Import substitution of computer equipment in Russia - 2022

Review Partner:

The topic of import substitution of computer equipment in the context of sanctions from unfriendly countries, the breakdown of long-standing partnerships with suppliers, as well as the growth of orders from law enforcement agencies, is rather sensitive. No wonder the head of one of the professional associations proposed to "close" information on competitive procedures with the participation of Russian manufacturers. It is understandable that almost all Russian hardware suppliers are more or less dependent on foreign partners, many of whom would prefer not to attract attention from US regulators once again.

This is why the question: how Russian hardware manufacturers overcome sanctions when releasing corporate-class personal computers, servers, data storage systems, telecom and network equipment - even large players prefer not to comment.

However, there are players on the Russian computer technology market who are ready to share their opinion about its present and future. They helped TAdviser prepare the material that we bring to your attention.

The first serious restrictions in the 21st century in the supply of hardware, data storage systems, network and telecom equipment, as well as other computer equipment to Russia were introduced by the United States and its allies back in 2014. To overcome their consequences, the Russian government began to amend the procedure for public procurement of state corporations and companies with state participation in order to motivate them to purchase equipment from Russian manufacturers. In addition, state customers of these categories began to put forward requirements for certification of Russian servers and DSS. Many domestic companies producing hardware and software in Russia certified their computing equipment, and also began to cooperate with international companies to localize their equipment.

As noted by Evgeny Krivosheev, production director of F + Tech (part of Marvel Group of Companies), there was a request on the market for equipment issued in partnership with A-brands under local trademarks. A study was carried out on the "landing" of equipment production at the component level in the Russian Federation on the basis of available technical operations. At the same time, despite the efforts of Russian manufacturers and measures states to create a guaranteed market for their products, in the mid-2010s the share of domestic equipment in the domestic market was barely noticeable. In to data Ministry of Industry and Trade Russia, according to the results of 2016, it was 1%.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

The reason is the narrowness of the circle of customers of Russian equipment, for a long time limited by power structures and computer users in special conditions. They were not enough for all developers and manufacturers of Russian equipment, and this factor restrained the development of domestic companies, limiting them in working capital.

To support domestic computer manufacturers, the state has taken a number of measures. Thus, by decision of the country's government, the Unified Register of Russian Programs for Computers and Databases was first created under the auspices of the Ministry of Mass Communications and Communications, and later the Register of Radio-Electronic Products appeared under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, an independent part of which was the Register of Telecommunications Equipment of Russian origin.

The creation and filling of all three registries with domestic high-tech products made it possible to put forward requirements for state corporations, companies with state participation and budgetary organizations to increase the share of Russian software and computer equipment in their purchases. For example, 2021 year, state-owned companies should purchase 50% Russian laptops and PCs, 60% in 2022, and already 70% in 2023.

And despite the fact that, as practice has shown, when describing a lot for a tender or competitive procedure, these requirements were easy to circumvent, support measures in the form of regulatory documents and various subsidies from the budget largely contributed to the rapid filling of the Unified Register of Radioelectronic Products by increasing corporate-level servers and data storage systems.

The driver of the growth of production of Russian data storage systems can also be considered a package of Yarovaya bills, which, despite the resistance of telecom operators, were approved by the president. The norms obliging telecom operators to store records of telephone conversations and SMS, as well as outgoing Internet traffic of subscribers for six months and provide law enforcement agencies on demand, and information about the facts of receiving, transmitting, delivering and processing messages and calls - 3 years, entered into force in 2018.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia has identified Russian companies whose production data storage systems, pursuant to the Spring Law, can be acquired by telecom operators. These are Kraftway, Yadro (part of the National Computer Corporation, NCC), Brook INEUM, MCST (developer of the Elbrus processor), T-Platforms, National Center for Informatization (NCI), "National Technologies" (controlled by Rostec). And suppliers of automated workplaces of operational employees and information collection equipment, which are also part of integrated systems of operational-search measures (SORM), are supplied by "Special Technologies," "MFI Soft," "Norsi-Trans," "Citadel," etc.

The result of joint efforts of the state and market participants aimed at developing a guaranteed market for domestic computing equipment in the country was the positive dynamics demonstrated by iron manufacturers in 2021. Thus, according to IDC, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the volume of the Russian DSS market grew by 34.2% compared to the same period in 2020 and amounted to $211 million. In the top three in terms of market share, the Russian company Yadro (20.9%). It follows immediately after Huawei ( 39.1%), leaving behind the American company Dell ( 9.5%).

Growth during this period was also shown by the server direction of the Russian computer technology market. In the 4th quarter of 2021, server deliveries increased in monetary terms by 28.8%. The leaders, according to IDC, remained the same, but in a different order: Dell, Huawei and Yadro.

