CBOSS: Success formula

Interview: Kseniya Perekuskina

CBOSS Association is an international corporation with headquarters in Moscow, represented both in Russia and abroad. According to «RostBusinessConsulting» ratings and «Profile» magazine, CBOSS is the largest Russian software manufacturer, leading in the Russian segment of IT telecommunication market. Results of 2003 placed CBOSS among 300 largest Russian companies (RBC rating).
CBOSS mainly focuses on original software development, supply of complex integrated hardware/software solutions, including hardware and system software, staff training, consulting, implementation and technical support. There are already 781 CBOSS solutions installed. 142 telecom operators successfully operate them in 20 countries on 4 continents. CBOSS technologies provide service to more than 46 million subscribers. Almost every second telecom customer is served by CBOSS solutions. Andrey Morozov, CBOSS Chief Executive Officer, speaks on the history and staffing policy of the company.

Gid Molodogo Specialista (Young Specialist’s Guide), # 4(11), October 2004

KP: When did you realize for the first time that telecommunication software production was the market segment in which you could successfully develop and build such a large company as CBOSS? How it developed under your management?

AM: CBOSS Association was registered in 2002; however, this was just a formal registration of the already formed group of companies integrated in common manufacturing and marketing cycle. Actually CBOSS basis was formed as early as in 1992, when we — a group of programmers — began to work in MCC (Moscow Cellular Communications). This was one of the first cellular companies in Russia, and it was our team that created on of the first billing systems for it… That was how it started. Then came the understanding that the telecom market, being born before our eyes and with our participation, has really immense prospects. At the same time we realized that we ARE ABLE and KNOW HOW to develop systems not inferior, but even superior to foreign products; to set the most daring goals and achieve them. We created an independent company to produce and support the marketable, flexible, scalable and replicable system. The fist Russian customer appeared in 1997 (SMARTS, the GSM operator in Samara that had 800 subscribers at the moment). Further there appeared more clients. MTS became our forth customer. The first installations abroad, in CIS, was accomplished in 1999 (Georgian operator Ceocell and Byelorussian operator BelCell). It the same 1999 we had the first corporate stand at the Global GSM international exhibition-forum in Cannes. In 2003 we got the first customer abroad. It was Lao-Asia Telecom, a Laotian operator. Now our installation geography comprises over 20 countries on four continents! Our company has grown almost 100 times by now. We came a long way beginning with a small group of programmers, and now we are an international corporation with subdivisions in Russia and abroad. We started with one product — the billing system — and now we have 44 products — the widest range in our market segment on the international market.
CBOSS developed from a commercial firm into a socially responsible company, regulated by national and state interests when developing its business concept. For instance, the contract under which we were to supply our systems to telecom operators of Laotian Republic was the first Russian-Laotian agreement after almost an 11-year break! We’ve made our modest contribution to the fact that Russia is famous not only as petrol and weapons exporter, but also as a supplier of information technologies, high-tech intelligent products.

KP: How did the company manage to reach such results? What is the CBOSS success formula?

AM: Our formula is: Success = staff + management system + up-to-date manufacturing base. Our main assets are people. Our specialists develop products of the highest quality, often superior to foreign analogues by its quality characteristics.
The automated management information system is another constituent of CBOSS success. We ourselves deploy the system that we offer to our clients. This allows us to objectively evaluate the employees’ potential and the work results. We often meet such a situation: if your boss doesn’t like you, you have to leave the job, and if he does, you will get promotion and good salary, facilities for development, study, etc. We have a constantly improving system of balanced parameters and… billing. The same billing, only in respect to stuff. Billing that objectively accurately and efficiently takes into account different aspects of employees and departments work. And if a talented and active person came to our company, he will get the job without any patronage. Further, if he displays good results and efficiency, the work result registration and management automated system fairly enables his material, career and professional promotion. In order to successfully compete on the international market we have to keep in the first rows of information technologies. Our computer centre is the most powerful among the software developers in Russia and Eastern Europe. CBOSS specialists are trained at certified courses of international manufacturers both in our company and all over the world.

