frame. The main specialization of the department is the development of large, high-tech Internet projects with complex business logic and a large number of involved information systems with dense and flexible interaction with the client. The main task of the direction is to create a high-quality, in-demand, complete solution that brings profit and meets all the needs of the client.

Opening of Consulting Area "IT Strategy Development"

Softline announced in May 2013 the opening of a new business area - "IT Strategy Development." The need for this comprehensive service is dictated by modern market conditions, and many of the company's customers have already shown interest in it.

The expertise developed by Softline over 20 years is constantly being replenished, respectively, the portfolio of solutions and services offered by the company is expanding. Softline has gone a long way from supplying software, licensing, technical support, SAM, ITAM, training specialists to IT outsourcing and providing cloud solutions. The natural vector of the company's business development is best practice in the field of IT consulting.

According to experts, the largest share of the revenue of the largest Russian IT companies (43%) falls on the IT services segment. Softline, following the requirements of the market, intends to actively develop the relevant business areas in the coming years. That is why the product and service offer of the Softline business consulting department was supplemented with a comprehensive solution for the development of IT strategies.

A new consulting area has been formed to meet the growing needs of customers for quality IT services and solutions. Today, the importance of IT strategy to business can hardly be overestimated. It is part of the corporate strategy and contributes to increasing the benefits of business from the use of information technology, reducing IT costs, as well as increasing the transparency of the IT service.

As part of the comprehensive IT Strategy Development service, Softline customers will be able to get help from the company's experts on such issues as:

• Identification of IT priorities;
• Assessment of architectural and technological limitations, analysis of available resources;
• Development of the structural model of the corporate information system (CIS);
• Development of methods for evaluating the results of the strategy implementation;
• Development of methods for calculating return on investment (ROI) and cost of ownership of CIS (TCO), etc.

Softline's extensive experience and customer-centric approach are designed to further expand and develop the company's consulting competencies. As a result, customers will be offered best practices in the field of IT strategy formation.

Plan to increase the number of offices in foreign countries to 35 in the next 5 years

In March 2013 , Igor Borovikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline, told TAdviser that in the next 5 years the company plans to significantly expand its presence in foreign markets, increasing their number to at least 35.

Before the crisis and in 2009, Softline announced plans to "master" the indicator in 30-35 countries by 2012, but by this time the company's offices and representative offices were present only in 23 foreign markets. This figure has not changed during 2012.

In addition to and the CIS, the company does business in a number of non-CIS countries, for example, Mongolia, Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam, Romania, Argentina, Colombia, Malaysia, Peru, Cambodia, Costa Rica.

"In

our opinion, it is impossible to be a successful company in the global IT market without having a global approach to business. At the same time, of course, it is necessary to choose promising growing markets that can bring a great contribution to the development of the company, "said Igor Borovikov, commenting on Softline's strategy abroad

.

Softline is betting on emerging markets that are showing maximum growth momentum. For example, over the four years of operation in Vietnam, Softline's turnover growth amounted to 680%, as of March 2013, there are two company offices in this country - in the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. These offices have 20 employees. Basically, Softline is engaged in sales of IT products, but in the future it intends to develop the consulting component of local business.

Alia Rakisheva, Softline's vice president for Asia Pacific, is confident Softline's role in Southeast Asia will only grow over time.

"We are

looking at new countries of geographic expansion," she added.

According to Igor Borovikov, while foreign business brings Softline about 15-20% of revenue, "but in the next 5 years we plan to increase it to 40-50%," he told TAdviser.

2012

Cambodia is the third Southeast Asian country where representation is open

On August 8, 2012, Softline announced the expansion of its area of ​ ​ interest in Southeast Asia. The company opened a representative office in Cambodia in the city of Phnom Penh.

According to TAdviser in the company, the representative office consists of 5 people, Thysen Som has been appointed director. "The company targets 40-50% of the software service and sales market in a year," the company said. "Softline will not concentrate on any one type of its activities in Cambodia, we intend to provide the full range of our services," the company continued. Investments in the development of this area were not specified.

According to a source in the IT market, initial investments in a project of this scale can range from 200 thousand dollars.

Cambodia is the third Southeast Asian country where Softline is opening a representative office. Softline is already successfully operating in the cities of Vietnam - Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as in the capital of Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur.

