14 DAY TRIAL // Russia is planning to launch a new rule that would help the country move away from software and hardware products developed by hardware companies, trying instead to focus on solutions created by local firms.
Microsoft, HP, IBM, Cisco and Oracle are among the companies to be affected by the new law, which could come following new sanctions imposed by the United States to Russia due to the military conflict in Ukraine.
Even though this hasn’t been yet confirmed, it appears that this new law is Russia’s answer to the sanctions is received, with the aforementioned companies very likely to be severely impacted by the restriction.
“This all has to do with sanctions,” Andrey Chernogorov, executive secretary of the commission, was quoted as saying by BusinessWeek. “Given the current international tensions, substituting imports with local software and hardware becomes the key to ensuring self sufficiency.”
According to the same publication, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and Germany’s SAP reported combined revenues of 285 billion rubles ($8.1 billion) from Russia last year, mostly thanks to contracts with the government and other state-controlled companies.
Russia is not the first country where Microsoft might have to face the government’s decision to step away from its software, as authorities in China are also planning to switch from Windows and Microsoft Office to alternative solutions, including an open-source platform.
Microsoft itself said that in most cases it’s willing to continue talks with government officials to get its products unbanned, but it’s not yet clear if company officials can really do anything in the Russian crisis.
As far as China is concerned, the country banned Windows 8 on security claims, but Microsoft said that Windows 7 would continue to be offered as a replacement until discussions come to an end.
“Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements. We have been and will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers. At the same time we are working on the Window 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies,” the company said in a statement a couple of months ago.
We’ve also contacted Microsoft for a word on the new law proposed by the Russian government, so we will update the article when and if we receive an official statement from a company spokesperson.