At the CIPR-2024 site, Rostec State Corporation showed the latest IT developments in the field of cybersecurity and digital transformation. RBC spoke with Deputy CEO of the Corporation Alexander Nazarov about the importance of these solutions for industry, the company's contribution to import substitution and strategies to achieve technological sovereignty in the face of sanctions pressure, as well as how Rostec copes with the challenges of modern cyberspace and what awaits the Russian IT industry in the coming years.
— Alexander Yuryevich, this year Rostec is presenting a number of IT innovations at the CIPR. First of all, there is a noticeable emphasis on cybersecurity solutions. As they say, are you sick?
— You could say that. We face cyber attacks every day. This activity is not abating and is obviously part of a hybrid war against our country. Such threats force us to constantly improve our protection methods.
We are demonstrating some of the developments today at the CIPR-2024. Among them, I will single out the RT Protect EDR system. It is used to detect targeted cyber attacks on end devices and provides automatic counteraction. This is a product of our developers from the RT-Information Security company. It is successfully used at Rostec aircraft and engine-building enterprises, as well as at defense plants.
I would like to note that protecting hosts in organizations is becoming more and more difficult every year. Previously, this function was performed by antiviruses, but today it is no longer enough. Cybercriminals have expanded and improved their arsenal to penetrate the IT infrastructure of enterprises. At the same time, they are now focusing not so much on the speed of malicious actions, but on minimizing traces of presence.
Our new product helps to detect the activity of intruders and provide timely counteraction. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies help in this. RT Protect EDR is a full—fledged replacement for similar solutions from foreign vendors, including Cisco, Microsoft, McAfee, etc.
— Since the beginning of ITS, much has been said about the need to achieve technological sovereignty and the transition of industry to domestic software. What has changed since then and how do you assess the results of this work?
— Of course, sanctions have hindered the course of digital transformation, but they have not stopped it. Rather, they forced us to mobilize resources and act more creatively.
Rostec is a modern corporation that makes extensive use of the possibilities of digital technologies. We are implementing solutions in the field of artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, digital twins, data economics, etc. This is the key to our competitiveness.
Last year, we approved a new Digital Transformation Strategy. Our task is to find a quick and adequate replacement for imported solutions. That is, to transfer hundreds of enterprises to domestic software without loss of productivity, efficiency and security.
It is necessary to understand that miracles do not happen. What foreign IT giants have been striving for for decades, spending hundreds of billions annually, cannot be achieved in a year or two or three. Therefore, the share of imported software remains high. On average in the country, I would estimate this figure at 50%, due to the fact that a number of foreign solutions do not yet have commensurate domestic analogues.
If we talk about us, then according to the existing methodology, Rostec is ready for the digital transformation of its activities by 60%. There are still problems related to the insufficient maturity of currently existing Russian IT products, their compatibility and performance. There is no complete nomenclature of Russian analogues on the domestic market for import substitution of foreign-made software and hardware. There are also risks that as a result of import substitution, the functionality of automated systems will not be fully preserved.
Nevertheless, the picture is much better today than it was a couple of years ago. Many foreign products have already appeared or are being created by domestic analogues. We are working intensively with government agencies, major software developers and other industrial companies. In general, we are optimistic about the situation.
— You mentioned the Digital Transformation Strategy. What is it?
— First of all, it is a document that contributes to achieving the strategic goals of the Corporation. It outlines how digital transformation will change our production, organizational and management processes to meet business challenges.
On the other hand, the document sets a vector for achieving technological independence and security of critical information infrastructure. Let's not forget that Rostec is the largest defense company. We implement the most important programs in the aircraft industry, engine building, energy engineering, medical instrumentation, pharma, etc. taking into account the requirements of information security.
The Digital Transformation Strategy contains a detailed analysis of our strengths and weaknesses in terms of digitalization. Practice shows that in Russia management processes are perfectly automated — accounting, document management, personnel management or inventory management.
But from the point of view of production automation, the picture is heterogeneous. There are companies in the Rostec circuit with a very high level of digital maturity and there are reverse examples. The Strategy is designed, among other things, to eliminate these gaps.
— I would like to learn more about the strengths, weaknesses and gaps.
— There are segments where success is obvious. For example, we have excellent products based on the industrial Internet of Things IIoT.Istok is self-developed. It is a ready-made solution for the digital transformation of an enterprise. It allows, among other things, to control the operation of the machine park, engineering equipment, to create digital duplicates of production facilities and workshops, technological processes and the whole plant.
If we talk about ERP-class systems, our enterprises practically do not use foreign software anymore. The corporation has its own solutions in this segment. Among them is the automated system of financial and procurement activities (AS FDD). With its help, you can control treasury operations, procurement and contractual activities, the budget process, as well as manage industrial safety, product quality, strategic goals, investments, and construction processes.
Among the obvious gaps so far are PLM and CAD systems for design. For the industry, as you understand, this is vital software. There are good developments in this segment, we interact with leading developers within the framework of industrial competence centers. We give them clear recommendations and suggestions that need to be finalized and improved. But there is still a lot of work ahead.
