SearchInform: More active state regulation is required for mass transition to the Russian software

One of the main problems of import substitution of software (software) in Russia is that it happens unevenly: state-owned companies are forced to switch to domestic solutions, while private companies are more free to choose and can continue to work on Western software for now, says Evgeny Matyushenok, commercial director of the company —developer of information security tools “SearchInform”. According to him, employees of state-owned companies often have to solve problems with finding software and its compatibility with hardware due to the abrupt transition to Russian software. More active state regulation can help them, as well as investing in creating the software that companies need.

A few years ago, the government banned government agencies and state-owned companies from purchasing foreign software if its analogue is in the Register of domestic software; from January 2025, a ban on the use of foreign software at critical infrastructure facilities will come into force. “The main problem is the compatibility of software and hardware… The operating system needs a suitable office, plain Word, databases, more complex mechanisms that will allow, for example, a transport company to service its railway network,” says Mr. Matyushenok. He spoke about this at the conference “Kommersant” “Industry 4.0: in the face of new challenges”.

“If the state gets involved a little more actively, not only at the level of decrees, orders, orders, but also invests in the creation of software that the state customer needs, this will help a lot,” he said. The expert explained that he does not believe that state support in this area is completely absent, but more precise regulation is required.

Private organizations, he said, continue to use foreign solutions as far as possible, for example, they buy “trophy” (forced legalized) software. According to him, they understand that there can be difficulties with such software, but there are no full-fledged analogues on the Russian market and companies choose the “lesser of evils”. Mr. Matyushenok noted that in this regard, in information systems, companies may be more vulnerable to hackers.