Digital Design
About Digital Design
Since 1992, Digital Design, one of the TOP20 software developers in Russia and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has been enhancing digital transformation of a number of leading companies over the globe creating enterprise software solutions and delivering innovative IT services. Digital Design has had more than 5,000 successful projects for organizations across the industries, including Carlsberg Group, Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, Tetra Pac, Novartis, Knauf, Sberbank, Russian Railways, Gazprom, Prince’s Trust and many others.
Since 1992, Digital Design, one of the TOP20 software developers in Russia and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has been enhancing digital transformation of a number of leading companies over the globe creating enterprise software solutions and delivering innovative IT services. Digital Design has had more than 5,000 successful projects for organizations across the industries, including Carlsberg Group, Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, Tetra Pac, Novartis, Knauf, Sberbank, Russian Railways, Gazprom, Prince’s Trust and many others.
Key Insights
Services & Focus
Industry Focus
Client Focus
Portfolio
Information Resources Integration System for the State Duma of the Russian Federation
A web-portal used by the State Duma of the Russian Federation was outdated and unable to connect data from all its parts in a proper way.
It was needed to implement a system that would consolidate objects from different data sources and afterwards publish everything on the State Duma’s internal web portal. It also had to provide a joint search for data on all information resources such as data in information systems database and system services or data in various file formats.
Digital Design developed the first stage of the information resources integration system of the State Duma using the following software platforms:
• DocsVision (integrated data warehouse implementation);
• .NET and its applications with storage in the MS SQL database (information objects meta description subsystem implementation);
• DocsVision Process Management (batch loading the information about objects to the central data warehouse subsystem implementation);
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (portal publishing layer implementation).
One of the peculiarities of the new system that was reached due to the multitier architecture of building publication modules is ability to use any other platform as a publication portal.
There are three main modules in the system:
• a universal module for publishing a list of objects with a filtering option;
• a universal portlet for publishing object cards;
• an object search portlet for all information resources.
In order to format all the information to a single presentation template before being published on the portal, the framework of the integration layer of the system was introduced.
The Information resources integration system enhanced the quality of information support for the State Duma activities and gave complete, timely, and consistent information to the Intranet portal users. It also simplified information support processes due to the decrease in time for searching, preparing, and obtaining the necessary information.
Developing a Tender Management Platform for RBI
Severstal PJSC is one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies. It owns major industrial facilities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Poland, Italy, and Liberia. The company exports about 40% of its products and employs more than 50 000 employees.
Many of Severstal’s employees work remotely. The main problem was a lack of quick access to internal information and employee’s anticipation in corporate culture. To make communication more efficient both on vertical and horizontal levels the desired solution had to do the following:
• include employees without permanent access to a computer in a single information and service space of the company providing them with mobile access to the personal account in SAP, corporate media, surveys, and document storage;
• increase awareness and the involvement of Severstal employees;
• increase the interactivity of internal communications by participating in surveys, commenting on articles in the media using mobile devices.
Digital Design solved those tasks by developing a mobile app “Severstal info” for IOS, Android and Windows devices. The app provided employees with access to news, a corporate newspaper, the Severstal-TV program and personal account. Moreover it gave employees an opportunity to participate in surveys, and conduct work meetings.
In 2018 we developed a second version of “Severstal-info” which became more user- interactive.
• Users have got access to the SAP platform, where an employee can work with his data, edit it, use the address book, ask questions to the management, plan and approve vacation breaks and business trips, and keep a timesheet.
• The Surveys section enables one to quickly find out the opinion of employees on current issues on the corporate agenda.
• The Documents section enables one to view presentations and documents for monthly work meetings. This functionality was in demand both by meetings participants and by employees who were unable to attend.
To increase efficiency and save traffic, employees can add articles and news to the “favorites” item and work with content in offline mode.
The functionality of the “Severtal info 2.0” gave employees full access to the company’s information space and ability to work on tasks and receive operational feedback. Currently, more than 5,000 employees of Severstal use the mobile app developer by Digital Design.
