Revenue of Corus Consulting was reduced by 27%

The Corus Consulting company [1] (file) published financial results for 2009. Consolidated revenues of the company went down for 27.4% to 1180.192 million rubles. According to Alexander Semyonov, the CEO of Corus Consulting, the segment of distribution of the hardware showed serious falling, and segments of IT services, services and sale of software licenses remained practically on former, pre-crisis, level. These companies match results of year on the IT industry in Russia: The IT sphere reduced turnovers no more, than by 25-30%. Worst of all the hardware was on sale: practically all large projects on upgrade of infrastructure were winded down. At the same time, also new "points of growth" appeared. IT market is very heterogeneous, and each of the directions behaved in own way. Most intensively the segment of IT services, new to Russia, developed relatively. Advantage of Corus Consulting was the fact that in "portfolio" of the company the largest customer occupies no more than 10% of a total turnover. Such diversification during the crisis period helped not to depend on one large customer who "fed" in previous years, and now experiences difficulties with financing of IT projects.

According to Corus Consulting, practice of Microsoft [2] (file) in 2009 did not experience difficulties. In a year a large number of projects in holding structures, branches of the international companies and the large Russian enterprises is implemented. In 2009 six implementation projects of ERP systems based on Microsoft are complete, more than 20 projects on development of earlier implemented solutions, the number of clients of a technical support service - more than 20 are implemented, more than 900 licenses are sold (approximately on 1200 - 1300 jobs).

Also last year the company strengthened positions in the field of providing the software on the SaaS model. In 2009 the company brought to the market according to the SaaS model a management system for sales and clients of Microsoft Dynamics CRM (together with Infobox hosting provider) and a budgeting system from Adaptive Planning.

In the EDI direction (exchange of electronic documents) the company showed growth more than for 80%. This segment developed last year in the direction of legitimization of the external dokumpentooborot (failure from paper documents) and centralization of services of external exchange of documents through "one window". 2009 became successful and for department of Documentum.

According to Corus Consulting, quite good results were shown by the department of CPM which is engaged in setting and automation of budgeting, consolidation of financial statements, creation of the systems of the business analysis. In 2009 budgeting system implementation projects based on Oracle Hyperion Planning in two large pharmaceutical companies are implemented. Corus Consulting also performed implementation of the free software – the Palo system.

In 2009 the department Logistics of Corus Consulting company completed the project on automation of the distribution center of the largest distributer and the retailer of the IT equipment of Ukraine. Besides, the company purchased a number of the new clients who selected solutions of Manhattan Associates for automation of warehouses. The projects starting in 2008 are also complete.

Corus Consulting significantly strengthened the examination in creation of solutions for a public sector and medicine when implementing important social and state projects. The company participated in a number of federal projects on creation and implementation of medical information systems.

In 2009 most actively in the field of system integration projects on construction preparation of DPCs developed. Despite falling of the market of the hardware, the most affected by crisis in an IT segment of the world and Russian economy, the company managed to save all current clients and the partner statuses of all leading manufacturers of the equipment.

The IT outsourcing share in total portfolio of orders of the company significantly grew. Clients are both the large companies, and the companies of a segment of medium and small business.

In 2009 Corus Consulting deepened the examination in a segment of SAP [3] (file)  and began to render services regarding outsourcing of technical support and development of systems which are already implemented earlier at the enterprises and also replications of systems in regional divisions of the companies clients.

According to Alexander Semyonov, a year ago the companies reduced any costs, projects on development were suspended. In the spring of 2009 budgets were defrozen, in the market "pent-up demand" was observed. This year the situation changed: the economic situation stabler, the profit of the companies for the end of 2009 in general on the market grew, including due to active cost reduction during the whole last year.  Now it is important to be no more, and quicker and "more smart": from the extensive growth of former years of the company passed to search of internal development mechanisms and new niches in the market. The companies which provided by means of IT to themselves real competitive advantages against the background of crisis will leave it quicker and will be able to increase a market share, to take the place of the lost competitors.

In the field of integration and in the field of sale of the hardware there will be less expensive projects. The segment of the cheap equipment and delivery of component parts will increase, interest in software of on-demand, virtualization and "cloud computing" will significantly grow.  On average in Corus Consulting company in 2010 predicts growth by 20%, and in some directions – to 50%.