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Ekaterina GURYANOVA, director of the company «Protection Technologies», owner of the TZ magazine:
This was not an interview in the classic sense. Slava and I have known each other for a long time, almost as long ago we switched to «you». In a word, the usual thing: old acquaintances met, got to talking. And then I took out a voice recorder, which I always take with me on business trips just in case, and pressed the Rec button.
Vyacheslav TESAKOV, CEO of Ravelin:
I started telling Katya about what we are doing now, in what direction we are moving. She found it interesting – that is how the material came about.
A new vector for the TSB market?
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
The vector, if it arises, will of course be new, although the idea itself may not be new. It has been discussed in the industry for quite a long time, but it has not reached practical implementation, at least, I am not aware of such cases. Why did we decide to try to look for, so to speak, related areas of application for access control and management systems? The fact is that the Russian TSB market is generally quite narrow, and one of its segments, accordingly, is even smaller. Agree, this is a natural need of any company (especially one engaged in its own developments) to look for new points of application of its efforts and new sales markets. So, one of the most promising is the area engaged in the automation of processes related to personnel control and management.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
The idea is indeed not new. I have heard about it more than once in conversations with colleagues, the TZ even wrote about it.
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
Was there an article on this topic?
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
Not exactly. The article was devoted to the prospects for the development of ACS, and the author identified personnel management systems as one of the areas. True, with reference to foreign experience. I'll tell you more: one of the Western companies is promoting this area in Russia.
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
That's true, but with a very significant caveat: potential customers, that is, people who are involved in production management, or specialists who write programs for enterprise control, do not even suspect that their management tasks can be successfully solved with the help of TSB equipment.
Honestly, at first there was a feeling that we were perceived as astronauts. Or strictly through the prism of the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the fire department. When we began to explain to them that with the help of the simplest technical means it is possible to control production, the production processes taking place there, labor discipline, this was met with caution at first. However, we reached mutual understanding quite quickly. But, I repeat, initially the idea for the customer is usually new, I would even say, unexpected. We began to study related areas where ACS work. And it turned out that there are many areas of application of our solutions. However, calling it ACS is no longer quite correct. When you talk about ACS, you narrow the perception of your offers by your clients. But you need to explain that our technology can solve a lot of problems. This is a new level.
After all, even if you look at the integration issues, we are all trying to move to this very new level one way or another. We are trying to integrate all the systems with each other so that there is one operator who could receive information as quickly as possible, see everything, have great analytics, and respond to everything promptly. But we forget that this operator works in the interests of the entire enterprise. And if the enterprise has a management system, then the system that we call a security system should be an element of this large system.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
I agree. If we take, for example, airport security systems, the logic is clear: the security system must be subordinate to the general management system, which regulates the entire production process — where and at what time the gates for boarding and disembarking should be opened, how the passenger flow moves, how many personnel should be at a particular place, etc. Security systems should work depending on the general situation. That same Western manufacturer that I already mentioned approaches it from this side. And it positions itself as a manufacturer of personnel management systems. But in Russia this topic is a blank spot. No one is seriously dealing with this issue. Now everything happens from below, from the security systems. And then the question arises of how to integrate them into the general management system.
p.22-2 on the right
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
And this is a fundamentally wrong approach, because any system should be built from the top. After all, what happened in Russia? Our main consumers are security services. They do not have the necessary experience in system management, and they do not need it. They need to solve security problems, and they do it. It is naive to expect them to take care of management issues. It is also naive to expect managers to come themselves. I will repeat once again: they generally do not know that the TSB market has excellent equipment for solving their problems. Therefore, we need to go to future customers ourselves.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
That is, we are doomed to walk down a one-way street. At least at the beginning of the journey. And what is at the end of this street? You understand that if a new development vector really appears, our industry will need to build a new communications system. Who should we contact: those who implement management systems? Or the end customer and integrate into their system?
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
Yes, we need to look for new communication links. And with those who make decisions on the implementation of new systems. That is, with the owners or top managers responsible for management issues. Communicating with companies that make software products is a rather unpromising business. They have no interest in collaborating with us today. They create and very successfully sell automation tools for accounting, logistics, and estimating. They automate the paper flow. In addition, they are afraid of hardware like fire.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
It is obvious that personnel management systems are needed. There is a need for them in almost all large production facilities. The key question is: how to solve this problem? After all, there are very few ready-made management systems that can be linked into a single complex with security systems, one can say that they do not exist at all. Who can really catalyze this process?
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
This can only be done by those who order such systems. And to become a customer, a person must know that such systems exist, that they can be used in this way. Where can a potential client find out? For example, by seeing them in a movie. After all, the formation and development of the Russian TSB market largely took place precisely because people saw such systems in action. Saw them in Western movies. But today it is possible (and necessary) to take a different path: you need to communicate with the customer. These are other people, very prepared and competent. But managers do not know about the capabilities of our equipment, this is not their area. They need to be convinced, shown the advantages of the solutions and the benefits they will receive. That it is possible to control personnel, the general situation at the facility, the enterprise. And such systems are not that expensive.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
At the same time, those who deal with hardware have more chances than software companies. In order to move this forward, it is necessary to build a distribution and sales system. What is needed? To build a distribution network? To focus on end users?
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
Here, it seems to me, our allies can be those who implement quality systems at their enterprises. Because it is impossible to build quality systems without a control system. And it is also impossible to build systems without an appropriate management program and technical means. Those who think about this, who understand this, who are ready to spend money on this, are our potential clients.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
There is also such a problem as personnel training. How difficult is it to work with systems, how difficult are they for people who are used to working with technical security means?
Vyacheslav TESAKOV:
In my experience, office administrators often use these systems. If a person is well prepared, he can handle it, in principle, there is nothing particularly difficult. We have reached a stage in the development of society and the country when most managers have stopped trusting their subordinates. This happened due to a general decline in the level of employee qualifications. Professionalism and high qualifications are not encouraged in the country. Professionals are leaving for the West. Therefore, the development of control systems is inevitable. Managers want to see the entire process. See in order to control. Today, one of the main problems of any owner is to ensure that employees do not steal, that they do business at work.
That is, we have gone beyond the problems of security itself. Closing doors to keep out hooligans is not as relevant today as it was ten years ago. The problem of simply closing doors disappears. But what is happening behind these closed doors? How efficiently do people work and why is this efficiency low? Here, we cannot do without management and control systems.
It is obvious that the idea is in the air. But it has not yet captured the masses. Formally, it needs to be structured, broken down into pieces. After all, the problems are often very closely interconnected. For example, school security. Should schools install turnstiles, readers and controllers? And what is needed? Perhaps, first of all, a system for recording children, employees and other people in the school is needed. This can be solved with the help of many technical means available on the market today.
The main thing is to clearly formulate the task. Say what you need: manage resources, personnel, control technological processes.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA:
That is, to prepare the technical specifications.
Well, forgive the involuntary pun, the TZ magazine is ready to discuss this topic with anyone who might be interested in it. In each of the segments of our industry. I turn off the recorder, but I do not say goodbye to the readers…
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