Documentolog: The Phenomenon

Reports are like those from a battlefield: "The server market has collapsed by 44%", "The personal computer market in Kazakhstan has fallen by 55%". It seems there is no end to this negativity. Tentative hints that we might soon find the bottom for the long-suffering IT market have yet to materialize. We did not mention these figures for nothing. Despite the fact that the IT market in Kazakhstan is under the grip of pessimism, there are companies that not only adequately responded to the challenges posed by the market but are also successfully developing even in these difficult conditions.

The main currency in IT is expertise

In the conditions that the global economy finds itself in (the "new normal"), characterized by a decrease in business margins even in previously high-margin segments, such as natural resource extraction, digital transformation can become a panacea.

However, it is clear that success will only occur under one condition – if the executor of the IT project has sufficient competencies for its implementation. In other words, when choosing a partner, the client should focus on the following questions: the cost of the project, the presence of sufficient competencies in the executor, the size of the pool of successful projects, how quickly projects are implemented, and how accurately they meet the client's requirements. Otherwise, the client will end up with an epic fail story instead of a success story.

Are there companies in Kazakhstan that are ready to answer these questions? Undoubtedly, there are. One of them is Newinttech with the electronic document management system Documentolog.

The numbers don’t lie – 100% successful implementations

The fact that Newinttech – the developer of the Kazakh electronic document management system Documentolog – is doing well is confirmed by the most impartial witnesses – the numbers. In the ranking of leading IT companies in Kazakhstan by RAEX ("Expert RA Kazakhstan"), Newinttech ranked seventh with a revenue of 317 million tenge in 2014. In 2015, the company improved its position in the ranking by 2 points with a revenue of 436 million tenge. Today, the EDMS "Documentolog" occupies about 30% of the corporate market in Kazakhstan, which can be considered a significant success for the Kazakh IT market. Among its clients are the largest companies in Kazakhstan – the flagships of the economy: JSC "NUH "Baiterek", JSC "NAC Kazatomprom", JSC NC "Samruk-Energo", the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan "Atameken", JSC "NIH Zerde", JSC "National Information Technologies", JSC "Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund", JSC "Zhilstroysberbank", the Directorate of the "State Center for Pension Payments", the Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and so on. Every day, more than 30,000 users in 120 companies in Kazakhstan use the Documentolog system. It is clear that no other Kazakh software product has such a "success story". Let’s take a look at the components of the project's success.

100% successful implementations

At Newinttech, they take particular pride in the fact that 100% of Documentolog implementations are successful. "We do not spread ourselves thin on custom development, we know our business well, our product is functionally rich, has an intuitive interface, and is easy to master even for untrained users," says Yernat Asanov, Deputy General Director for Technology at Newinttech LLP. "All our implementations are publicly available on the company’s website (Documentolog.kz – editor's note). These are complete and detailed documents that allow you to verify the professionalism of our team," he specifies.

Indeed, the indicator is outstanding: according to The Standish Group International, in 2014, nearly 53% of IT projects worldwide faced problems during development that significantly affected duration, budget, quality, and subsequently led to changes in previously planned goals and expected results. More than 31% of projects were even stopped and not completed.

"In Kazakhstan, there are examples of implementing foreign EDMS that cannot be called successful. We analyzed these projects and found that one of the reasons is ideology. Western systems have specific features that are not always clear to users in the post-Soviet space. They are good platforms, there are no complaints about them, but when it comes to implementation, that’s where the problems begin – customization, project development – this is a very labor-intensive and expensive process," notes Yernat Asanov.

According to him, any company is a living organism, and therefore, the system will need to be supported throughout its entire life cycle. "A system that is expensive in itself has a correspondingly high support cost. We always recommend partners to look at the process from this perspective," he adds.

Import substitution in the software industry

"Documentolog is built on an open database PostgreSQL, and it does not use any expensive proprietary technologies. This allows us to offer a very competitive price," says the Deputy General Director for Technology at Newinttech LLP. Today, there are two models for using Documentolog – licenses ("Standard" - 23,000 tenge and "Professional" - 40,000 tenge) and SaaS. "We are very flexible – the project price can vary significantly in favor of the client. Moreover, we already have 22 clients working under the SaaS model – starting from 1,800 tenge per workplace per month. There is also interest from clients in the PaaS model," notes the Deputy General Director for Technology at Newinttech LLP.

It should be noted that the company has gone even further in developing the SaaS model: on the specialized website doc24.kz, any company can get free access to the SaaS version of "Documentolog" completely free of charge.

The closest competitors significantly lag behind Documentolog in terms of price. "We are several times cheaper than our competitors, not to mention that we are a domestic system that fully complies with the requirements of Kazakh legislation," says Yernat Asanov.

Speed of implementation

There is another pleasant feature in "Documentolog" – the system is already pre-configured, including for personnel management, internal document management, and project document management. This is why implementation happens very quickly. "There is one more point," says the Deputy General Director for Technology at Newinttech LLP. Our client does not just buy some boxed solution that they will have to "fine-tune" themselves; they also purchase many years of qualification and expertise from Newinttech." On average, project implementation takes up to 2 months, and for SaaS projects, even less – 1 month.

Support

Warranty support, which includes updates for up to 9 months, is included in the product price. Technical support is from 15% of the total project implementation cost. By the way, support in "Documentolog" is fully automated. It is enough to submit a request on the website, and it is immediately taken into work.

70% of the electronic document management market in Kazakhstan and demand abroad

The company looks to the future with optimism. "We intend to capture up to 70% of the electronic document management market in the republic," shares Yernat Asanov's plans.

According to him, the demand for Documentolog is also forming beyond Kazakhstan. "Technologically, in terms of maturity, our product not only does not lag behind foreign analogs but also surpasses them. There are several inquiries from Russia, but we approach this issue cautiously – any entry into foreign markets is a large business project, it carries risks, and we are currently studying these opportunities," he summarizes.

Not just "Documentolog"

This year, the company is launching a new unique project – the Kazakh Center for Electronic Document Exchange. The center aims to realize the potential of electronic digital signatures, primarily to facilitate and radically reduce costs for external document circulation. As part of this project, all Documentolog client companies will be offered free integration with the KTSOED and, accordingly, the ability to interact with their counterparties electronically. "We offer to increase the speed of document exchange from days to two minutes. Can you imagine how significant the economic effect can be? If the company is large, we are talking about tens of millions of tenge," reveals Yernat Asanov.