The Current Focus is On Comprehensive Solutions

Sergey Cherkasov, CIO, PhosAgro

Businesses worldwide face the need to create dispatching systems and enable online monitoring of production. Also, extracting and delivering information from these systems into corporate intelligence analytics programs is equally important. Organizations depend upon automatic systems for facilitating these requirements. Talking about the benefits of such a process, firms are empowered to arrive at decisions by utilizing timely information. Besides, there is accumulation of statistics for analysis of performance indicators based on production data.

Between 2011 and 2013, PhosAgro has successfully implemented several projects aimed at achieving these goals. We depend on service providers to provide solutions that allow us to collect information from equipments, machinery, or employees at production sites and then transfer the data to situation or system control areas.

Considering information systems, their primary function is to help reduce costs associated with providing information, and to present solutions enabling processes to work across functional areas. We can obtain such solutions through technology vendors, and any issues surfacing during their implementation are capable of impacting the business process.

The Industry Calls for Comprehensive Solutions
Despite the advancement in technology, the industry has more room for improvement. One of the most pressing issues has to do with enabling mobility for users, especially for management, while maintaining information security and minimizing the risks related to unsanctioned access to information. Several initiatives like BYOD are coming up, and people are spending time experimenting on them. However, despite their emergence, the sector still remains deficient with respect to comprehensive solutions that address all our requirements.

Trends Reshaping the Industry
Finding qualified and competent suppliers is inevitable for successful execution of long-term and technically challenging projects. The advent in Information Technology has been supportive and progressive in the selection of right suppliers. Many of our plans for 2014 revolve around initiatives on information technology. There are several IT tools getting introduced that can support sales based on analysis of customer preferences, indicating enormous potential for interplay between business and IT. Another trend we are carefully following is the new functionality that is offered within the framework of our Oracle E-Business Suite ERP platform.

Today’s CIOs have to Be Different
The present requirements for CIOs are different as opposed to the earlier days. Over the years, the process of decision making has become quite faster. Moreover, the current industry undergoes changes at a rapid phase. It is no longer enough to offer standard applications; instead, you are required to keep pace with the dynamically changing environment and latest business initiatives. Today’s CIOs have to effectively counter these challenges.

As an advice, I would put the emphasis on effective collaboration with directors across different functional areas, as it could contribute greatly to preparing and executing your company’s key initiatives. (As told to Benita M).