A cloud solutions company from Skolkovo’s IT cluster named Jelastic has won the Russian stage of IBM’s global SmartCamp contest.
Jelastic is based in Silicon Valley but in 2012 year launched an R&D spinoff in Skolkovo to develop a product that runs and scales in-house Java-based applications.
That product, named Jelastic Private Cloud (JPC), was picked from five finalists at the Skolkovo Hypercube on Monday in the contest staged by IBM, a major Skolkovo partner.
“This contest was important for us because at this moment in time we are trying to grow, to find big partners with whom to create a joint venture,” said Dmitry Lazarenko, the company’s technical director, in comments to sk.ru.
The five finalists on the Hypercube stage. Photo: sk.ru
“IBM is probably one of the key companies for us. We have been trying for the last year to stay in contact and find a successful business model to supply our service to partners and clients of IBM,” he added.
JPC is a platform that Jelastic says will help organizations lower the cost of running business-level apps that are presented in Java, PHP and .NET format.
An expert panel of judges from IBM, the venture market and the Skolkovo Foundation chose Jelastic from a field of five finalists. Jelastic progresses to the qualifying continental final in London at the end of November, and also receives a three-month mentorship course from IBM.
Lazarenko of Jelastic claims his IBM SmartCamp diploma.
“The projects presented in the SmartCamp final develop their respective businesses in the areas that the market demands, and even define the markets,” said Kirill Kornilev, the general director for IBM in Russia and the CIS.
“It is precisely these projects that will become an important component in building a smart planet and new technological solutions,” he added.
Kornilev helped whittle down an initial field of 30 projects down to the final five. Pitches had to be made in English for the contest, which came to Russia for the second year.
Among this year’s projects were mobile apps, digital marketing products, e-commerce solutions and big data analysis.
The finalists also included projects by Easy Wallet, Ingenious Team, Forecast NOW! and Profit Maximizer.
Before the final at the Hypercube, each team had the chance to tweak their presentations with the help of mentors.
“The role of Foundation partners – both Russian and international companies – is to help startups to grow,” said Igor Bogachev, the executive director of Skolkovo’s IT cluster.
“It’s of great value that such a large and significant player on the IT market as IBM would share its experience and knowledge,” he added.
IBM’s manager for ecosystem development in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS, Manfred Stadler, told the finalists: “Today you are all winners, because you have achieved a lot, you have learned a lot, you have gone through a lot and you have become one of the five strongest companies.”