Mobile Information Portal Development for Severstal
Severstal PJSC is one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies. It owns major industrial facilities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Poland, Italy, and Liberia. The company exports about 40% of its products and employs more than 50 000 employees.
Many of Severstal’s employees work remotely. The main problem was a lack of quick access to internal information and employee’s anticipation in corporate culture. To make communication more efficient both on vertical and horizontal levels the desired solution had to do the following:
• include employees without permanent access to a computer in a single information and service space of the company providing them with mobile access to the personal account in SAP, corporate media, surveys, and document storage;
• increase awareness and the involvement of Severstal employees;
• increase the interactivity of internal communications by participating in surveys, commenting on articles in the media using mobile devices.
Digital Design solved those tasks by developing a mobile app “Severstal info” for IOS, Android and Windows devices. The app provided employees with access to news, a corporate newspaper, the Severstal-TV program and personal account. Moreover it gave employees an opportunity to participate in surveys, and conduct work meetings.
In 2018 we developed a second version of “Severstal-info” which became more user- interactive.
• Users have got access to the SAP platform, where an employee can work with his data, edit it, use the address book, ask questions to the management, plan and approve vacation breaks and business trips, and keep a timesheet.
• The Surveys section enables one to quickly find out the opinion of employees on current issues on the corporate agenda.
• The Documents section enables one to view presentations and documents for monthly work meetings. This functionality was in demand both by meetings participants and by employees who were unable to attend.
To increase efficiency and save traffic, employees can add articles and news to the “favorites” item and work with content in offline mode.
The functionality of the “Severtal info 2.0” gave employees full access to the company’s information space and ability to work on tasks and receive operational feedback. Currently, more than 5,000 employees of Severstal use the mobile app developer by Digital Design.
Rolling Stock Tracking System for Stora Enso
Stora Enso is a Finish company which specialises on pulp, paper production and other forest products. It was ranked seventh in the world by sales and fourth by earnings, among forest, paper and packaging industry companies.
Stora Enso invited Digital design to develop a custom Rolling Stock Tracking System because we have a rich experience working with transport companies and in developing transport systems. We offered a solution which allows to upload data about location and condition of trains and cars directly form the information agency to the central data warehouse.
Developed Rolling Stock Tracking System capabilities:
• determining the exact location of the car, tracking the movement history, and identifying when the car arrived;
• finding information about every car and repairs performed;
• tracking cargo information about goods transported in the car: their weight, shippers, etc.;
• working with a rolling stock or with separate cars as well as requesting information about all cars of a train.
The system also provides analysis capabilities. For example, a user can easily find out the number of car loading, the number of repair days, the car turnover and the average travel time. The system also predicts potential delays and checks route compliance. For instance, in critical situations the system can notify employees about following warnings:
• Car delays above normal. It helps to reduce delays.
• Car sent to the wrong station. It helps to make sure that the route is consistent and reduce the misuse of wagons consequently.
• Loading the cargo unrelated to the company’s profile. It ensures that the company’s rolling stock is used properly and helps to identify situations when a Stora Enso’s car is used by a transport service provider to serve other companies.
Moreover, the system allows to save historical data about repairs, set repair standards and schedule preventive maintenance and repairs. The system also informs users when repairs are needed to be performed.
Corporate Portal Development for Federal Freight Company
JSC Federal Freight Company is a highly developed freight railway operator in Russia. It specialises on the provision of rolling stock for freight shipments, as well as the provision of integrated transport and forwarding services. Federal Freight Company JSC is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways JSC.
The company’s task was to create a convenient and efficient corporate portal to enhance information sharing and collaboration between employees of the organization. The structure and content of the future intranet were collected by the corporate communications department of Federal Freight. The company also developed the concept of the original portal design. As a technical solution the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 platform was chosen to develop a corporate portal.
