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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The Deal magazine runs a story on Cisco preparing to launch a new VC fund aimed at technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe, with commentary on the deal from Alexei Miller, Executive VP at DataArt.
Cisco is teaming on the initiative with 3TS Capital Partners Ltd., a private equity and venture capital firm with offices in Budapest, Prague, Vienna Warsaw and Bucharest, Romania, and said it will make the anchor investment in the new $44 million 3TS Cisco Growth Fund III fund. From a private equity perspective, according to Cisco, Eastern Europe is “probably a little more advanced than Russia”.
"In a sense the entrepreneurial spirit has always been there, but the social and economic environment was not always nurturing," added Alexei Miller, executive vice president of DataArt Enterprises Inc., a software development company that has offices in Russia and Ukraine. "Today there's an opportunity for more innovation and more investment."
The story has been picked up by The New York Times: view article
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.
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.
Read the whole story in DataArt Corporate News
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.
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.
