AI, Reliability and Telecom: How SmartTender Changes Public Procurement

Every day, the SmartTender platform provides thousands of procurements for tens of millions of hryvnias. In this case, we’ll show how telecom services, artificial intelligence and coordinated teamwork ensure fault tolerance and business development.

SmartTender is an officially accredited site of Prozorro and Prozorro.Sale systems, and it is the largest platform for commercial procurement by the amount of tenders. SmartTender also develops its own system of electronic document management, Signy.

The company has worked on the Ukrainian market since 2013. Now, the SmartTender’s client base has over 110,000 companies, with over 10,000 purchases made daily.

SmartTender has been the first among the electronic platforms to introduce artificial intelligence into the Prozorro tenders — SmartCheck AI. This AI-based tool has optimized the process of tender documentation analysis.

Safety and daily challenges

The official public procurement site has a set of state requirements to work. For instance, the acceptable amount of hours for downtime in a year. Should these requirements not be met, the site can be disconnected from the Prozorro system, practically halting the business.

That is why the SmartTender’s IT team builds the fault-tolerant infrastructure to eliminate the theoretical risks. The company uses several geo-distributed data centers and the Infrastructure as Code approach. It grants quick modification of the IT infrastructure and the deployment of new environments with full automation.

Also, a seamless CI/CD integration helps the team to introduce any changes while preserving all the history and enabling fast rollbacks. And the container-based approach to infrastructure using Kubernetes provides load balancing and scalability.

For the reliable operation of such infrastructure, secure and reserved communication channels from multiple providers are required.

‘We employ duplication of communication channels. In addition to the main GigaTrans channel, we also have backup channels from other providers. SmartTender has a geographically distributed architecture with a computing power duplication through clustering. Accordingly, our IT specialists have also configured an automatic switch between the communication channels in case of any local network failures. So we are guided by the principle that it’s better to stay prepared in every way, rather than deal with consequences later,’ comments Serhii Pankin, Senior Software Developer at SmartTender.

The role of telecom services in public procurement

The uninterrupted operation of a public procurement platform depends on high bandwidth, reliable data storage and system stability. Any sudden increase in users and transactions or change in functionality instantly puts extra pressure on the infrastructure.

‘We’re an online platform, and this is our core business, so high-speed internet is the foundation ensuring stable user access to our platform. Any downtime for us means not only a loss of profit and reputational risks, but also penalties,’ adds Serhii.

SmartTender does not underestimate the importance of cybersecurity. The company’s IT specialists use a range of services, such as intrusion prevention systems and protection against DDoS attacks.

‘We understand the risks of cyber threats today. Our team always aims to act proactively, rather than wait for a critical situation. That’s why we chose a DDoS protection service to minimize potential risks and ensure uninterrupted platform operation,’ Serhii explains.

To protect themselves against DDoS attacks, the company uses the GigaTrans service, which is based on a solution by Arbor Networks — a recognized leader in this domain.

AI tools simplifying the clients’ work

The procurement specifics is that it requires working with a huge amount of documents and data. SmartTender is constantly automating processes that enhance and simplify this work.

So, back in 2023, the company launched a chatbot based on artificial intelligence — Smartik. It answers various questions and explains basic legal aspects of public procurement. For example, how to pay an invoice properly, where to submit proposals, how to subscribe to relevant categories.

Then, in 2024, SmartCheck AI was developed — an AI-based tool integrated into Ukraine’s Prozorro public procurement system. It quickly analyzes tender documentation and creates a detailed checklist of requirements within minutes. To compare, this process used to take an experienced procurement specialist up to two hours on average to complete manually. Today, the team is working on an AI-based analytics module.

‘Thanks to AI, we’ve analyzed vast amounts of tender documentation available in the public domain. Based on that, we built a unique analytical database for market assessment, budget planning and finding suppliers with competitive prices. Because procurement data can be updated every minute, and constant monitoring requires a lot of time and resources. Our analytical base with AI significantly reduces the time needed for analysis and automates routine tasks for procurement participants’  — leaving the specialists to deal with strategic decisions only, Serhii comments.

Uncompromised reliability and technical support

SmartTender guarantees 24/7 data safety and fault-tolerant platform operation. This makes the reliable work of electronic procurement possible for thousands of users. In particular, the company’s cooperation with GigaTrans also plays its part.

‘We especially appreciate the high service quality and the team’s efficiency, showing readiness to help settle any issues. Communication channels and protection services are super important, particularly for our business specifics. What’s nonetheless important, is when a contractor does more than a standard telecom services package covers, and offers prompt support and unconventional approach to solving issues. That’s what we get from our cooperation with GigaTrans,’ adds Serhii.