Champion file
Date of establishment: 2002
Income scale: 636 million yuan
Number of employees: 560
Customer base: Beijing Unicom, Nokia and other telecom enterprises.
Advantages: system integration and software development in telecom industry.
Development goal: the domestic first-class professional IT service chain enterprise group goes public.
Established for 6 years, Lian Xin Yongyi has always been
Walking smoothly. In the cloud-like IT service field of China telecom industry, IT won a place without too much "desperate" and ranked among the forefront of 10 telecom IT service providers.
IT's not easy to say, because after 10 years of fighting, the remaining telecom IT service providers have been refined into "copper heads and iron arms". This can be seen from their revenue scale: AsiaInfo's revenue in 2008 reached US$ 654.38+0.75 billion (about RMB 654.38+0.25 billion, of which 85% came from software and services), Nanjing Lianchuang was 2.5 billion yuan, Huasheng Tiancheng was 2.9 billion yuan, and there were also "big bosses" such as Digital China, Siqi, Donghua Hechuang.
Lian Xin Yongyi is a latecomer, but with its unique conditions, Lian Xin Yongyi grows rapidly in the unit of "100 million yuan" every year, and achieved sales of 630 million yuan in 2008.
However, in 2009, Chen Jian, the president of the company, felt a little nervous and uneasy: the telecom reorganization, which was once considered as the best interest of it suppliers, brought some uncertainties to system integrators-the former China Netcom was its most important customer, but the integration of China Unicom and China Netcom made the situation change subtly. "For us, the disadvantages of telecom restructuring outweigh the advantages, and we are under great pressure." Chen Jian said frankly.
Peng, research director of Jishi Information, believes that it is generally difficult for integrators to establish stable cooperative relations with operators. Operators constantly change suppliers for their own benefit. Comparatively speaking, the cooperation between China Mobile and China Telecom and integrators is relatively stable, and Unicom changes integrators frequently. "At present, Unicom is in this state, and integrators are in and out frequently."
Fortunately, from the sales situation in the first five months, the sales performance of Lian Xin Yongyi has not been greatly affected, and the sales volume has reached 220 million yuan, which is basically the same as that of the same period last year. Lian Xin Yongyi did not adjust its strategic deployment on a large scale, but still insisted on system integration and expanded IT services.
It's no problem to do it for another twenty or thirty years
In Chen Jian's view, "there will be no problem in system integration for another twenty or thirty years." Because China's system integration industry is still in the primary stage of development, the level of industrial integration is very low, far from reaching large-scale production capacity.
At present, almost all companies that call themselves "IT service providers" in China started from system integration. But now, they dare not talk about the identity of system integrators, and try their best to erase this "birthmark" and transform themselves into IT service providers. Because in the eyes of the industry, system integrators are the least technical companies. They earn a little profit by helping IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and other hardware manufacturers move boxes, belonging to the "three noes" company with no name, no profit and no future.
Although after several years of difficult transformation, system integration still accounts for a large proportion of the total income of telecom system integrators: in 2008, Huasheng Tiancheng earned 2.9 billion yuan, of which system integration accounted for 66.75%; Donghua Hechuang's revenue was1159 million yuan, and system integration accounted for 75.8%. Even AsiaInfo, the most successful transformation, accounted for more than 50% of its total revenue before 2006.
"We won't do anything else, we will do system integration." Lian Xin Yongyi does not shy away from its status as a system integrator. According to the data provided by Lian Xin Yongyi, the proportion of system integration in its total revenue still reached 84% in 2008. "However, this proportion is gradually declining." Chen Wei said.
In Chen Jian's view, "there will be no problem in system integration for another twenty or thirty years." Because China's system integration industry is still in the primary stage of development, the level of industrial integration is very low, far from reaching large-scale production capacity. According to the standards of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in the system integration industry, only a large enterprise can have more than 300 employees and a revenue of more than 300 million yuan, which shows that the concentration of the whole system integration industry is very low and there are still many things to be done.
In addition, the introduction of 3G has also brought some new opportunities for system integration. According to the data of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 654.38+07 billion yuan will be used for 3G infrastructure construction in 2009. From 2009 to 20 1 1, the total investment will reach 400 billion yuan. Such a large-scale investment will first bring opportunities to system integration companies.
