Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialized Partner of the Month: Asteros Group

Since Oracle introduced Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialized in October 2009, the evolved program has provided the avenue for more than 30,000 partners worldwide to better differentiate, and succeed to today’s dynamic marketplace. Asteros Group, headquartered in Moscow, Russia, is one of the earliest Oracle partners to reach the coveted Specialization status. It achieved Oracle Database 11g Specialization in March 2010.

Asteros, which has been an Oracle partner since 2006, is a leader in the Russian IT market with over 1,000 employees. It focuses on IT consulting and the implementation of business applications, as well as security systems, engineering systems and IT outsourcing. According to Chizhov Alexander, Head of Consulting and Developing at Asteros, “We have a strong expertise in core Oracle technologies, but we keep moving and are constantly accumulating new competencies and working with clients to implement new, innovative solutions.”

Valery Nikitin, Vice President, APPS Department Leader at Asteros, says, “The new Oracle Specialized program allows us to coordinate Oracle priorities with our business plans and to specify our own evolution priorities.”

To achieve Oracle Database 11g Specialization status, Asteros had to get a specialist assessment to determine their level of competency in that area . Assessments use globally consistent business and competency criteria that are specific to each area of specialization.

One of Asteros’ most challenging projects where its Oracle Database Specialization status helped the company succeed was with the Unified Energy System in Russia (RAO UES), an energy industry holding company. RAO UES was created to facilitate energy industry reorganization in Russia. Once reorganization was completed RAO UES was disbanded , but it was still critical to maintain access to information resources. Asteros developed the methodology to preserve access utilizing Oracle DBMS technologies. Alexander says, “What was really challenging was the sheer scale and complexity of the project. Information was sourced from 19 separate, geographically distributed systems. Our specialists analyzed data from 22 databases and 194 reports.”

Asteros also has extensive experience with Oracle Identity Management (IDM). The company was one of the first to achieve Oracle IDM competence in Russia and managed one of the largest Oracle IDM implementation projects in Europe. Alexander says, “One of the keys to its success was the Oracle product, itself. Oracle IDM combines the best identity and access management practices worldwide.”

Currently, the company is completing an Oracle IDM implementation at one of the three largest mobile networks in Russia, with about 20,000 employees. The project called for Asteros to implement Oracle IDM in nine regional branches giving employees automatic access to critical information systems without having to involve HR or IT specialists.

Earlier this year, Asteros launched a new Oracle business applications deployment practice to offer applications that are well-known in the Russian market, including Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Siebel, and Oracle Hyperion. Alexander says, “We also see a huge potential for growth in Oracle products that are not yet so widely recognized in Russia, such as Oracle Transportation Management and Oracle Strategic Network Optimization.”

Future plans call for Asteros to achieve Specializations in database security, Oracle Data Warehousing, Oracle Database Performance Tuning, Linux, Database Security, Oracle Enterprise Manager, RAC, and Siebel. The company hopes to achieve Specialization status in two of these areas in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2011.

Asteros’ s Specialization status will undoubtedly help the company succeed in a competitive market. Alexander adds, “To be successful with Oracle Specialization, it’s important to concentrate efforts on Oracle solutions, quickly learn the advantages, and put this knowledge into practice.”

Nikitin says, “The new program has allowed us not only to focus on development perspective competencies, but also has allowed our clients to see that Asteros really is an Oracle Specialized Partner with profound experience, knowledge, and growth potential. That’s why I’m sure that in a year, the efficiency of the new program will be proved by the growth of our business and key indicators, which define the Oracle and Asteros partnership.”