Russian software in company offices - current realities and prospects, expert opinions and experience

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    Most of the information technologies, tools and methodologies for software development came to us from the West.

    In this regard, Russian programmers and engineers for some time had to go behind the "steam locomotive". However, gradually, we somehow ceased to yield to the original source, and somewhere even came forward. Of course, losing commercially, many Russian developments are undeservedly forgotten or are on the sidelines of the IT industry. But some products still took a prominent place in the world.

    Now, with the advent of the concept of import substitution, this injustice can be partially restored, albeit on the scale of only one country. However, not all domestic developments are able to replace foreign analogues. Here, there is scope for discussion, reasoned criticism, hopes for a brighter future.

    We talked with representatives of Russian companies and asked us to express our attitude about what is happening with the development of Russian software now. We also found out how much they are ready to use domestic software, and which software is already used in work.

    We asked the experts the following questions:

    • In which categories of software do Russian-developed products already compete, or could compete, with foreign software and hardware?

    • Does your company currently use any domestic software? In which departments (development, sales, accounting, and so on)? And what about domestic equipment?

    • Is there any direction in which Russian software leads the world market? In the Russian market?

    • How much is the quality (speed, fault tolerance, usability) of Russian competitive software comparable to foreign?

    • How comparable are prices for Russian software to foreign ones?

    • What qualities, first of all, should a domestic product have in order for your company to consider the possibility of its integration into existing processes?

    In which categories of software do Russian-developed products already compete, or could compete, with foreign software and hardware?

    Alexander Osipov, Head of Marketing, Pilot Group of Companies:


    Of course, there are no full-fledged Russian analogues of the Microsoft operating system or their office suite. And let's face it, even if they appear, it’s not a fact that they will be in demand: most users are used to Microsoft solutions, and they are unlikely to immediately want to change them.

    But if we talk about application software that is used to solve business problems, then things are good with it in Russia: for example, AmoCRM, Megaplan, Bitrix24 with numerous modules, KeyCollector. Looking at them, it immediately becomes clear that domestic software is not only better suited to Russian legislation, business processes and the mentality of the people, but also sometimes more convenient, more functional than its Western counterparts.

    And if you draw a wider circle and look at specialized industry solutions, for example, cash register software, then Western software here is more likely an exception to the rule. Moreover, even foreign retailers coming to the Russian market prefer to transfer business processes to the decisions of local developers.

    Vladimir Levashov, Head of Information Systems, BDO Unicon Outsourcing:


    I think I will not surprise anyone if I call antiviruses, text and speech recognition programs, dictionaries, systems for backing up data, search engines, monitoring systems, products for electronic payments, systems of legally significant electronic document management.

    All these products are already on the international market. Unfortunately, there are very few Russian food companies, in principle, there are no more than 2-3 significant players. I'd like to believe that their number will actively grow. I hope that the extension of benefits for IT companies until 2023 will contribute to this.

    Alexander Belyaev, Head of Import Substitution and Open Source Software at CROC:


    In fact, in almost any category you can find domestic products that are somehow competitive on the market. Most often, this is application software that is successfully sold and implemented in Russia (ERP systems, accounting software, project management solutions, and much more). There are also successful examples of competition on an equal footing in the international market - these are, first of all, antivirus software, backups, analytics, and others.

    Ilya Wislotsky, Director of the Stack Group Client Architecture Center:


    Today, there is already Russian software (or software with a large Russian participation) that occupies a leading position not only in Russia. I can distinguish several types (not limited to):

    • special software: little is known in classical offices, but nevertheless, I would like to note the participation of Russian developers in international projects related to space, large-scale construction and other ambitious projects in which knowledge of physics and mathematics dominates development;
    • requiring good knowledge of mathematics: providing information security, protection against hacker and DDoS attacks, antivirus software, image recognition software, disk and file system management, and more;
    • requiring good knowledge of the needs of users (this type is most likely used only in the Russian Federation): billing systems, all kinds of CRM, ERP, "office" applications and other software that facilitates the work of the company;
    • proprietary open-source software improvements: orchestrators, operating systems, frameworks, drivers, and a lot of everything else that is on various HUBs;
    • many other products, including those aimed at a specific segment of the market.

