TOMSK, Dec 28 – RIA Tomsk. Tomsk participated in the scale research of "Russoft” for the first time – one of the most influential associations of software developers in Russia in the expiring year.
What conclusions experts made why Tomsk companies should spend time for such researches, whether our city can become the IT capital and how Tomsk company to brake out into the international market – journalists of RIA Tomsk discussed these issues with the Tomsk expert of IT industry Alexander Kalinin.
Who makes IT in the Tomsk Governorate: experience of the SibEDGE company
Alexander heads the SibEDGE company, one of leaders of the Tomsk IT market. The new office in San Francisco and annual revenues more than 2 million dollars – SibEDGE finishes 2017 with such results.
SibEDGE specializes in custom development: creation of information systems for large and medium business. Recently, for example, specialists of the company finished a corporate control system of assets management for Vostokgazprom: the EAM system will become the main tool in optimization and costs planning on maintenance and repair of the equipment.
The company also creates mobile applications, solutions on the basis of SharePoint, works with BigData and organize support and maintenance of the distributed high-loaded systems. More than 80 companies worldwide from various branches became its customers for last 10 years.
The head office of SibEDGE is in Tomsk, one more works in Moscow, and the representation in San Francisco was opened recently. There are about 100 people in staff of the company who develop more than 50 projects in a year. The residents of Tomsk who are interested in the IT sphere know SibEDGE also as one of organizers of the largest conference beyond the Urals devoted to IT business – "IT City".
It turned out, all this could not be: Alexander didn't plan to connect the life with IT: in due time he studied in railway college and also seriously thought to build dancing career.
– I was a student of railway college in Ulan-Ude, did practical training on BAM, prepared for receipt in Omsk State Transport University. Then I was fond of modern choreography, – Kalinin tells. – And then everything went not according to the plan. I appeared at the faculty of informatics of Tomsk State University, and was not good at understanding programming. Physics and mathematics have helped to enter.
Being still a student, I came as a programmer to the project, which became the SibEDGE company over time. At first, I was a programmer, and then I managed a team, a project and already then the company. I filled the shortage of knowledge with training, including business education at the Higher school of business of TSU on the MBA program (Master of Business Administration). There is such concept as Product manager in the IT sphere. Probably, it is the one whom I was if to call SibEDGE as a product.
– What helped the company to survive and shoot ahead?
– Collective, relations are very important for me and as it turned out, for business. I don't put myself on a position of the only leader, my role is more likely the coach. It is important to me that people were strong nearby. At the same time, it is hard to me to speak about some success. I do not consider the existing level the limit of desires. Aspirations are much higher.
We didn't want to be only service company for a long time, it is not the easiest business in Russia. We planned to do own product and to develop this direction in the international market.
As a result the company invested money and efforts in this idea. Unfortunately – unsuccessfully, however it was valuable experience. It helped us to rethink the business strategy of the company in crisis. Today the closest purpose of SibEDGE is to become the largest company of the Tomsk region regarding custom software development, to increase staff up to 300 people, and a turnover – to 600 million rubles.
– Alexander, you said that it is hard to work in service IT business. What does it mean?
– Development and deployment of the automated information system is a difficult process which purpose is to increase overall performance of the company due to automation of operations. That automation was effective, operations, as well as processes in which they are, have to be effective in turn. So, the company has to have a certain level of a maturity that, unfortunately, isn't enough in Russia.Now people, who have been brought up without IT, without the market, manage big and medium business in the majority. They constructed big companies, but today it is already not enough. When we come to them, at first we need to prove to these managers that it is necessary, and then to prove to them that it can not be cheap, can not be made in two days and so on.
And by and large, many IT projects in Russia are made not due to, but in spite of. And by and large many IT projects in Russia become without thanking, and contrary to. It is necessary that time passed, and then it will be easier to make service in Russia.
– How did SibEDGE enter the US IT market?
– Our work in this market began with personal stories. Now it is already debugged mechanism on sales in the USA. We entered the American market in the midst of crisis of the relations between our countries. The representation of SibEDGE in San Francisco works in the American jurisdiction because clients want to have security guarantees.
