Dynamics Profile: Microsoft MVP navigates complexities of Russian ERP market

For the past 11 years, first-time Microsoft Dynamics NAV MVP Alexander Ermakov has been working for Awara IT Solutions in St. Petersburg, Russia, an IT company that implements ERP solutions, including Dynamics, and provides business consulting services.

Awara supports international companies developing their businesses in Russia, in part by sharing its knowledge of local government requirements, says Ermakov, a senior consultant and partner at the company.

For Microsoft, making inroads into the Russian ERP market has been full of challenges. The company is facing intense competition in the enterprise market from 1C, a local ERP provider, he says. Awara is a 1C partner as well as a Microsoft partner.

"Microsoft's share of the ERP market in Russia is approximately 12 percent, but I think it will be growing in the small business segment," Ermakov says. "Microsoft is working with us to develop an out-of-the-box solution to allow small business to use Dynamics NAV without huge expenditures for implementation."

Favoring local offerings

Microsoft's small ERP market share in Russia is due in part to the government's policy of "import substitution," or replacing foreign software products - primarily from the United States - with domestically produced products, Ermakov says.

"They are trying to decrease imported software and increase usage of local software to help the local IT companies, which have very strong lobbies in Russia," he says.

In fact, Russian law requires that government agencies only implement the ERP systems of 1C and other local companies, he says. And although there is no law forcing private ...