    Russian IT equipment can also be roughly categorized: military, for a large project, and the most popular - modified layouts and assemblies. Of course, Russian IT equipment is competitive, but so far it cannot satisfy all the needs of the market. It is necessary to build on the task, somewhere only foreign equipment can be used, and somewhere it can be replaced by the best Russian counterpart.

    Alexey Boldyrev, General Director of Aytonika:


    In the software field, these are, of course, antiviruses. Here Kaspersky has leadership even on a global scale, and Doctor Web is his worthy rival in the home market. In general, in Russia the vast majority of any information security products are Russian.

    In other market segments, there are local leaders: absolute, like “1C” in accounting, “1C-Bitrix” in site management systems, or relative - for example, manufacturers of equipment (PC and medium servers) “Aquarius” and “Craftway”, and in powerful servers - the Russian company "Core". We expect a breakthrough from the MyOffice team in office software in 2017, they have a strong update to the package, and we hope that Basalt will show its worth in the OS area too!

    Vyacheslav Medvedev, Leading Analyst, Doctor Web Development Department:


    Security systems, banking software, software related to document management. In particular, Russian anti-virus systems are selling well both in Europe and abroad.

    Sergey Kozlov, CEO of Megaplan:


    In the antivirus market, Kaspersky Lab is an excellent example of a company that first conquered the market with us and then entered the international arena.

    In our own field (CRM and task managers), Russian products successfully compete with foreign systems. Among accounting programs, this, of course, is 1C.

    Mikhail Epikhin, leading marketer of the backend platform for developing mobile applications Scorocode:


    2 types of solutions compete with foreign software - a traditional business represented by domestic IT giants like ABBYY with text recognition solutions, Kaspersky Lab with information security solutions, and innovative startups in the field of e-commerce, mobile analytics, CRM, PaaS and MBaaS platforms. Separately, it is worth mentioning mobile applications - Prisma and MSQRD became the best according to the Appstore.

    We with our platform for developing mobile, hybrid and web applications Scorocode also plan to scale to the international market in 2017, now the trend for digital transformation of companies is only growing, according to Forbes research - 2/3 of leaders from the Forbes 500 rating in 2017 will accept digital strategy as the main one in development.

    Sergey Yeltsov, Technical Director of LiveTex:


    Russian software today quite successfully competes with the western one in the field of telecom, antiviruses, computer-aided design systems, and information protection tools.

    But I would like to make a reservation that the main thing in this matter is to determine the criteria for “domesticity”: there are foreign companies on the market that offer a product of Russian development. Such decisions do not fall into the register of domestic software, but in their ideology are Russian.

    Does your company currently use any domestic software? In which departments (development, sales, accounting, and so on)? And what about domestic equipment?

    Alexander Osipov, Head of Marketing, Pilot Group of Companies:


    Currently, we use only 1C from the Russian application software. But I’ll tell you a secret, at the moment “Pilot” is migrating from “1C” to SAP. This step is associated with increased requirements for transparency and streamlined business processes of the enterprise.

    Vladimir Levashov, Head of Information Systems, BDO Unicon Outsourcing:


    Yes, we use Kaspersky products for protection against viruses, for backup we use Acronis systems. Almost all accounting is maintained on the 1C system. In recent years, the company has been actively developing HR accounting and payroll services at Boss-Kadrovik. Taxcom and SKB-Kontur are used for the exchange of legally significant electronic documents and reporting. To manage the sales and customer service cycle, systems based on 1C-Bitrix and 1C are used; for archiving we use 7-ZIP.

    Ilya Wislotsky, Director of the Stack Group Client Architecture Center:


    We use Russian products for security, billing, accounting, proprietary improvements and a number of other Russian software, including ourselves developing software for our needs. We do not use domestic equipment.

    Vyacheslav Medvedev, Leading Analyst, Doctor Web Development Department:


    As developers of software that should protect everyone and always, when testing anti-virus, we use a very large number of software and hardware. We provide compatibility with Russian products and, if used by our customers, provide protection for the respective systems. Alas, whatever software is used - viruses, Trojans and vulnerabilities are everywhere, and it’s impossible to assume that switching to other programs will solve security problems. The trend in the second half of 2016 is attacks on operating systems other than Windows.

