Import substitution of software in the Russian market accelerated

Import substitution of software (SW) in the Russian market has accelerated: the share of costs for Russian products from the total investment of companies and government agencies in IT amounted to 53%, while a year earlier it was 45%. But experts say that a “hybrid approach” has now formed in the country, when customers both support foreign solutions and purchase Russian ones. The transition to domestic IT systems is hampered by long delivery times: according to customers and developers, we can talk about waiting for a year.

According to the Competence Center for Import Substitution in the Sphere of ICT (CIT), the costs of business and the public sector for import substitution of software in the first half of the year amounted to 53% of total investment in IT. A year earlier, it was only about 45%, said on June 28 at the conference “Russian Electronics” “Vedomosti” the head of the TsKIT Ilya Massukh. He noted that import substitution in the public sector is going faster than in business.

According to the presidential decree dated March 30, 2022, government agencies and companies that are subjects of critical information infrastructure (CII) are prohibited from using foreign software from 2025, including as part of software and hardware systems (HSC). As Rustem Khairetdinov, Deputy General Director of Garda Group of Companies (part of ICS Holding), noted at the conference, while most companies still use foreign software and electronics, therefore vendors have to develop “two branches of support: for foreign solutions and domestic ones” in order to ensure that all solutions work and are compatible. The expert also drew attention to the fact that often the incompatibility of security systems of IT solutions becomes an obstacle.

According to Kommersant’s interlocutor in the IT market, a “hybrid approach” has now been formed in IT: many companies continue to work on foreign products, while purchasing Russian ones. Both integrators and vendors receive requests both to maintain the work of software familiar to the company, and to integrate customer systems with domestic products.

The Mintsifra Kommersant noted that the global trend in IT, focused on user convenience, is the creation of information systems that work on different platforms (operating systems and processors): “At the same time, introducing requirements for supporting Russian operating systems and equipment, the Mintsifra lays the foundation for achieving technological independence from foreign solutions.”

The terms of import substitution of KII and the public sector became the subject of discussion. For example, in the spring, participants in the fuel and energy complex asked to shift the deadlines for the transition to alternative software for their facilities to 2026, in terms of PAK – to 2028. The companies explained that the transition to domestic solutions requires the decommissioning of primary equipment (generators, transformers, etc.), which threatens with energy shortages (see Kommersant dated April 26). So far, no decisions have been made on exemptions for certain industries in the government.

But the terms of project implementation are increasing regardless of customers, market participants say. “Since last year, companies have faced a situation where it is necessary to switch to Russian solutions to ensure cybersecurity, including because foreign ones have begun to degrade, but the delivery time for software and related technologies reaches 12 months,” said the director of the information security and IT department. Norilsk Nickel infrastructure Aleksey Martyntsev. According to him, Russian solutions meet all safety requirements: “We are ready to buy, but they don’t sell to us.”

The process of implementing digital solutions can take from a month to six months, says Alexander Barinov, director of the Solar Dozor network security product portfolio. But if we are talking about PAK, the timing is affected by the speed of production and delivery of equipment from imported components: “If the order is large and there is no equipment in the warehouse, then you must first place an order, wait from a month to six months until it is completed and brought, and only then start implementation and integration.”

Tatyana Isakova, Timofey Kornev