In March 2009, Huasheng Tiancheng successively won a large order of about 250 million yuan from China Unicom, involving projects such as 3G value-added service system of China Unicom, service support system of China Unicom, pilot infrastructure project of online charging system, and next-generation BSS (service support system) infrastructure project of China Unicom. In March 2009, ztesoft signed a comprehensive OSS (Operation Support System) system construction contract with five northern provinces of China Telecom. In April 2009, AsiaInfo also signed an agreement to develop new BSS for nine branches of China Unicom.
Although the profit of system integration has declined, it is not unprofitable. "If you want system integration to make a profit of 30% ~ 50%, it is impossible, but it is possible to make 20%." At this point, Chen Jian is very rational. Because when Lian Xin Yongyi entered the telecom market, the profit of system integration has gradually decreased from 100% ~ 200% in the highest period to 20% ~ 30%, which made Lian Xin Yongyi give up some unrealistic fantasies.
Integration is "skin"
Service is "Mao"
In the case of thin profits, many enterprises either quit the telecommunications market or make great efforts to transform into software and services. Lian Xin Yongyi has its own philosophy: system integration is "skin" and software and services are "hair". If the skin does not exist, how can the hair be attached?
"Transformation to IT service providers" is a phrase that journalists often hear in recent years. In the telecommunications industry, AsiaInfo is the most successful model. By 2008, the proportion of system integration in AsiaInfo's total revenue was only 15%, which was difficult for other system integrators to reach. Huasheng Tiancheng has also announced its strategic transformation in recent years, focusing on software development. It has invested heavily in high-end services such as BI (Business Intelligence), mobile commerce, information security and BCP (Business Continuity Plan), ITMS and emergency communication.
Compared with AsiaInfo and Huasheng Tiancheng, Lianxin Yongyi, as a "follower", does not have enough ability to develop its own products. In order to consolidate its market position, Lian Xin Yongyi chose a different road from similar enterprises and positioned itself as an IT service provider based on system integration.
"The most profitable place is not the sheepskin, but the wool on the sheepskin. As long as there is a good mechanism, the' hair' of IT services can be cultivated on the' skin' of system integration. " In Chen Jian's strategy for Lian Xin Yongyi, system integration is still the absolute core business. Therefore, Lian Xin Yongyi didn't make a big step to transform into software and services, but did a good job in system integration business first, and it was "to do system integration even if it lost money".
In fact, as we all know, system integration is a "stepping stone" to deepen customer applications. Therefore, almost all integrators hope to "bind" with a certain operator to the greatest extent and carry out "deep cooperation" on a certain core application. For example, there are six short-listed integrators in China Mobile's business support system: AsiaInfo, Nanjing Lianchuang, Huawei, Shenma stage, New World and Wei Tuo; The main partners of China Telecom are AsiaInfo+Fang Xin, Huawei+Fufu, Deco+Hewlett-Packard, ztesoft and Lianchuang.
Peng analyzed: "A single integrator will bring certain risks to operators. Problems such as nonstandard and non-open interfaces make operators rely too much on integrators, so they cannot easily change integrators. " However, considering the interests of integrators, the closer they are to operators, the more inseparable they are from operators, and the more likely they are to sell more software and services and grow more hair on the "skin" of system integration.
Chen Jian also summed up some experiences of "sheepskin grows wool". First of all, it takes patience to do a good job of "skin" of system integration. What you do at this stage must be hard work. "Sometimes, doing system integration is like snowballing. You have to roll slowly. You can't break one and throw another like a bear breaking a stick. " Chen Jian believes that only in this way can users be circled; Secondly, we should provide various personalized services to make users more in-depth and detailed. Only by deepening will new service businesses be hatched. For example, in 2008, Lian Xin Yongyi infiltrated its business into the fixed-line payment field with the cooperation with telecommunications; In addition, it is necessary for all departments and employees of the enterprise to cooperate closely and work collectively to complete the project. "This is similar to fighting."
Moreover, the experience of large-scale projects accumulated by system integration is also conducive to expanding to other industries and improving the anti-risk ability of enterprises. At first, Lian Xin Yongyi's system integration only had a strong advantage in the telecommunications industry. In the following years, with the help of network design, integration and maintenance experience in the telecommunications industry, Lian Xin Yongyi expanded its business to government departments such as transportation and education, and also to tobacco, medical care and other industries.
Expanding to other industries, "not putting eggs in one basket" is the need of a long-term development of an enterprise, not to mention any IT enterprise planning to go public. Most domestic industry application solution providers have gradually penetrated into other industries from being highly dependent on a single customer or a single industry.