    Mikhail Epikhin, leading marketer of the backend platform for developing mobile applications Scorocode:


    We use our own Scorocode platform for development, for accounting we use 1C.

    Sergey Yeltsov, Technical Director of LiveTex:


    We use our own solution - LiveTex platform for customer support and sales, Kaspersky and 1C antiviruses (which is pretty standard for Russia).

    Natalia Pauli, PR-director of the company “Shoes of Russia”:


    Yes, in our company, as an ERP system, we use the program “1C 8: Production Enterprise Management”. It currently automates the main blocks of the accounting and management cycle - accounting and reporting both according to Russian and international standards, financial management and budgeting, retail and wholesale trade management, human resources management, logistics, management accounting, electronic document management.

    In addition, also on the basis of 1C, we developed software modules for managing such projects of the company as selling shoes by installments and issuing cash loans. The whole process of registration and maintenance of installment and loan agreements is automated on the basis of 1C. Moreover, we also launch all new projects on the basis of 1C.

    Is there any direction in which Russian software leads the world market? In the Russian market?

    Vladimir Levashov, Head of Information Systems, BDO Unicon Outsourcing:


    It is difficult to attribute Russian software to market leaders, although our developers succeed in a number of niches - the same Kaspersky, Veam, Parallels, OpenWay.

    Among the leaders of the global software market, one should probably include not software, but outsourced custom development. Despite political tensions, our position in this area is still strong.

    Without a doubt, no foreign ERP or accounting system will be able to compete with 1C [in the Russian market] in the coming decades: foreign vendors simply do not have time to adapt to the requirements of Russian legislation as fast as the brainchild of Mr. Nuraliev does.

    Out of competition, and Russian systems for electronic reporting (Taxcom, SKB-Kontur and others). The reason for their success is again a detailed knowledge of the requirements of the local market and its regulators and quick adaptation to any changes that occur in accounting, labor and tax laws.

    Alexander Belyaev, Head of Import Substitution and Open Source Software at CROC:


    It will be too loud to talk about some kind of unconditional leadership, but there are domestic products that can undoubtedly be called the most popular in a certain direction around the world. These are, for example, Kaspersky antiviruses, Veeam and Acronis backup systems, Parallels virtualization solutions. In Russia, “1C” can be called such a leader, as well as the ABS market (automated banking systems) and information security tools.

    Ilya Wislotsky, Director of the Stack Group Client Architecture Center:


    I think everyone in the world knows the Acronis, Kaspersky, ABBYY brands - almost every average person is familiar with their products. Among Russian commercial organizations, of course, the names EPAM, R-Style, Diasoft, FORS, 1C, Parallels and many others are familiar.

    Sergey Kozlov, CEO of Megaplan:


    ABBYY, a Russian developer of text recognition solutions, is the undisputed world leader. In the area of ​​preventing and investigating cybercrimes today, Group-IB is loudly declaring itself. The company has established the largest forensic laboratory in Eastern Europe and is actively entering international markets.

    How much is the quality (speed, fault tolerance, usability) of Russian competitive software comparable to foreign?

    Alexander Osipov, Head of Marketing, Pilot Group of Companies:


    Russian software has one feature - it is usability that has not been worked out from the user point of view. Often the reason for this is the fact that programmers begin to write programs for programmers, and then the resulting solutions go to mass sale.

    To illustrate this example, I suggest you compare two CRM systems from different eras: 1C CRM and AmoCRM. Which is more convenient to use? I think you will answer that it is the second. And all because the guys from AmoCRM paid special attention to developing user stories, analyzing competitors' decisions and designing their own software interface. This is a nice exception to the rule.

    So, Pilot has something to learn from them - our Profi-T cash register solution, unfortunately, does not differ in terms of usability from competitors' offers. But next year we are going to release a new version of cash register software with an updated and redesigned interface.

    Alexander Belyaev, Head of Import Substitution and Open Source Software at CROC:


    If the software is competitive, then it is obvious that its quality indicators are comparable to other offers on the market. Otherwise, these solutions would simply not be bought. And all the examples of Russian software that is sold on the foreign market are a vivid confirmation of this.

