Interview of TAdviser with the deputy CEO "ABBYY Russia" Dmitry Shushkin

Dmitry Shushkin: First of all, it is large-scale changes in business organization – both regarding client service, and in increase in internal efficiency. To really understand and predict a customer behavior, on the one hand, and to do its interaction with the company to the most convenient, with another – it is impossible without use of the most modern digital technologies. Technologies in itself can be absolutely different – since change of approach to this or that business process and finishing with use of artificial intelligence for the fast analysis, data retrieval and acceptance of strategic decisions. The general in all examples of digital transformation is that the need for application of technology practices for different business challenges, both external, and internal ripened to get competitive advantage.

Dmitry Shushkin: At the exit – emergence of new services and approaches. The high competition created at end users so high level of expectations from quality of services. Service should be the fastest and convenient in each contact point, whether it be visit of shop, the order of goods on the Internet, online consultation with the specialist or search in mobile application. As a result practically all customer interaction gradually overflows in online. And, if it seemed earlier that it will happen to the help of voice interfaces and sensing technologies of the speech, then now it became noticeable that the convenience of service is more important, than "innovation". People like to resolve quickly an issue more, having written the message in the messenger, one click, or to make a photo on the smartphone, than to penetrate into the difficult interface. In particular it concerns younger generation. Young people – consumers of goods and services – grew up during an era of smartphones and prefer communication on correspondence. Earlier digital channels were used only to inform the client on these or those changes on the bank account or, for example, about actions and discounts in the loyalty program if it is about retail, and now using the online platform clients receive the most different services. Be cut by phone or on the Internet we, probably, will never be able, and all the rest – to order on the house farmer products, to organize house cleaning, to pay the bill from the mobile phone on the photo – please, we can already today.

As for change of increase in internal efficiency, here the companies generally aim to save employees from the routine work connected with information search in different sources, its analysis and processing – what is called work with unstructured data. Now to documents from corporate information systems, such as ABS, ERP, CRM, ECM, production data and also information from external sources – media, social networks are added. The overall picture of business development can be received, only analyzing all data set. We see this requirement on the example of customers of ABBYY who use artificial intelligence technologies for the most different tasks – for example quickly to analyze risks at issuance of credit, to automate processing of text requests of clients in technical support, at an early stage to reveal design errors at construction of large objects, etc.

Dmitry Shushkin: Banks and retail are most active. They initially exist in highly competitive environment in which if you do not change, then you will not for long live. Really digital banks automate processing and payment of all types of accounts, including using mobile applications, simplify process of opening of the account both for individuals, and for entrepreneurs. In the most advanced banks it is possible to open completely the account far off, without need to come to department – the client needs to send only through a personal account the scanned documents. In retail win the companies able to combine effectively and in a complex offline and online channels - retail, online store, mobile applications, social networks. The client got used that fight for him: provide him different options of payment and delivery, offer a selection of responses of other buyers, allow it to watch all options via mobile devices.

Dmitry Shushkin: Transition to digital technologies in these industries long time happened on evolutionary model. But recently motions because, despite limited resources, the companies need to increase efficiency are observed, to cut down expenses or, at least, to optimize them. And one of such opportunities for increase in efficiency – a fast and convenient information access. For this reason at our customers solutions on stream input of data – for example, technical documentation, primary accounting documents, agreements are still demanded. Automation of processing of these data – the first step in business transformation. According to some information, labor productivity in Russia several times is less, than in the USA, Western Europe and even Southeast Asia. Modern technologies can help the companies to increase efficiency and to partially reduce this gap.

Dmitry Shushkin: Perhaps, the main trend is a fight for the client. For this purpose it is necessary to know as much as possible about it, to study his behavior, to help it, in passing offering additional services, services, goods. The modern user, including we, do not want to do anything superfluous – to stand in a queue in bank, to wait when the program is loaded, to fill excess forms. Besides, we do not wish to make excess decisions – the company itself should know that it is necessary for her client and to try to predict his requirements still before he thinks of this or that product. Such approach cardinally differs from primitive analysis systems of client behavior when the user looked at information on the refrigerator, and then this refrigerator pursues it on all Internet until he looks, for example, at the iron. It is necessary is for this purpose combined to use geopositioning, mobile technologies, the analysis of all information on the user experience and behavior – including, from cards of loyalty, sales receipts, search queries, the statuses in social networks. At the same time it is important to be unostentatious, it will also determine success of digital transformation of business process by work with the end customer.

Other trend – grows need to process and take useful data from a huge flow of unstructured documents. In corporate systems managers spend for information search, as a rule, not less than 2-3 hours a day. It is possible to imagine what economy will be if this search is more effective - it is millions of rubles. Technologies of text analytics which increase employees productivity in tens of times can help with it. For example, one of our large customers, the hi-tech company, uses ABBYY Compreno technology on the basis of artificial intelligence many times quicker to take the necessary information from the curriculum vitae of potential employees. The summary gets to a system, from it all necessary information (education, work locations, positions, duties, etc.) is taken irrespective of in what format the document is sent to the company, how accurately the summary is made and written. As a result of HR does not spend time for reading hundreds of summaries entirely, and at once receives selection of candidates who most suit it.

