Import substitution of software in Russia 2024. TAdviser Overview

How are the tasks of replacing imported software in Russia solved in 2024 within the strict framework of limited resources (time, competencies, financial resources)? What share of foreign solutions has already been successfully replaced in various segments, and what is necessary to achieve complete technological independence? Read about this and much more in the new TAdviser review.

For all its seeming simplicity, the question of the origin and meaning of the term "import substitution" is not redundant, since little is spoken in public space. And it is necessary to talk it out so that the real picture appears before us more clearly.

The word "import substitution" appeared in the official language relatively recently and denotes the process of replacing imported goods and services with domestic ones. This process is far from a matter of course.

In the context of globalization, Russia was included in the commodity exchange with many countries, buying what it needed for currency. And she needed a lot, not excluding software, although she was also present on the market. No one was seriously going to introduce tough protectionist measures that establish preferences for domestic manufacturers, although such opinions sounded from time to time. And even more so, no one could think of this for entire industries and sectors of the economy in the 21st century. This required a large-scale scrap of the previous paradigm.

Therefore, the word "import substitution" in an elusive way also contains the forced nature of this process, regardless of the assessment of its formation factors. Having managed to fill the oskomina in a short time, 'import substitution' densely entered the speech circulation in the business environment.

By the way, when the desired state is finally achieved, it is likely that "import substitution" as a term will give way, for example, to technological or other "independence" that has taken place.

Everyone understands that they will have to live on with what Russian companies will be able to build here and now, working independently or together. In a way, it's a disciplining aspect of reality. The lack of an alternative to what is happening sets a rigid framework and directs the productive energy of society along one possible path - along the path of self-improvement. This self-improvement has a mobilizing (that is, deterministic by circumstances, urgent and universal) character, and therefore tends to drain limited resources.

Therefore, the question of the necessary deadlines and the current status of the import substitution process is by no means idle, since alternative scenarios are not only not provided, but they are still difficult to imagine.

In 2024, TAdviser once again prepared two ratings of IT solution providers from the register of domestic software. The first includes Russian vendors - suppliers of their own IT products, which are included in the register. The second is the vendors of third-party IT solutions from the software registry.

Companies are ranked by revenue from IT product implementation and delivery projects for 2023.

TAdviser every year updates the list of projects to replace foreign IT solutions with Russian or open source developments. The new table includes projects that started in 2023-2024.

In addition to successes and obvious achievements in the market, there are problems. The reverse side of the coin is too large to talk about it in passing - such an approach, with all its sparing our feelings of positivity, will not give the necessary depth of understanding of the processes taking place, which means it will not give the right direction for possible decision-making.

The most often called problems: the difficulties of migration and integration due to differences in architectures, financial difficulties, the lack of an integrated approach to replacing imports, the complexity of scaling systems. Literally every second expert mentions a personnel issue.

Since 2022, TAdviser has been collecting data on the compatibility of Russian IT solutions with domestic operating systems (OS) and database management systems (DMS). Some vendors in the compatibility graph, in addition to domestic systems, additionally indicate open source OS and DBMS.

The final results, updated in October 2024, can be seen in the full version of the tableby reference.

In 2023, the Russian software market increased by 12.5%. Experts expect a growth rate of 13-15% per year through 2028. Currently, more than 22.5 thousand items are registered in the register of domestic software. The demand for domestic solutions stimulates the development of technologies within the country, in the long term, strengthening import substitution will increase the economy's resistance to external shocks and sanctions. The domestic market will become more competitive, this will stimulate innovation and technological independence.