The goals set to the corporate portal were the following:
• to create a shared knowledge base for the company;
• to create a universal tool for internal communications;
• to provide a consolidated information management in the company;
• to allow quick access to up-to-date work information for company employees;
• to maintain the interaction of all company departments on a high level.
About 3,000 employees of the Federal Freight from offices in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan use the portal permanently. The portal itself has the following services:
• information desk: news feeds, media reviews, schedule of exhibitions, conferences and seminars, reviewing publications about the company in the media, etc.;
• corporate communications: corporate newspaper, internal events calendar, corporate documents sharing, surveys and competitions conduction;
• information about employees: convenient and comprehensive directory of employees, calendar of employees’ birthdays, honour board;
• sports events: an overview of sports events held in the company (football games schedule, team history, players, photo and video gallery, etc.);
• corporate section: official information about the company, its awards, social programs, and measures for labor protection.
The intranet automates various processes and implements nodes of various departments, including the trade Union, security, IT and marketing, branches as well as representative offices. UX- specialists involvement made it possible to create an interface that meets all the users’ needs.
Project statistics:
• 3,000 users;
• Central office, 14 branches, and 2 representative offices;
• 2000 regulatory and administrative documents;
• Over 1000 visits daily.
Outsourcing User Support for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company launched its first production in Russia in the year 2002. As the demand for cars was continually growing, it was essential to expand its production capacities and establish second and third work shifts. IT operations were also increasing and took a lot of effort from IT department. Therefore, it was necessary to provide full support to users within existing limited resources. Our high expertise in supporting and maintaining information systems was key for collaboration.
We managed to organize the user support service, built the service process and prepared documentation. Outsourcing HelpDesk to Digital Design helped Ford to:
• reduce the downtime of the IS and the number of failures by organizing the maintenance process more efficiently;
• increase user satisfaction with IT services;
• make the IS maintenance process more manageable and transparent for cost accounting;
• focus the efforts of the company’s IT staff on the tasks of planning and developing information systems;
• reduce the cost of searching, selecting, and training non-key business professionals;
• use the experience of solving similar tasks accumulated by an external company.
The HelpDesk outsourcing contract implied signing the Service Level Agreement (SLA), which allowed monitoring the service’s performance at all stages according to pre-defined criteria and metrics. It included the following parameters:
• term of the agreement;
• service time;
• The territory of service;
• service objects;
• types of queries served;
• response time;
• metrics for evaluating the quality of service activities;
• parameters for weekly (monthly) reports on the service’s activities;
• order of meetings;
• payments.
Every 6 months the surveys were conducted which showed high user satisfaction with the service, response time, competence and level of knowledge of the service staff, politeness, and clarity of answers.
Every week, the service employees, together with representatives of the Ford IT Department, held meetings to determine the tasks for the next week and discuss the results of the past week. An extended meeting of representatives of the Ford Motor company and Digital Design was held every month to review the results of the HelpDesk service.
Partner’s Workplace Portal Development for RBI Holding
Through 24 years of operation RBI Construction Holding has built a network of reliable agencies and agents to collaborate with and maintain high sales rates. To provide agents, heads of agencies and employees with better interaction tools and to reinforce partner loyalty to the company RBI’s management decided to develop a single information hub, the Partner’s Workplace Portal (RAMPA).
Digital Design created a solution based on Telerik SiteFinity 9.0 content management system. This platform makes the portal flexible, scalable and easily extensible via ASP.Net MVC by Microsoft. The portal provides agents with online reservation system and a database with full information about the real estate facilities. Over the two years, the portal’s capabilities have been being expanded from a knowledge base to a fully-fledged, convenient-to-use management tool for the main stakeholders of the project.
The project itself consisted of three stages:
1. Information System. Digital Design’s specialists started developing the portal at the end of 2015. By March, the portal was put into commercial operation. One of the most important tasks to be solved at the first stage was integrating the portal with a warehouse management system 1C, a CRM system and RBI Business School.
2. Improvements. Digital Design team continued working on the project six months after the portal was set into operation, aiming at implementing new functional modules and improving the main tool, the property finder. The advanced search criteria for choosing an apartment were added and the methodology for creating client presentations was enhanced, the price range settings became more flexible.