Do you know what sometimes helps with work with the American customers and with colleagues from Belarus and Ukraine? That we are from Tomsk. Moscow for some people is as a red rag. When we say that we are from Siberia, the degree of dialogue decreases.
– Some participants of the Tomsk IT market call our city one of the Russian IT capitals. Do you agree with this statement?
– I love Tomsk; I am obliged to it so much. However, Tomsk is not the IT capital. Our city is a certain incubatory territory for small IT businesses. However, our situation is better from the point of view of development of the environment in some aspects, than in other regions.
Tomsk, unfortunately, is not the city of a big production, that means difficult technological projects. Novosibirsk – yes, there is the corresponding environment, something like this can be born there. What it consists in – it ls a big separate conversation.
– Maybe it's the status of a millionaire city?
– The number of citizens, of course, influences it. However the activity of IT community and readiness of city infrastructure is more important.
For example, 600 thousand people live in Ulyanovsk, which is approximately equal to Tomsk on number – the IT conference Stachka is held there: it brings together five thousand participants. We collect slightly more than one thousand at the IT City conference and every time we puzzle where to place them.
Certainly, the Tomsk business lacks globality in vision of the work. Being in business trips in big cities or abroad, I always notice – companies do not argue with borders of a state and a region there when it is about business. They set goals in the global market. There is no question, for example, where to open office. What do you mean where? Where it will be required for business, there it will be opened – Germany, Malaysia, and China.
– The IT City conference is done by adherents who want to change the situation?
– Yes, we do not care in what city we live, in what environment we work, with what people we cooperate. It seems to me, all of us at least have to do two things. First, to go beyond the company. I mean actions on a joint of the different companies, and not only IT: collaborations, hackathons, home meetings, open workshops.
Secondly, it is a general goal to change the situation in Tomsk, as well as any other city. The position "we are separately, the authorities are separately" to me is unclear. Yes, we often speak different languages, but it is also our responsibility. It is necessary to conduct dialogue, to interact, show problems, to solve it together.
– Was the agreement between participants of community "IT City" and administration of the Tomsk region signed for this purpose?
– The agreement is rather result of activity, but not the announcement of the fact that there will be a cooperation. IT sphere is not the most marginal for the authorities from the point of view of taxes. Nothing personal, but attention is where is money because without money there will be no Tomsk. If we want to be heard, we have to either earn more, or guarantee that we will earn more if we are helped. For now, we do badly as the first and second.– We know that you consist in the management board of "Russoft" (non-profit partnership of software makers of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus). Annually "Russoft" issues analytical review of the IT market of Russia. And this year Tomsk appeared in analytics with your assistance.
– Everything is right. Cooperation with “Russoft” - one of the biggest and influential associations of software developers in Russia – became an initiative, which was formed owing to desire to change something in Tomsk. Actually, it is attempt to understand the Tomsk IT market. "Russoft" is the only organization in Russia, which makes analytical reviews of the market correctly for 14 years. Mostly these reviews concern the western part of Russia.
This year Tomsk appeared as a separate city on the IT Russia map in the report of "Russoft" for the first time, which was published the other day. Unfortunately, not all companies and universities responded, about 15 IT companies, indicative for Tomsk were included in the review.
– What data does the report contain with a mention of Tomsk?
– This was a big research, which results were in 315 pages published on the website of "Russoft". Briefly, that situation is following.
The companies representing 34 Russian cities – on an arrangement of the headquarters of an IT company or main production site participated in the poll. Change of a ratio of forces between the capitals and regions – reduction of lag of regions from two capitals was outlined. The contribution of the regions to development of export software grows every year, especially if we consider that more than a half of the large Moscow or St. Petersburg companies have the centers of software development in the regions.Tomsk is on the fourth place in TOP-12 of the Russian cities which were most often mentioned by the interviewed respondents in 2017 as the location of head office. Moscow got the first place – 46 mentions of respondents, further St. Petersburg – 33 mentions, Novosibirsk and Tomsk on 12 mentions.
As it is specified in the research, in general the cities of TOP-12 with the greatest number of the interviewed companies reflects real distribution of the Russian software companies on large settlements.
To apply for the status of the IT governorate or IT capital, we have to be in similar ratings on the leading positions. It is our general task.