"We have been working in the Indochina region market for several years: in 2009, an office was opened Softline in Vietnam, in 2011 - representative office in Malaysia. Getting started in Cambodia was a logical step towards the expansion of the company in the region. We see the potential of the IT market countries and would like to be one of the drivers of its development. To this end, the center was opened Technical Support - Proof of Technology. A similar concept was not previously presented in country, and we, having extensive experience in the regions for nineteen years, are confident in the high competence of the services we provide, "said Aliya Rakisheva, vice president of Softline, responsible for business development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Launch PCI DSS Payment Card Industry Compliance Services

Softline, in partnership with the Irish company Sysnet, enters the audit services segment to ensure compliance with PCI DSS payment card industry standards in.

The Company has several key objectives: combating financial fraud; development of an effective payment card security policy; increased trust and loyalty to their customers' brands; protecting their reputation.

Mikhail Plakhuta, head of the development department of the Softline information security department, told TAdviser that at the moment the company already has several contracts concluded for the provision of this type of services. The company does not distribute detailed information about them, citing confidentiality.

As part of the partnership agreement, Softline and Sysnet will provide the following services:

• Analyze discrepancies and prepare a remediation plan to meet PCI DSS requirements
• elimination of non-conformities, including design of information security support processes, development of organizational and administrative documentation, as well as supply and implementation of software and hardware protection tools;
• PCI DSS compliance audit
• performing quarterly ASV scans;
• penetration testing.

The task of Softline will be to eliminate non-conformities after the audit and penetration testing. PCI DSS certification will be handled by the auditor.

According to the PCI consul, 12 companies are registered in Russia that provide standardization and audit of QSA. Among them: CROC, Digital Security, Informzaschita, IBM, NVision Group, Jet Infosystems, INLINE Technologies.

Ivan Melekhin, director of the Informzaschita consulting and audit department, told TAdviser that the market for ensuring the safety of plastic cards in Russia is small. "At the same time, it is characteristic of the fact that competition between companies is quite high," Melekhin said. He suggests that it will be difficult to take a significant share in this Softline market.

"This can only be achieved by offering prices for your services below the average market," he continued. - At the same time, the cost of providing ghost services to meet PCI DSS requirements can only be reduced to the detriment of their quality. As a result, there is a danger that the high requirements of the PCI DSS Consul, which controls the quality of the services provided, may not be met "

2010

Opening a second office in Turkey

The second Softline office in Turkey opened in the capital Ankara. The first Turkish representative office of the company - in Istanbul - has been operating since 2008. As an authorized reseller of most of the world's software manufacturers in the Turkish market, Softline's Ankara office will provide regional clients with software licensing, training, consulting and technical support services. Softline plans to occupy 20% of the CAD sales sector, 6-8% of the system-wide software sector in the regional IT market by mid-2011. Berkan Caglar has been appointed Director of the Softline representative office in Ankara, who will be responsible for business development in the Turkish region of Anatoly and interaction with the Softline representative office in Istanbul. Previously, Chaglar served as a regional manager at a number of major international companies.

Microsoft Departmental Allocation

The company announced the separation of the Microsoft Solutions Department as part of the company. The new division will focus on providing organizations with services in the field of building, developing and maintaining information systems using Microsoft technologies. The department is designed to ensure the high quality of services and project execution based on the experience of close cooperation with Microsoft and the accumulated consulting practice of Softline. The Department provides solutions in two main areas:

• • * Infrastructure solutions: Systems Management, Identity and Security, Desktop Platform, Virtualization, and Server Platform;
  • * integration solutions: Business Intelligence, Unified Communications, Content Management, Search, Portals and Collaboration, Project Management, and Software Development.

Opening an office in Ho Chi Minh City

In 2010 Softline , she opened a second representative office in Vietnam (after Hanoi). It will focus on licensing ON in the SMB sector. The office, which at the time of opening consists of four people, is scheduled to expand to six employees before the end of the financial year. Pham Thanh Shi, a graduate of Can Tho University with ten years of IT experience in Vietnam, has been appointed to the position of head of Softline's representative office in Ho Chi Minh City.

Opening of a representative office in Argentina

In 2010, Softline also opened an office in Argentina. His plans are to occupy up to ten percent of the country's software market within five years. To achieve this goal, the representative office will double the turnover of the business each financial year. The Argentine representative office of the company has a group of eight specialists involved in business management, sales, marketing and technical support. Guillermo Alfonso has been appointed director of the new regional office. Prior to this post, he worked for more than a decade at Cisco Systems, where in recent years he was responsible for post-sales customer service in South American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. For each country, he recruited and trained a team of specialists to bring the company to top positions. Prior to Cisco, Mr. Alfonso worked for Datacom and Transistemas. With the arrival of Guillermo Alfonso at Softline, he plans to use twenty years of business management experience with advisory sales in emerging IT markets to develop a new office.

