DataArt continues to support academic initiatives in Russia, and was the general sponsor of the Fifth Annual all-Russia Informatics Olympiad in the city of Voronezh, where the company has an R&D center.
Over 700 students from 37 Russian cities took part in the annual competition, with 44 Voronezh students advancing to the second round. The top winners were students from St. Petersburg State Institute of Advanced Mechanics & Optics, Saratov State University and Taganrog Technology Institute respectively. The competition was organized as part of a wider government initiative to foster creative thinking and nurture new talent in the field of information technology.
“The IT Olympics is a great testament to our commitment to cultivating talent and providing conditions for its advancement. I’m certain this tradition has a great future, and DataArt will remain its dedicated supporter,” said Mikhael Fedorov, head of DataArt Voronezh office.
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DataArt hosted a second event in the series of Financial Technology Executive Seminars at Harvard club, dedicated to expediting time-to-market as an essential element for successful software development in capital markets. The panel, comprised of leading industry executives and moderated by Alain Sherter of The Deal magazine, drew in an impressive audience, and was followed by cocktails and networking.
All panelists agreed that assembling the right team is one of the key factors in assuring a fast vision-implementation product cycle. Alexei Miller, Executive Vice President at DataArt, noted that the team’s ability to adapt and change, to learn new ways of conducting business according to market needs are critical for mid-size companies.
George Kledaras, CEO of CecilRep, advised against perfectionism. Trying to get a 100% ready product is likely to result in an outdated product, thus if software is 90% ready, it might be a good time to begin testing it with end users. He suggested setting up a fast and frequent turn around feedback cycle, which would allow users to react to even smallest new details.
Greg Besner, CEO of Restricted Stock Systems (RSS), added that engaging first-time clients in providing constructive feedback, and positioning them as partners who have a right to contribute to the architecture of the product, proved a successful tactic for his company, which was recently acquired. John Eley, former CEO of HotSpotFX, suggested spending more time with end users on preparing and envisioning the product, before launching actual development efforts.
Atish Nigam of FTVentures addressed the role of venture capitalists (VCs) in new product development, pointing that they are an excellent force at setting the discipline and defining performance matrix that helps the teams with tracking their progress and remaining on target. At the same time, Atish noted that it’s wise to delay getting venture money as much as possible. In order to receive a fair valuation from investors, a company needs to already have first client installations and a proven business model.
The panelists were asked if outsourcing can effectively facilitate new product development, and several aspects were addressed. Alexei Miller noted that companies which view themselves as experts in sales and marketing are more likely to outsource all or parts of their R&D, while companies that view themselves as engineering/technology experts do so less often.
George Kledaras mentioned that communication processes and domain expertise have been highlighted as the key factors to successful outsourcing of software development, especially in the framework of agile development that is becoming so critical in today’s software world. He also noted that outsourcing is no longer about finding a cheap labor, but it is more about finding the best talent for the job. With only 5% of U.S. college graduates receiving their degrees is computer science and engineering, many software development firms are forced to look for talent overseas, with India, China and Russia producing hundreds of thousands of engineering graduates annually.
In conclusion, the panelists agreed that evaluating effectiveness of outsourcing in software R&D should not be done on a stand-alone basis. Return on investment (ROI) for multiple business initiatives should be measured first, and only then the contribution of outsourcing towards reaching desired ROI should be evaluated.
Eric Karpman, Vice President at BNY Mellon Asset Management has joined DataArt Advisory Board. This addition signifies DataArt’s maturing presence in the financial technology space, especially on the U.S. East Coast. Mr. Karpman will help DataArt with further expanding its expertise base, as he brings over 15 years of financial industry experience to the table.
"Karpman’s expertise in Capital Markets is truly impressive. He has a terrific recognition in the industry," said Michael Zaitsev, CEO of DataArt. "He believes in DataArt’s differentiation as a new breed of an outsourcing player with a deep expertise in the financial industry. All of the above makes him an exceptional advisor for DataArt."
