MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Russia’s IT sphere has developed greatly since 2022, head of the Russian association of software developers Domestic Software, CEO of InfoWatch Natalya Kasperskaya told TASS, adding that Russian firms need to make sure they are ready to step in for foreign services should they be officially booted out of the country.

Kasperskaya recalled that foreign IT companies that exited the Russian market caused major disruptions for their Russian clients - some lost data, others saw their businesses grind to a halt, while others suffered serious financial losses. "The principle of reciprocal action hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s an entirely sound political message, and one that’s technically easy to justify," she said.

Her comments came in response to remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a May 26 meeting with business leaders, where he called for "choking off" foreign IT services that continue to operate in Russia while pursuing anti-Russian policies abroad. During the meeting, IVA Technologies CEO Stanislav Iodkovsky complained that several services, including Zoom, have remained active in the Russian market despite claiming to have exited, costing domestic developers billions.

When asked whether Russian software products could handle the increased demand if foreign services were fully blocked, Kasperskaya acknowledged that it "largely depends on the specific software category." For example, she said, while the situation may still be challenging in areas like engineering software, Russia has long been strong in cybersecurity solutions.

"But I would suggest taking a broader view. In four years, Russian solutions have developed and strengthened greatly. And they are capable of withstanding much greater loads now than, for example, in March 2022. There is no need to panic prematurely or worry that this tree will not survive the storm. We just need to keep growing our own trees and not let anyone block their light," she noted.

Russian solutions should work properly in the event of access to Western services being blocked for Russians by their own producers, the Domestic Software head said. People "that are currently comfortably working on foreign services that have become free," will definitely feel discomfort once they are switched off, she stressed.