“We can adjust “1C” products to the needs of customers in a qualified manner”

Interview of “AcTrade-Soft” Company Director Tigran Sargsian to Mediamax Agency, Banks.am and Itel.am portals

- “AcTrade-Soft” Company managed to quite loudly announce itself in the Armenian market of business automation systems in only one and a half years of activity. What directions of entrepreneurship activity does the software support, offered by you, automate?

- Automation of accounting and trade activity of enterprises is the basis of our company’s activity, and the company’s name “AcTrade”, is based on that: accounting and trading. Software support of the company automates accounting, mechanisms of salary calculation, wholesale and retail trade, issue of ready production, etc.

As a result of automation of business processes, our customers save significant resources, and this, naturally, contributes to increase of production efficiency and competitiveness of the given enterprise.

The products, offered by us, are based on software support of famous Russian “1C” Company. We are the official partner and the only authorized training center of “1C” in Armenia.

- What does official partnership between you and “1C” Company provide for?

- Our specialists have undergone retraining in “1C” Company in Moscow, passed all necessary examinations, receiving the corresponding certificates. In particular, Co-founder of the company Harutyun Sargsian is today the only 1C-certified specialists in Armenia, who has undergone “1C” attestation basing on software products configuration “1C: Trade and Storage”, “1C: Accounting”, “1C: Salary and Staff”.

As a result, “1C” program code is officially open for us, and this fact allows us adjusting our products to the needs of customers in a more qualified manner and automating any sphere of economic activity.

Besides, we have created the only authorized educational center “1C: ATC” (Automated Training Center), where we prepare both our own customers (by the way, training of customers is included in the cost of software support), and everyone else, training them to use “1C” programs and our authorized products. Upon completion of the courses, examination is carried out, basing on the results of which, a certificate with “1C” logotype is issued, which is the exclusive right of “AcTrade-Soft” on the territory of Armenia. Besides Yerevan, we have opened a computer center in Martuni town, where, besides technical service, we also carry out training on software products.

- It turns out that partnership with “1C”, nevertheless, does not give your company an exclusive right for distribution of the Russian company’s programs in Armenia?

- No, but we don’t need that, since the customers do not come to us for a model program, but exactly for software support, elaborated especially for them and adjusted to all their needs.

Everyone can distribute the program, but we strive to be the leaders in the sphere of automation on the basis of 1C: Enterprise 7.7 platform. We prepare a basis for transition to more productive 1C: Enterprise 8, but we believe that the Armenian market is not yet ready to accept such a software product either in technical or price terms.

Many companies turn to us with the request to service the program, sold to them by other developers. In the majority of cases we refuse, since it is incorrect, and offer them our own solutions.

- ArmSoft Company has been working in the local market for quite a long time already. It also provides business automation systems. How does the competition between two companies take place?

- As of today, we lead in the market of trade automation (over 1000 customers) and actively increase our share in the sphere of accounting automation (over 50 customers).

The sphere of accounting is the main sphere, where we consider ArmSoft a competitor. The fact is that in short-term prospect we do not consider provision of services to the banking sector, where the mentioned company has quite strong positions.

Concerning accounting automation, here our dynamic growth is conditioned by a strong “software nucleus” and high professionalism of developers, and the fact allows us, given less expenditure of resources, offering a far more flexible and higher quality tool at a more competitive price, which sometimes can be twice lower, than the one of the competitor.

- You said that you are elaborating automation systems, maximally adjusted to the needs of individual customers. Are there spheres, which you “cover” fully, taking into account the fact that there are more and more companies appearing in Armenia, which work by universal schemes, for instance, international reporting standards.

- What you say in our case can be referred to chains of drugstores, supermarkets, trade complexes and restaurants. Today we already lead in the sphere of automation of supermarkets and have big achievements in automation of drugstores, pawnshops, etc.

The matter is more complex with production enterprises, where the software program should strictly meet the specificity of the company and here one cannot apply model solutions. The main advantage of “AcTrade – Production” is calculation of planned and factual prime cost of a unit of product and distribution of factual general economic expenses. It is clear that the program for that should be elaborated, taking into account the thorough analysis of the production enterprise activity and its specificity. 

- As far as we know, Armenian enterprises, which have decided to automate their business processes, easily take up cooperation with local IT companies. How does the matter stand as to attracting foreign investors?

- In case with western investors, there is really a big share of distrust towards software support, produced in Armenia. A number of big companies, working in the Armenian market, have purchased automation systems of foreign production for, as far as I know, dozens of thousands of EUR, while we offer the analogous product far cheaper. And the matter is not that much the superiority of the foreign products over our software support, as it is the brand.

Concerning Armenian companies with Russian capital, which make the absolute majority in the structure of foreign investments, here the case is far simpler, since the “nucleus” of our product is elaborated by “1C” Company, which enjoys the trust of the absolute majority of Russian enterprises. The program received big popularity also in CIS countries, in particular, in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

- Which is the timeframe for implementation of automation systems in companies?

- Fastest of all is the automation of trade. For instance, we automate trade of a supermarket within a few days. Automation of accounting takes a little longer, since in order to use the program, they need minimum knowledge of accounting. The cost of the program includes training of employees, who, after 10-15 classes, may independently carry out the accounting of the enterprise.

In case of production automation, the matter is more difficult, and, depending on the specificity of the customer, it can take up to a few months.

- “AcTrade-Soft” was among Armenian participants of the third regional conference on innovations in the sphere of information technologies – GITI, which took place in Tbilisi on November 10-12. What are the results of your participation in the conference? Do you consider the prospect of providing services abroad?

- In Tbilisi, we met with leading Georgian companies in the sphere of business automation on the platform of 1C. Those are “Arzi”, “DeltaSystems”, “IBS” Companies. With the latter we discussed a joint project, the work over which we hope to start within a month.

Georgian market of business automation is quite attractive: we consider the opportunity of opening our branch there. I believe that “AcTrade-Soft” will be able to occupy a deserved place in the Georgian market as well.