Karpman has worked on the equity trading sell-side at Fuji Bank, on the fixed income trading sell-side at JJKennyDrake trading unit of Standard & Poor's, on various trading desks at Bear Stearns as well as on the buy-side at his current position with BNY Asset Management. In 2004, Eric was elected a Co-Chair of the FIX Protocol Technical Committee where he is involved with the future direction and the strategy of this messaging standard developed specifically for the real-time electronic exchange of securities transactions.
In addition, Eric has taught various technology and business-oriented courses at a number of colleges and universities in New York. He holds BA in Economics from The City University of New York, a Masters and a Ph.D. in Computer Science, and is an Executive M.B.A. candidate in Finance at the New York University Stern School of Business. He also holds NASD Series 7 and 63 Licenses.
DataArt COO Mikhail Zavileysky was a distinguished speaker at the 2007 Ukrainian Outsourcing Forum (UOF), where he lead a business seminar entitled Alternative Business Models for Market Competition.
Zavileysky discussed proven business models that allowed DataArt to become one of the leaders among Eastern European providers, with 14 consecutive quarters of organic growth, which include human capital management, investment strategies and CRM & networking as means for increasing market penetration.
The sold out presentation also addressed investment strategies of different providers, as well management and protection of assets. Zavileysky illustrated his points with case studies from DataArt history, including successful crisis management during the Internet crash; creation of Mail.ru, the largest online portal in Eastern Europe, and further expansion into key verticals through the expert use of business networking and CRM systems.
“DataArt has been represented in the Urkaine for less than a year, thus it is imperative for us to keep a hand on the pulse of Ukrainian outsourcing,” said Mikhail Zavileysky, DataArt COO. “We were thrilled that our colleagues found our ideas relevant and case studies worthy, and appreciate their invaluable input on organizational and technology practices. Special thanks go to representatives of Microsoft, who are true facilitators of developing the industry’s ecosystem.”
The objectives of The Annual Ukrainian Outsourcing Forum 2007 in Kiev are to boost the market for software development and outsourcing services, to discuss global trends in IT markets, and to address current issues in the outsourcing arena.
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HedgeSpeed Technology, LLC selected DataArt Inc. as a strategic software engineering partner in order to deliver the first comprehensive suite of Middle Office Liquidity Management solutions for hedge funds.
HedgeSpeed focuses on creating unique tools that optimize the entire portfolio finance process. The company's flagship application tracks and analyzes stock borrow function from locates to detailed cost of carry. Additional systems include margin determination, cash control and derivatives contract management. The DataArt team will provide HedgeSpeed with supplemental high-end software engineering services utilizing their advanced systems development lifecycle and large-scale virtual cooperative approach.
Partnership with DataArt created a symbiotic relationship between a high-end software development firm with engineers in Russia and the Ukraine, and a visionary CEO and industry veteran, John DiRocco, former CFO of Citadel. HedgeSpeed offers a concept that didn’t exist in the marketplace to date: that of a single middle office platform incorporating stock locate, borrows, swaps, margin and cash management. There is no portfolio finance system on the market that was built be hedge fund professionals, catering directly to the needs of hedge funds.
DataArt compliments HedgeSpeed's internal development team by providing specialized integration and testing services. “DataArt was chosen for its unique offering among offshore software vendors: deep expertise in the Alternative Asset Management space, which was critical in HedgeSpeed's selection process,” said John DiRocco, CEO of HedgeSpeed.
"DataArt represents the new breed of offshore outsourcing - a combination of advanced IT talent, reasonable cost and deep industry-specific expertise,” said Alexei Miller, Executive Vice President and Head of Financial Technology at DataArt. “We are proud of the financial training program we've built at our offshore engineering centers and we are thrilled to see that the market appreciates it. A chance to serve HedgeSpeed and their blue-chip Hedge Fund clients is the best validation of our model."