    Ilya Wislotsky, Director of the Stack Group Client Architecture Center:


    We received an equally good level of support from Russian developers, and from foreign ones, and sometimes we were equally poorly served. When doing business in Russia, it is easier and faster to find a common language with Russian companies and achieve the necessary changes.

    Vyacheslav Medvedev, Leading Analyst, Doctor Web Development Department:


    If you look at software already recognized abroad, then it is competitive in all of these areas. For the rest of the software, the problem is the small number of customers. In fact, this is a vicious circle. No customers - no money to hire developers. No staff - no functionality needed by customers. No functionality - no customers buying a product because of its high quality.

    Sergey Kozlov, CEO of Megaplan:


    If we talk about cloud technologies, then the quality of Russian software is quite comparable with foreign developments. In this sector, we are certainly at the forefront of progress. In particular, this applies to domestic CRM systems.

    The Megaplan system appeared on the market first and was developed as a more affordable Russian-language analogue of Western systems. It was in 2006-2007. Now domestic CRM in Russia is much more popular than foreign counterparts. Russian products have almost replaced foreign software.

    Five years ago, customers compared Russian CRM systems with foreign counterparts, such as Salesforce, Highrise, SugarCRM. Today they choose between Russian services, while foreign products no longer occupy a significant market share.

    And the point here is not only in the quality of the product. Russian software today is not inferior in terms of stability and quality of the interface to foreign analogues.

    By the way, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and many other major world IT companies have many developers from Russia.

    Sergey Yeltsov, Technical Director of LiveTex:


    It is difficult to give an unequivocal answer to this question: it all depends on specific decisions. I can say that domestic software often has a “lame” documentation. In addition, a large community grows around Western products, and in addition to official documentation, users have access to well-developed forums and so on. In Russia, such a community is still not enough.

    How comparable are Russian software prices to foreign ones?

    Alexander Osipov, Head of Marketing, Pilot Group of Companies:


    Prices for Russian software are much more profitable than for solutions of foreign developers. And it's not just the end user price. Consider the subsequent support, solution updates, and improvements that might unexpectedly occur. For example, the Russian retail and wholesale market shook twice this year: EGAIS came first, and then the FZ-54 was updated. And retailers using Western software for cash registers were forced to overpay for improvements and wait for patches and updates not very priority for Western developers.

    Alexander Belyaev, Head of Import Substitution and Open Source Software at CROC:


    I think in this case, domestic software should be divided into two categories. The first one includes those Russian products that have long been well established throughout the world, and, accordingly, have long and hard work on quality and functionality. Their prices will be on par with foreign competitors.

    But with Russian software, which began to be developed relatively recently, and often because of the need for import substitution, the situation is somewhat different. It is in most cases cheaper than foreign analogues and so far does not always have competitive functionality. But this is only a matter of time.

    Alexey Boldyrev, General Director of Aytonika:


    One may be surprised or upset about this, but in the products that are leaders in their segment, both price and quality are comparable to foreign competitors. Probably, only 1C can “kill” its market at a price, but this is understandable - in our market they are a huge phenomenon.

    Vyacheslav Medvedev, Leading Analyst, Doctor Web Development Department:


    Differently. You need to understand that large sales of foreign software can reduce the cost for end customers. For developers of short-run software, just entering the market, such prices can become a stranglehold.

    The problem is that at the moment the threshold for entering the software market is very high. Yes, the majority uses a small part of the capabilities of each product, but each uses a different functionality. Therefore, to enter the market it is not enough to have low prices - in fact, you need to have a complete analogue of competitors' software, unless only with some minor functionality.

    Sergey Kozlov, CEO of Megaplan:


    Prices for domestic software have always been lower, which is beneficial to users. And after the dollar and the euro rose against the ruble, domestic product prices became doubly profitable. If you look at the CRM market and take the cost of the same SalesForce, the most popular CRM system in the world, then the average package will cost $ 150 per month per user. In Russian systems, this will be only 500-1500 rubles per month per user.

