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Russia’s dependence on foreign software totals 90% — ministry

Russia’s presence on the global software market is no more than 2%

ST.-PETERSBURG, February 12. /TASS/. Russia’s dependence on imported software has reached 90% for the time being but can be lowered through expansion of Russian companies in the global IT services market, Russian Minister of Telecommunications Nikolay Nikiforov said on Thursday.

"Russia’s presence on the global software market is no more than 2%," the minister added.

The Russian government is developing measures to support the sector. These are "the expansion of government contracts and subsidies for supplies and customers." The ban on imported software is "counterproductive" and will not be used. Russian companies will be bound to give preference to domestic producers when purchasing the software using government funds, Nikiforov said.

Weakened ruble creates favorable opportunities for the domestic IT industry. Russia will be able to penetrate the global market on account of skillful programmers in the first instance, RUSSOFT CEO Andrei Terekhov said.

The domestic demand is not sufficient for IT sector development, Terekhov said. It is impractical for companies to make huge investments into the software development, e.g. for the exploration sector, if there are just a few potential customers in Russia. Investments into development of such software products will be feasible if the product enters the global market, he added.