Other our client – the bank entering in top-10 uses ABBYY Compreno to automate document handling when opening the account for legal entities. The program defines document type and takes attributes from all client documents, including unstructured: company charter, foundation agreement, documents on appointment of the head and chief accountant, etc. On the basis of these data the bank can quicker carry out many times necessary inspections and approve opening of the account for the entrepreneur. And speed in this case decisive factor: not a secret that the company submits applications to several financial institutions at once. Also opens the account in that bank which the first will tell it "yes". Automation of this process gives to our customer the chance to quickly increase a share of clients in small and medium business.

Dmitry Shushkin: The culture of creation of business processes of the traditional large companies not always assumes digital transformation - it is and there is the main obstacle. Internal business organization, technology infrastructure is gained for years therefore to change very difficult. It, by the way, confirms also a research which was conducted last year by the information and analytical DOCFLOW project: according to it, 27% of the Russian companies consider that most of all transformations interfere lack of flexibility of management or processes, and 28% - the shortage of technical expertize and skills. Besides, often the companies do not distinguish digital transformation from simple increase in efficiency.

The traditional companies always tried to improve already existing product or service, to automate the existing business processes, but not cardinally to change them and to manage a situation in real time. Healthy conservatism is sometimes useful. But preferences for benefit of traditional methods of management are a big obstacle in a way of digital transformation.

Dmitry Shushkin: The most important change – the companies realized what value they for business provide unstructured data, and such in the general information stream it is more than 80%. These data are actually not available to the analysis the standard information analytical systems. Our customers pay for data storage, but that they store as it can be used – do not know. For example, one bank – our client had electronic archive of personal data of clients, but to find documents of the necessary person was very difficult. Today such organization of storage of content which gives the chance of its operational use for the benefit of business moves to the forefront. If business cannot instantly, "on click" to react to changes in a customer behavior, then it is not worth a pin for information even if it is stored in electronic form. An opportunity to use content "on finger-tips" - what is defining in the IT market as regarding solutions of the class ECM and other corporate systems for work with data. One more important point – grows quantity of sources of customer information and methods of receiving it. It both social networks, and audiovisual information, and mobile communication, and data from different sensors if it is about production, and many other things.

Dmitry Shushkin: The companies from different segments of business use the different systems for storage and data processing. For banks it is traditionally the core banking system, for retail – most often CRM, for other industries – ERP BI ECM or only EDMS. In order that business most effectively used information, not that what system of a class is used, and a possibility of quick access to data, their profound search and the analysis is important. Are for this purpose necessary, first, fast and high-quality loading of content, secondly - operational issue of information. Most often we "preach" development of ECM systems as the solutions directly connected with processing of content. The consumer of information from an ECM system (and at the same time – the supplier) can be ABS, CRM, ERP, BI – it depends on the specific company and specifics of business.

Dmitry Shushkin: In a corporate segment we showed height about 35% - in many respects just thanks to a trend on digital transformation of business. Customers aim to provide quickly services to clients, to automate and accelerate work of a back office (accounting, personnel records). In 2016 we saw increase in interest in intellectual processing and the analysis of unstructured data: "smart" search in corporate information systems of the enterprises, the automated processing of text requests of clients, assessment of credit risks, etc. These and other tasks of our customers are carried out by our ABBYY Compreno technology.

Also still the trend on development of mobile technologies remained. So, large banks actively implemented mobile technologies of data entry from payment documents. Among them – Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff bank, etc. They use our products to make the services more conveniently and quicker for clients. The entrepreneur by means of mobile photographs the invoice for payment, the application creates the payment order on the basis of the photo, autocompletes the necessary fields. The person needs only to check and pay.

In a segment of stream input of data I will note the project for Tricolor TV on upgrade of processing system of subscriber documents – more than 4 million agreements and statements a year; the project on creation of electronic archive of electronic archive of technical documentation for PJSC Transneft, the project on automation of data entry for execution of credit requests for "The Moscow credit bank".

Dmitry Shushkin: Projects which we implement are inseparably linked with digital transformation. In this plan we are in vanguard of market development. It is possible to tell also safely that our activity promotes work performance improvement as we automate routine transactions. As for changes in the market and among our customers, according to us, interest in our solutions from medium business grows.

Dmitry Shushkin: It is an indicator of growth of income. By profit approximately the same digits, i.e. we save quality of business. As for the number of clients, it also grew approximately by a third. From more than 200 projects implemented last year, about a third are implementations in the new companies.