3. Management. Finally, the new platform, “Head of Agency Workplace”, was developed. Every head of partner agency received rights to process applications, control employees’ actions and exclude resigned employees. From now on, they could also generate reports about employees’ actions in the system. RBI Holding employees could get reports on the agencies’ actions. The Team also implemented a module allowing a manager to receive notifications about the actions of his agency’s employees and reservation deadlines by email or via Telegram messenger.
As of August 2017, 5,000 users were registered on the portal, with an average of 400 unique visitors per day.
Automated Performance Management System for Mariinsky Theatre
Digital Design was requested to develop the Automated Performance Management System – a useful tool for automating the repertoire planning process for the Mariinsky Theater.
The system was designed to improve the quality of theater management and to facilitate managing production, demonstration and certification of performances. It consists of a unified database of technical data on performances and tools for managing artists’ schedules, planning and conducting touring activities. This solution allowed the Theater to plan its performances, rehearsals, installation work and touring. It also helped the Mariinsky Theater to keep track of the performances and props costs.
The quality of the Mariinsky Theater management enhanced a lot after introducing the Automated Performance Management System:
• The interaction of Theater divisions while creating new productions and demonstrating the current repertoire was optimized;
• The amount of manual repetitive tasks (e.g. preparing performance demonstrations, planning the repertoire, rehearsals and artist schedules) was reduced;
• Management of new productions and demonstration of performances of the current repertoire became more efficient due to a more rational use of the creative potential of the art, technical and administrative divisions of the Mariinsky Theater;
• The system collects all detailed information on performances and maintains the archive, which is important for saving the history of the theater.
The system is available as a desktop and a web-application. The Windows application is implemented using Microsoft Windows Forms, Microsoft .NET Framework, MS SQL 2005 and MS Reporting Services. The web application uses ASP.NET technology based on MS IIS and Microsoft .NET Framework.
Implementing Areopad, the Board Management Software, to ChelPipe Group
Chelpipe Group, a well-known Russian group of steel-production companies, attracted Digital Design to develop a high-performance and secure board portal platform and collaboration solution for boards and senior executives.
We introduced ChelPipe with our product called “Areopad” which is designed to optimize offline and online board meeting processes and is available as a mobile application and a web client.
The Areopad mobile app allows board members and meeting participants to vote, read papers, comment on documents, and view the meeting results directly in the application. The system’s web client, the secretaries’ workplace, has all the functions needed to prepare a meetings:
• scheduling a meeting;
• attaching files;
• inviting participants;
• collecting the voting results;
• preparing a draft protocol;
• attaching the final protocol to the meeting materials.
Areopad optimized the processes of conducting offline and online meetings, made it more convenient to work with documents and materials on mobile and tablet devices, and provided faster file sharing. Our specialists brought the system interface in line with the corporate style and introduced individual document templates. Moreover, the application was integrated seamlessly with other ChelPipe’s corporate IT-solutions to make it easier for employees to get used to new application in their environment.
Web Portal for The State Chancellery of Georgia
The State Chancellery of Georgia was aimed at switching to paperless collaboration within the Governmental Body.
Digital Design team implemented paperless interaction in the processes of preparing and conducting meetings held by the State Chancellery of Georgia due to the automation of basic document processing procedures.
We also developed the system’s architecture and interface and created personal workspaces for Ministers on the web portal.
All in all, the system is used by 100 people on three languages: Georgian, Russian, and English.
BPM system implementation for Johnson&Johnson
Johnson&Jonson, the world’s leading manufacturer of healthcare products, as well as a developer of medical devices and a provider of pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods, cooperated with Digital Design on the project of implementing a BPM system
During the project we carried out the following work:
• Service-oriented architecture development to integrate DocsVision, Microsoft SharePoint Portal and Microsoft Office InfoPath;
• Cloud technologies implementation: Unified archiving service deployment as a part of the company’s portal solution;
• Full-text search capability and user access management system;
• Business process control framework and completed requests reporting service;
• Recommendations on the use of hardware and software services depending on the estimated number of concurrently active users and the workload intensity;
• Training for key employees (40+).
