Intelligence bag, cheap development: myths and truth about Tomsk IT

TOMSK, Sep 20 – RIA Tomsk. "I will go to work in Yandex", – many school dream. But Tomsk IT companies are ready to disprove myth that there are no big tasks and money in Tomsk. What is necessary for market instead of bags with intelligence how many zeros in salary of pro and why Europe orders developments from Tomsk, director of ENBISYS Dmitry Bubnov told.

Myth No. 1: "Artificial intelligence to each house"

– School students put forward fantastic ideas at festivals of young talents where we are invited: to create the robot which brings slippers, or artificial intelligence for a women bag. It seems to them that they will become millionaires with such idea tomorrow. But they start sell phones in cellular salons in reality. In about 30 years when someone, maybe, nevertheless creates a bag with AI, these children will tell: "Hereeeee, told I!"

The modern market of IT – it is not like that. The artificial intelligence is in trend, but not in the form of hype gadgets, and as technology for the machine learning (ML) and processing of big data. Now ML (in the form of products or services) is on sale in 1,5-2 time more expensive, than any other developments. We have even created the master program for this direction together with Tomsk State University; we will create also a postgraduate.

Also VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality), neural networks, technologies of creation of a user interface are relevant today.

It is profitable to be engaged in such – exclusive – things. If you bring an ordinary product to the market, you need to invest a lot of money in marketing to sell it more expensive. And it's not a fact that you will sell it. The more technologically your product, the better and more expensive it is for sale in IT. And it is all the same for customer where his creator sits in Tomsk or San Francisco.

Myth No. 2: "Manpower resources are cheap in Tomsk"

– It became more difficult to sell technologies abroad since 2014, but there is the most severe staff shortage around the world (and not just at us!): the quantity of information systems grows quicker, than the number of programmers. The deficiency in the market will remain for a long time therefore even if someone from foreign customers not really wants to work with Russians, they should be patient.

Interesting moment: many think that manpower resources are cheap in Tomsk, so, software development costs cheaper.

Actually it is more expensively to develop in Tomsk, than in India, Ukraine, China, Serbia and across all other Russia, except Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Recently there was a case – Americans looked for developers of a product for Instagram. Hindus offered the price twice cheaper, than ours, and these are not programmers from the deaf province of India, but those who have a representation in the USA.

The sensible student IT specialist in Tomsk can earn 25-30 thousand rubles easily. Junior (the one who works for the first year) – from 40 thousand. If a dude  hasn't grown up from Junior in a middle (the middle programmer) in a year where the salary from 60 to 90 thousand, then we don't keep him.

Good middle reaches the senior for about three years, and there the vector is defined especially individually, but, I think, it will be fair to tell that a salary maximum for the narrow expert in Tomsk is 200 thousand.

Also It should be noted that the most comfortable working environment is in IT: all companies care for quality of office, a compensation package (money for a holiday, birth of children, massage offices, free lunches and fitness, private medical insurance and stomatologist at the expense of office). It began very long time ago with Google, Apple, IBM – they should have enticed young technicians. And it reached Tomsk several years ago. And it gives the share in prime cost too.

Myth No. 3: "You want global tasks – leave"

– We can compete only with a skill, that is with development level. We have no other competitive advantages. A time zone is sludge, communications – too: we have other jurisdiction and to conclude the contract between the Russian company and the USA is something with nothing, is regulated by nothing, except the Hague International Court of Justice.

According the official statistics, about 300 IT companies are in Tomsk. I would include about 30 of them to successful (that is dynamically developing, engaged in top things). Strong things in VR/AR are made by UNIGINE (interactive 3D-platform of visualization). Rubius on the basis of AI develops systems of predictive repair for industrial enterprises: analysis of degree of wear of equipment and forecasting of its breakages.

Also many other companies, such as SibEDGE, Elecard, USERSTORY grow. Technologically, and in revenue and because make systems for which the same Hindus have lack in analytical skills.

Our company, for example, makes EPR-systems of the state level for Europe. One of them unites portals for patients where a person can register in reception, prolong the recipe and so on. About 3,5 thousand clinics use our system, the number of users – about two million.

And 10 countries of Europe are connected to the system of adaptive education for pupils of initial classes created by ENBISYS from scratch. 900 thousand pupils work with it every day. They come in the morning, turn on the tablets with the interactive program and study eith it on seven disciplines, one exercise in three minutes.

It is possible to imagine problems with loading when all 900 thousand people begin work at 08:40 in the morning!.

Myth No. 4: "It's never late to come to the profession"

– I consider that two markets  will remain soon which will constantly grow, – the market of education and the market of IT. Now the USA and China are at war among themselves on them. Young specialists want to enter the growing market, and they can make it in Tomsk.

Chances to be included in the good project are maximum at those who begin to work early, from about third course. It doesn't matter, in what role – programmer, HR, a tester, sales (specialist in sales), architect.

The main thing is a person has to develop constantly: to train in the IT companies, first even free of charge (such opportunity is given by all leading companies in Tomsk); to attend branch conferences; to take additional courses, including network; to learn English (because thare are less of local projects).

A student has to define the vector of development. The training program is so-so a development vector: curriculum of specialty changes every five years, and our market changes two times a year. Hype technologies for universities will become ordinary in several years. Time is against IT specialists, and it is impossible to lose it.