Lian Xin Yongyi has its own development goals based on system integration and project management. Chen Jian said: "By making system integration and project management more detailed and perfect, and establishing a good operating mechanism, the company will be able to maintain sustainable development."
IT service chain
In the telecom industry, due to the different management modes, objectives and work processes of operators, various BOSS systems are almost incomparable. So in the telecom industry, it is almost impossible for system integrators to make products. Therefore, personalized IT services have almost become their constant choice.
"Now there is no company that simply makes products; Companies that are purely service-oriented have no future. " Lian Weizhou, CEO of Southeast Rongtong Company, a leading financial IT service provider in China, said this in an interview. This really reflects the general dilemma of IT service providers in China.
The same is true of the telecommunications industry. Due to the different management modes, objectives and workflow of each operator, various BOSS (Business Operation Support System) are almost incomparable. Therefore, it is almost impossible for system integrators to make products in the telecommunications industry. Therefore, personalized IT services have almost become their constant choice.
In Chen Jian's view, IT services mainly include three major contents: traditional system integration, software development and operation and maintenance. These three businesses complement each other, and system integration is beginning to emerge. On this basis, the application software was developed. After the whole system was established, the operation and maintenance began to play a role to ensure the normal operation of the system. Moreover, when a project is completed, new system integration and software development will occur, which will bring new operation and maintenance services and form a virtuous circle.
Lian Xin Yongyi's IT services include hardware services and software services. Chen Jian believes that breaking the boundary between soft and hard, "both soft and hard" IT services will bring a broader market space.
Chen Jian said that there are different opportunities in three different levels of IT services: high, medium and low. For example, Chen Jian said: "Nokia can't provide us with high-end services, and our support ability is limited. Nokia wants to give IBM some basic services, but IBM can't take them away, which provides us with opportunities; In addition, operators like China Unicom cannot easily hand over their high-end services to foreign companies, especially the development of application software, which is also our opportunity. "
Facing the opportunity, Chen Jian proposed to work in two dimensions: "depth" and "width". At present, Lian Xin Yongyi's main job is to grasp the depth and grasp the big customers. They call this "industry service customization", which is to customize services for different industries; On the other hand, it is to do standardized chain services, just like McDonald's and KFC. "McDonald's, KFC and domestic fast food restaurants can cook some convenient dishes, but they still have to go to professional restaurants to eat big meals." Chen Jian appropriately compared the relationship between doing "deep" and doing "wide".
For the chain operation of IT services, Chen Jian holds a cautious and rational attitude and does not blindly expand. Chen Jian once put forward the concept of "360-degree IT service", intending to integrate IT service providers in third-and fourth-tier cities and jointly launch an IT chain service enterprise with the help of Lian Xin Yongyi brand. But up to now, Lian Xin Yongyi has only laid out more than 100 points in the whole country, and has not blindly expanded. "Enterprises are dying, not starving to death. Once greedy, when management tools and management talents can't keep up, there will be big problems. " Chen Jian has always used this sentence to remind himself.
project management
Is the core competitiveness.
With more than 20 years of experience in telecom IT, Chen Jian believes that the project management ability of enterprises is the core, and only when the project management is done well can enterprises be competitive. Technology and products are businesses, and people, not management, really play a role in these businesses. When there are seven or eight hundred projects, enterprises can still rely on people to manage; However, when the number of projects reaches 10000, it is impossible to manage by people alone, and the process must be supported by processes, systems and tools. At this time, management ability is very important. "Project management is the core competitiveness of the company. Really meticulous management is an effective distinction between different users. " Chen Jian, who has been immersed in system integration market for many years, expressed his feelings.
Chen Jian believes that any industry, whether it is system integration or operation and maintenance, is ultimately project management. The core competitiveness of an enterprise is not a certain technology, but the familiarity with the business. And project management is the best way to get familiar with the business. Different from the management mode of product distribution, project management is quite planned, as long as the task is completed on time, there is no problem. The success rate of enterprise informatization with product distribution as its thinking is often small.
IT will take a long time for enterprises in China to build brands and scale in the IT service industry and manage enterprises with 5000 to 1 000 employees. Maybe five years is a time limit. In the future, IT service enterprises need two core factors to grow bigger. One is the core management mode, and there is no ready-made experience to learn from. The second is the capital operation platform, which obtains the funds needed for enterprise growth through listing.