By using the BPM system we managed to increase the overall efficiency of internal business processes. It was achieved through:
• Automation of decision-making for corporate requests processing;
• Reduction of the request process cycle time;
• Optimization of an internal communication process flow;
• Localization of corporate governance standards.
BPM Automation for Novartis AG
Novartis AG, one of the biggest global pharmaceutical companies, cooperated with Digital design to conduct a project on supporting the full-featured system operation both on laptops and other devices in order to increase mobility and efficiency of field staff. The main goals of the project were:
• increase the efficiency of document management;
• improve the quality of document movement control, eliminate the loss of individual parts of the approval chain, and provide control at each level of execution;
• fasten bringing tasks to the executors;
• reduce time spent on searching for needed information;
• reduce the cost of processing documents and generating reports for specified intervals.
The offered solution was based on Microsoft technologies stack: Microsoft SQL Server was used as the Database Management System, user interfaces were implemented in the SharePoint environment using ASP.NET. The combination of the technologies led to the desired effect and made it possible for Novartis to change settings independently without development team from outside.
Overall, the following applications were implemented for Novartis:
• iContractManagement – contract documents agreement;
• iInvoicing – financial documents registration and payment tracking;
• iPreboarding – submission and processing of applications for hiring new employees;
• iFTP – for interaction with doctors as part of scientific and educational activities, covering the full cycle from contracting to payment;
• iTravel – travel requests processing.
Information Systems integration for Cubio
Cubio Communications required a dedicated development center for updating its mobile billing system, as well as providing new software solutions development, technical support and information systems maintenance. For that, two contracts with Digital Design were signed in 2004.
Digital Design successfully developed a number of solutions for Cubio including Declined Credit Card Billing System, Consolidated Credit Card Billing and Loss Prevention System, back-end of SuperTEL corporate Website, Wholesale Business Management Facility, as well as a completely revised Telecommunications Billing System.
As part of consulting services, Digital Design implemented new apps within the existing billing system, including developing, installing, and supporting new software. The Dedicated Development Team now provides technical support and consulting services within the Cubio’s billing system.
All in all, Cubio Communications received robust products and support, improved market position by providing new types of services to its customers and optimizing billing related expenses and increased customer satisfaction.
Corporate Portal Development for Carlsberg Group
The Baltic Beverages Holding of Carlsberg A/S together with Digital Design team were to create and implement a corporate intranet that could connect four major companies of the holding and provide tools for employees working on cross-functional projects.
Intranet was developed on Microsoft technology stack due to the complexity and scope of the project and high probability of further project scaling. It was planned to develop multiple integrations with platforms and form the consolidated IT-landscape of the Group at the delivery stage of the project.
Thanks to the corporate portal launching, the Baltic Beverages Holding now can:
• Communicate and exchange data in real-time;
• Use integrated booking, reservation and scheduling system for meeting rooms;
• Store documents and monitor operations;
• Manage corporate data.
Information System Integration for Prince's Trust
The stuff of the Prince’s Trust, the British charity, uses the Trust-on-Track operating system. Having that developed by a third-party Vietnamese company, the Trust was aiming to get appropriate maintenance and continue developing the functionality of the system. The system was developed using the following technologies: Visual Basic 6.0 COM-modules, Active Server Pages, VBScript, JavaScript and MS SQL Server 2000.
Digital Design used outsourcing model and performed system maintenance for the Prince’s Trust as a remote IT department by providing 2nd and 3rd level of technical support. The company:
• Analyzed the system and fixed existing bugs via secure remote access;
• Updated user documentation;
• Refined the functionality, modules and system reports.
The Prince’s Trust received a modernized monitoring and evaluation system which is now supported and maintained by the Digital Design specialists.
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