2009: Softline, Axoft and Allsoft.ru - three software companies

In 2009, three companies were involved in licensing and selling software:

• Softline specializes in working with corporate end users,
• Axoft (formerly a division of Softline) is involved in distribution and partner sales, and
• The Allsoft.ru online store (Softline online project) works with private customers and small businesses.

As part of the software licensing direction, Softline operates the Hotline for Switching to Licensed Software program - any company can get free advice from Softline specialists on the purchase and use of licensed software, use the license calculation calculator and draw up documentation in favor of the decision to purchase licensed software. Legal support of software management is provided by Softline Legal Support.

Softline Technical Support Center provides a wide range of services, from technical support of a software product to the full cycle of building a turnkey IT infrastructure and IT outsourcing. Technical Support Center engineers are certified by software manufacturers such as Microsoft, Citrix, Check Point, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, Kaspersky Lab, Kerio, AutoDesk, VMWare, GFI and others. The main areas of activity are IT consulting, development and implementation of IT systems, technical support of various levels of immersion and IT outsourcing.

The educational activities of the group of companies are implemented by the Softline Training Center. The Softline training center trains, certifies and tests IT specialists, and also offers education and advanced training of office personnel of companies, including through distance learning.

The company's courses are presented in various areas: cloud technologies, system administration, information security, IT management, Data Science & Machine Learning, virtualization, personal efficiency, modeling and CAD, network technologies, and so on.

Consulting is carried out by Softline Solutions, Softline Consulting Services, Softline Employment and the Microsoft Solutions Center.

Softline Solutions implements comprehensive business process automation and effective business management solutions (ERP systems from SAP and Oracle) and customer relationship management solutions (CRM systems), and develops additional industry modules for CRM systems that expand their capabilities.

Softline Consulting Services is engaged in the construction of a fully functional information structure of enterprises, introduces technologies for managing corporate information, business analysis and corporate communications, taking into account the individual needs of the customer.

The Microsoft Solution Centers present comprehensive solutions for creating information systems and infrastructure of modern enterprises, preparing and testing standard solutions.

Softline Employment is engaged in HR consulting and specializes in the recruitment of middle and senior staff.

Softline also runs several Internet projects. These projects include a game department presented by the official Xbox 360 player community - Xboxrussia and the Gamedep online computer and console games store; online gift certificate store Daripodarki.ru; a joint portal of free and shareware Mail.ru programs with the Софт@Mail.ru, which is the organizer of the annual All-Russian Meeting of System Administrators; educational mathematical portal Exponenta.ru.

2008: Offices in Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam. Total 13 countries

Expansion of the network of regional representative offices in,, Kazakhstan Belarus successful development of Softline's business in the far abroad: opening an office in (), Turkey Istanbul launching offices in and. To Venezuela Vietnam Geography of business: 13 countries, 48 cities. More than 1,300 employees on staff. A new direction appears in the Softline Training Center -. distance learning Softline is an international IT company that can conduct large IT projects in the field of licensing, ON training and technical support not only throughout Russia and the CIS, but also in a number of non-CIS countries.

2007: Buying XboxRussia.ru

In April 2007, the company Softline announced the purchase of XboxRussia.ru, a project that brings together gamers using the company's Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft About 2,500 active users were registered in the community at that time. The value of the deal was not disclosed, but according to experts, the project was not very expensive for Softline. The maximum cost of the resource was estimated at $10 thousand. The creator and ideological inspirer of the XboxRussia.ru - Dmitry Burlyaev - continued to work on the project as its leader.

2006: Leadership in the software distribution market in Russia and the CIS

The turnover in 2006 was $97.7 million. The company occupies a leading position in the software licensing market in and the CIS. The most complete coverage of the territory of Russia and the CIS: 8 countries, 22 cities. Softline develops new types of services for customers: technical support, IT outsourcing, software audit. The company has more than 600 employees.

2001: Start of Softline Training Center and the first regional office in Belarus

The new marketing project is regular free seminars. The Softline Training Center began to operate. Rapid development of the distribution business. The beginning of the development of the regional network is the first regional office in Belarus (Minsk).

1999: Running the Software Directory

1999 - Softline releases a software catalog. The Softline-Direct software catalog appeared at the main computer exhibitions and the CIS, various conferences and seminars, in the offices of IT companies and quickly gained popularity in the IT community.

1995: Microsoft Partner Status

1995 - First Softline status. The company has received the status of an authorized partner. Microsoft Delivery of system-wide software solutions, licensing software in computer parks of organizations that sought to ensure the legal purity of their business.

1993: Creation of a company for the supply of scientific software

1993 - Creation of Softline company Igor Borovikov. The staff is 10 people, the main activity of the company is the supply of scientific software.

Notes