    Mikhail Epikhin, leading marketer of the backend platform for developing mobile applications Scorocode:


    In addition, a number of restrictions on the work of foreign companies are now being introduced. This allows you to compete in price with foreign solutions.

    What qualities, first of all, should a domestic product have in order for your company to consider the possibility of its integration into existing processes?

    Alexander Belyaev, Head of Import Substitution and Open Source Software at CROC:


    Since we are a system integrator, then, accordingly, the issue of matching the needs of the customer with the functionality that the software has is always at the forefront.

    Another important parameter is the quality of technical support from the vendor / manufacturer, its proximity to the customer and to the integrator. It is also necessary that the product conforms to a number of regulatory and organizational requirements, which is especially important for state-owned companies and for information security projects.

    Of course, we pay attention to the country of the developer. Therefore, in each case, we decide on the choice of software based on the characteristics of the project.

    In more detail, I would single out the following characteristics: the ability to refine the functionality and adapt to the characteristics of the company, automation of control and a high degree of fault tolerance to failures.

    Ilya Wislotsky, Director of the Stack Group Client Architecture Center:


    Product requirements are no different from their territorial affiliation. As I said above, we use Russian software, it fully meets the requirements for it.

    Briefly formulate the requirements for software, they are as follows: it must solve the problem, be reliable, easily refined for changing business requirements, have good technical support, adequate purchase and support costs.

    Alexey Boldyrev, General Director of Aytonika:


    We, as an integrator, look, in contrast to customers, not only and not so much at the price-quality ratio: then we also have to support this decision, usually for several years! So we also need an understanding that the vendor will not go anywhere from the market, that it will not go bankrupt, that it has a sound commercial and technical policy - that is, we look not only at the product itself, but also at those who make and sell it , on organization as a structure.

    Vyacheslav Medvedev, Leading Analyst, Doctor Web Development Department:


    It should provide those opportunities that are not available to competitors, or at a competitive price and comparable quality, perform the actions that are in the competitors' software and are used by us.

    Sergey Kozlov, CEO of Megaplan:


    We ourselves are a Russian software developer and already use domestic products in our work. We have no "allergy" to the word "Russian". We are always ready to consider the possibility of using such products, the main thing is that it is useful for the services and clients of Megaplan.

    The second question is the price. Since Russian analogues win at a price, with a similar quality, we often make a choice in favor of domestic software, since it is corny easier to buy.

    If earlier the concept of “American service” was associated with a quality mark, today it is lost among worthy Russian products that we are actively using.

    Sergey Yeltsov, Technical Director of LiveTex:


    First of all, I will mention relevance. Very often, Russian products "lag behind" foreign developments and appear "retroactively."

    Natalia Pauli, PR-director of the company “Shoes of Russia”:


    The software should have the ability to modify and adapt to the needs of the company. As mentioned above, we do not just sell shoes, but also provide a number of services that are non-standard for the market. And we were able on the basis of "1C" to develop software modules to support these projects.

    Another important point: ease of training for working with software. With us, each store is part of a single IT system, all sellers are financial managers. All the work of the store and the provision of financial services to our customers are automated. Therefore, retail personnel need to work with programs that should be clear and easy to learn. In addition, it is important that there are specialists who can accompany this software.

    In the case of "1C" there are a lot of such programmers. Of course, an important point is the cost of the software, which should be adequate to the provided capabilities. It should also be noted that in the current conditions, working with domestic software can reduce the risks associated with a possible deterioration in the foreign policy situation and the imposition of sanctions. These risks also need to be considered when it comes to a long-term development strategy of the company.



    As it turned out, the picture looks pretty optimistic. We know what we want from IT products, and we understand that “tomorrow” will not succeed in displacing foreign competitors. Moreover, this is not always necessary.

    If Russian software, for example, is cheaper than American, the choice will not always be made in favor of a domestic manufacturer. Indeed, such criteria as quality and functionality, thoughtful usability, adequate technical support, the development of the ecosystem and, in the end, the habit or accumulated credit of trust over the years often come to the fore.

    It is possible that competent feedback from all those who care, open discussion and other processes that resonate with the ideas of import substitution, will serve as motivation for Russian players in the domestic IT market.

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