— Experts say that one of the key barriers to the development of the Russian IT market is the duplication of systems. Different companies create products with the same functionality. For example, there are only a few dozen operating systems in the registry of domestic software. Do you agree with this?
— I think this is an inevitable stage in the evolution of the domestic IT industry. In the future, everything will come to unification and a reduction in the number of players in the market. Perhaps there will be several Russian giants like Microsoft or SAP that will cover the demand in the most relevant segments and even be able to compete on the world stage.
In the meantime, with all the variety of offers on the market, there are not enough mature products that fully satisfy customers in terms of quality and functionality. This is the main reason that forces consumers to look for an alternative, "screw up" existing solutions or engage in their own developments.
The creation of partnerships between customers and developers is seen as a promising format. The customer, based on his requirements, must formulate a clear technical specification, which the software will meet at the output. In turn, the developer creates exactly the software with exactly the functionality that the customer needs.
It is in this format, I repeat, that work is being carried out on the basis of industrial competence centers in several areas: mechanical engineering, aircraft engineering, construction, microelectronics, etc. We are talking about import substitution of industrial and engineering software of heavy class, for the production of complex technical products. Anchor customers are our holding companies — UAC, UEC, Kalashnikov, Technodinamika and others.
I would like to emphasize that Rostec is one of the largest consumers of a wide variety of software. It is important for us that the developer feels our needs well and offers mature, high-quality solutions that allow us to quickly and efficiently solve production tasks.
— Rostec has enterprises with strong IT competencies. Do you want to give up your own developments and intend to compete in this field?
— IT developers do not always understand our needs, as they have not worked in mechanical engineering and do not feel the specifics of the industry. If we see that we can do it faster and better, we do it ourselves. At the same time, we understand that the best way is to consolidate the efforts of different players in order to "cut corners" and achieve results faster. In recent years, we have created a whole galaxy of joint ventures with leading industry companies. Among them are Rostelecom, Iridium, IC IAS, Seldon and others.
In particular, this year at the CIPR we are introducing the DeepMail mail system. This is the development of one of these joint ventures, the RT—Iridium company. The system is included in the Unified Register of Russian Software. It runs on Windows, Linux and Android, iOS and Microsoft mobile platforms, has cryptographic protection, built-in protection against spam and malicious messages. That is, it is a full-fledged replacement for similar American solutions Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Outlook. We apply it at our enterprises, and there is also an example of its implementation in federal authorities.
— Writing letters is important, but Rostec is primarily a manufacturing company. In which of the industries are industrial digital platforms being most actively implemented today?
— First of all, I would single out aircraft and engine building here. For example, our United Engine Corporation is recognized as a leader in digital transformation for the introduction of IIoT technology in production. Equipment is connected to the industrial Internet system at several sites: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rybinsk, Samara, Ufa, Perm, Omsk — only about 2 thousand automated workplaces. This ensures real-time monitoring of personnel work, machine loading, their technical condition, etc.
When creating promising engines, UEC enterprises use mathematical modeling and digital twins technologies. As a result, the number of errors is minimized and the design time is significantly reduced.
The United Aircraft Corporation creates all modern aircraft in the digital environment today — MS-21, SJ-100, IL-114-300. The aircraft design documentation has been fully translated into "digital". Digital models of the appearance of each aircraft have been created. All this allowed us to get away from the paper system.
As a result, not only design bureaus and serial plants operate in a single digital space, but also cooperation — and these are dozens, if not hundreds of enterprises — connects to interaction in this format. In the future, such a system will have to build the entire life cycle of aircraft — from design to maintenance.
— By the way, at the CIPR this year you are presenting a comprehensive information system for after-sales service for aviation. What tasks does it solve?
— This is the product of another joint venture — RT-Innovative Developments for automating aircraft maintenance services. We have offered airlines a convenient seamless technology for data exchange with aircraft manufacturers, operators and repair organizations. This is achieved through integration with the airworthiness maintenance and maintenance system. The system presented at the CIPR is being developed on the same platform within the framework of the CIC "Transport".
The functionality of the system allows you to work with electronic documentation and automate damage accounting. Plan the consumption of material and technical resources and maintenance of the aircraft. To answer the airline's questions in a timely manner and much more.
Some of the system modules have already been put into commercial operation at Yakovlev on the SJ-100 and MS-21 projects, as well as at Russian Helicopters and UEC, where aircraft engines and gas turbine installations are manufactured.
I would like to note that this system has the possibility of cross-industry scaling and may be useful to other industrial competence centers. For example, individual modules are used in the Aurus automotive project.
— Returning to your Digital Transformation Strategy: what are the risks inherent in it?
— Serious software takes a long time to create. It also takes time to refine and adjust it to the requirements of industrial companies. At the same time, the work must be implemented in a very short time, which requires maximum concentration and mobilization of forces from all industry participants — both developers and consumers.
There are serious compatibility problems with domestic software products, which also require a systematic approach.
Well, the lack of professional IT specialists is also a risk that we must and are working with.