KP: Is the manager personality important for successful company development? What is the professional credo of a successful manager?

AM: The personality of manager, especially of leading company managers is the most important constituent of success. Our reality requires personal responsibility, ability to make solutions. It’s necessary to be competent and to love one’s business. It’s necessary to believe both in oneself and one’s employees. If you are a manager you can never relax: the number if tasks to solve, the amount of work to accomplish is always more than your powers. This must obviously be a business law, the manager’s destiny. Maybe the most important thing is to be stubborn in the good sense of this word, to be able to do anything, even if something seems to be impossible to achieve.

KP: What are CBOSS personnel policy features?

AM: To make Russian products competitive on the international market we have to keep up with scientific and technical progress, to develop dynamically. CBOSS Association employs 20-25 new people every week, mostly youth. We are sure that it is impossible to ensure such dynamic and efficient development by searching the ready-made specialists on the market. Our personnel policy and concept are aimed at developing out stuff both professionally and personally. We select our employees judging by what they have potentially, we create all possible environments for their development providing the intercorporate training system and cooperating with the national education and science systems. We have solid relations with the leading higher education establishments of Moscow, especially with Moscow State University.
The main peculiarity of our personnel policy is that it enables to maximally develop the employees potential. We are interested in professional and career growth of CBOSS employees and try to build the employee rating system so that the growth was based on objective parameters. We have a lot of examples when a stuff member grew to become the department manager from a usual employee.

KP: Why CBOSS is attractive to professionals (level of developments, salary, social protection)?

AM: Stable well-paid job in one’s field, professional, career and personal growth in dynamically developing international corporation working in one of the most important production fields of the new century, complex social package.
I’ve already mentioned that our business geography already comprises 20 countries on four continents and still continues to expand. Many specialists nowadays find it extremely important to use their qualification in the international company. While realizing that we are the Russian software developer that was able to come out to the international market and successfully compete there, adds special excitement, some professional qualification challenge. I assure you that these intangible factors become as important as a good compensation package for specialists of very high qualification. However, my mentioning the compensation package was intentional. In addition to salary, which is more than competitive on the today’s market, our corporation has implemented such forms of employee stimulation as partner institute and the so-called Actions of international achievements. The partner status is confirmed every year. It’s given to employees that displayed the best results and that are selected by a special transparent competition procedure. The partner gets a very good money reward — a share of the company revenue, actually a part of distributed profit. In addition to sharing the company revenue, partners have privileges in competitions on substituting important vacant positions, in using the social package (e. g. housing program), participate in company management. Actions of international achievements are our interior form of «virtual» security papers credited to accounts of employees that were the most successful in CBOSS foreign projects. Here we also employ a system estimating the individual contribution of every employee, and the result is a significant, not virtual addition to salary that depends on the company revenue.

KP: What are the prospects of young CBOSS employees?

AM: They can enjoy all the facilities I mentioned earlier. But the most important thing is that they get a job in their professional field, they realize that they’ve found their place in life, they develop self-assurance. Our stuff is very young; an average employee is 25 years old. And when we speak on creating environment for the youth, we not only mean work, education, professional and career environment, but also facilities for healthy recreation. Not so many companies can say they have their own recreation center. We have one located at the Seliger resort region. We also have a gym with a workout room. There are several clubs and groups (e. g. club of English language, motorbike club). I also participate in the bike club life with great pleasure, and often exercise in gym. I shouldn’t forget to say about the housing program. Employees from other cities that don’t have their own apartments in Moscow and suburbs receive compensation to cover a part of their expenses on apartment rent. We also build houses for our employees — two blocks of flats are being built in Moscow and suburbs. That’s not just work or business for me and for many CBOSS employees. That’s a team, a way of life and thinking comprising creativity and self-discipline, strenuous work and healthy recreation.