Managing IT infrastructure administration tasks can be tricky, especially if there are a large number of devices to be handled. Overseeing the stability of multiple servers, network devices or workstations can indeed put much pressure on your workforce. Not only is it time-consuming for IT professionals, but it is also a reason for delays and loss of productivity. This is why industries like healthcare, logistics, retail and core-IT services need modern tools for device management and remote infrastructure management.
Despite the high demand, remote and agent-less administration of multiple systems is a complex task to accomplish. Thankfully, Veles Software has come to the rescue of such organizations and created specialized tools for remote administration and modern device management. Using its MPA Tools, Veles has helped countless organizations manage their IT infrastructure with more efficiency and reliability, earning much praise and global appreciation.
We’re fortunate to have interviewed Mr. Andrei Arapov, the CEO of Veles Software, and know about his mission, vision and journey so far.
In Conversation with Mr. Andrei Arapov, CEO at Veles Software
Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
A warm welcome from SoftwareSuggest Mr. Andrei Arapov. Our readers are keen to know what prompted you to create Veles Software? Tell us about your journey so far?
Thank you and great to be here!
I started as a Server Support Engineer, supporting thousands of servers for a large client here in Canada. We had a small group of sysadmins responsible for support server OS and hardware and the overall well-being of the Windows Server environment. One of the challenges was always to patch servers. We had a very tight window and hundreds of servers to patch every month, ensuring they all come back patched and healthy.
The entire team was involved in this. Sometimes we even asked Sysadmins from other accounts to help around. The whole process was very tedious and required an administrator to log in to each server and check certain things manually, not to mention a lot of opportunities to make a mistake or miss something.
So, I decided to write a health check script to remotely check multiple servers and find out if they were rebooted, recent patches applied and all the automatic services are started. I wrote it in VB script, if I remember correctly.
It was a success, we loved it and it helped the entire team to quickly health-check all the servers after patching. The time to perform all these tasks was reduced dramatically and after a while – only a couple of people were working during the patch night.
Because my teammates liked the server health-check script, I started to develop other PowerShell and VBScripts to check and remediate other things like SCCM client health, SCOM agent health, and lots more, in a couple of years I had hundreds of scripts in my folder (laughs). But I always felt that something was missing, all those scripts were not connected in a way, and in the end, started to become confusing.
I figured I will make a small app, in which you can pass certain computer information between scripts and tools. I called it My Ping App the idea was to start pinging remote clients and then if the remote client replies, start doing something else but in multi-threaded mode.
With our family of 4 and a full-time job, I started to develop the app after the kids were in bed—night after night.
After a while, when the first version was complete, it was a bit buggy but worked well, and again my team loved it and installed it on almost every utility server in the company.
When I worked out all the bugs, it felt that the app deserved a bigger audience. And that is how Veles Software started. MPA Tools is now used across the world and can still be used to create custom Health-Check scripts for servers and lots more.
What is your success formula? Something you have personally followed that has helped you in your personal and professional journey.
My dad was always my role model; I always looked up to him. He taught me that there is always time for work, hobbies, and fun. You just need to create that schedule for yourself, and no one else can do it for you. He always said that you need to love what you do, and to love what you do, you need to know what you are accomplishing. He is always in my heart.
What was the biggest challenge that you faced while working towards Veles Software’s growth, especially in this Covid-19 Pandemic, and how did you overcome it in this new normal?
The past year was challenging, but also a very good example of how technology now can support us during tough times. Demand for skilled IT workers and Security professionals grown. We see that the demand for reliable remote management tools that can help IT professionals support their users on-premises or remote is also growing. We see more and more inquiries about our tools from all over the world.
I think companies now have a much better understanding and experience of how to manage their workforce working remotely, and I think they will be changing to a more flexible hybrid model.
What separates Veles Software from its competitors?
I think what separates us from the rest is that we developing tools for ourselves, to help us be more productive with our clients. We have been doing professional consulting for years and to date when we are working with a client on a project we always use MPA Tools to help us quickly get familiar with clients’ infrastructure, create reports and views and just simply see what’s where. With MPA Tools it is incredibly easy to see what clients’ infrastructure is like as all the tools are in one place to help you do that.
I think that is what makes our tools so easy to use because we use them day to day with our clients. And I think that what makes us stand out from our competitors – our experience is in our software.
How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
The plan is to grow dramatically. I think we are well-positioned for that, with the great software, MPA Tools, which is fully developed and already used by many companies and loved by many IT Professionals around the world. We have other exciting developments that are currently ongoing, and I also have lots of ideas to bring to the market. I am very excited about the future!
What new and exciting updates can we expect from Veles Software in the near future?
We are going to continue to develop MPA Tools, adding more exciting functionalities to make a life of Systems Administrators and Security professionals a little easier.
We also have a very neat app coming for Windows workstations and servers that will help end-users and admins keeps their workstations healthy and happy. Super excited about the new app!
SoftwareSuggest empowers businesses to discover top business software and service partners. Our software experts list, review, compare and offer a free consultation to help businesses find the right software and service solutions as per their requirement. We have helped 500,000+ businesses get the right software and services globally. Get a free consultation today!
