MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. The US Treasury Department's ban on a number of IT and cloud services in Russia will not affect users of Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android systems in Russia, as the ban applies only to state-owned companies, Eldar Murtazin, leading analyst at the Mobile Research Group, has told TASS.
"The sanctions do not apply to the private sector, i.e. final users. They apply only to companies, state-owned entities, corporations or businesses that are on the SDN-list. As of today, this applies exclusively to governments and corporations that are listed there," Murtazin said.
He added that the restrictions apply to certain sectors, such as IT support for any operating systems for the government, enterprise solutions (software products or systems developed and intended for use in large organizations and enterprises), support for updates and development of CRM systems, ERP systems, and development of enterprise-level systems. "It will not affect iPhone users at all, just like Windows, MacOS, Android users. Of course, it will affect the clouds that are provided to Russian users as a business solution," Murtazin added.
The expert cited the Google Workspace service as an example. This service is not a consumer product, is not available in Crimea and is likely to be blocked in Russia in September. The expert added that Russian companies have already switched to alternative solutions and the country is now safely avoiding any sanctions in this regard.
Ban on IT services
The US Treasury Department has instituted a ban on a number of services related to information technology and cloud services in Russia, according to a document published on the department's website.
The body prohibits "the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a United States person, wherever located, of IT consultancy and design services or of IT support services or cloud-based services for Covered Software to any person located in the Russian Federation."
An exemption is allowed for companies managed by US citizens, as well as in cases involving the process of closing a company or divestiture. Furthermore, an exemption is allowed if the company is authorized by the US authorities. The restrictive measures will come into effect on September 12.