According to the analytical company ITReserch, the second half of 2021 turned out to be difficult in the segment of sales of personal computers to the business sector due to the requirements of the regulator to switch to computing equipment based on processors "" and Baikal"Elbrus." As it turned out, for state-owned companies and management bodies, whose share accounts for more than 30% of deliveries to corporate customers, there are not enough PCs on Russian processors.

It is also important that 2021 was marked by new decisions of the regulator to further strengthen support for domestic manufacturers and improve the rules for entering their products into the Register of the radio-electronic industry. So, from January 1, 2022 , servers, desktop PCs and all-in-ones, I/O devices, monitors and projectors, as well as solid-state drives and motherboards should be added to DSS, as well as portable, tablet and compact PCs, laptops and electronic notebooks, which should be built on domestic processors to get into the register of radio-electronic products "of the Ministry of Industry and Trade .

Another significant result of the year was several announcements by Russian companies about planned investments in expanding their production capacities. The Russian company Yadro (part of ICS Holding) is building a new Yadro Fab Dubna factory with a total area of ​ ​ about 40 thousand square meters. m. Large-scale production of computer equipment and telecommunication equipment will be organized at this enterprise. Every year it is planned to produce up to 1 million units of equipment for the Yadro brand and in the interests of other Russian manufacturers.

In October, it became known that "," Yandex GK, "a LANIT manufacturer of computer equipment Gigabyte bank VTB and as part of a joint venture, began construction plants for the production of servers, DSS, gateways and components of smart devices under the trade Openyard brand. The volume of investments in the construction and launch of the plant in the territory with an area of ​ ​ eight hectares has already invested more than 1 billion. rubles The new plant will produce up to 60 thousand servers per year, and it will also produce gateways and storage systems some other types IT of equipment, while all technical operations will be carried out within its walls - from surface installation of server components and other equipment to testing of finished products.

The plans for the production of servers in Russia were also announced by the Russian company T1, aimed at organizing the production of computer equipment, which in its parameters could be included in the Register of the electronic industry.

Against the background of traditional manufacturers of servers and storage systems, two more companies stand out: the developer and manufacturer of a fault-tolerant modular platform for high-load information systems, the company Skala^r and the creator and manufacturer of thin and terminal clients, as well as next-generation compact computers for use in the corporate TONK environment.

The first company since 2015 produces software and hardware complexes of the Skala^r Machine. The manufacturer's line includes systems that solve various customer tasks in the field of information technology:

• Virtualization engine for dynamic converged and hyperconverged infrastructure;
• Database machine for online transaction processing;
• Big data machine for simultaneous analytical and statistical processing of large amounts of information;
• Data storage machine for geodistributed disaster-tolerant systems with hundreds of millions of objects of various types and providing quick access to them.

The second company produces at the factory in, China where a full cycle of large-scale serial production is provided, client devices and equipment for banks financial and organizations. Two models of thin clients are localized on the basis of a large partner of TONK Zelenograd in and are listed in. GISP RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The first company is interesting in that in its portfolio there is a wide range of solutions for building highly loaded information systems, and the second product can be successfully used cloudy To IT infrastructure as. virtual desktops

<sup>Data collected based on company questionnaires
* - from the register of radioelectronic products and the register of industrial products of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia
* * - until August 2021, the supply of products under the Skala^r brand in the amount of 2400 million rubles was carried out by Rubitech LLC. In August 2021, Skala-R LLC completed the process of obtaining a legal entity: the supply of Skala^r products in the amount of 2,439,1 million rubles. Since August 2021, Skala-R LLC has been producing.</sup>

<sup>Data collected based on company questionnaires
* - from the register of radioelectronic products and the register of industrial products of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia</sup>

The beginning of the special operation in Ukraine put an end to the progressive development of the computer technology market in Russia. The US Department of Commerce, as sanctions, imposed export restrictions on the supply of semiconductors, computers, telecommunications equipment, information security equipment, lasers, sensors to our country. And these restrictions were supported by other developed countries, their allies.

The sanctions called into question the long-established business and partnership relations of Russian manufacturers with partners - global manufacturers of processors and other electronic components and affected the production of Russian CPU "Baikal" at one of the world's largest Taiwanese factory.

Of course, the most significant manifestation of sanctions was TSMC's refusal to produce domestic microprocessors, - comments Evgeny Krivosheev, Production Director of F + Tech. - Another consequence of them - the developers who created the product, including for European customers, were forced to rebuild their structure, divide businesses between "here" and "there."

We were forced to spend some time finding suppliers of components for our solutions and optimizing the logistics component, "admits Andrey Chernyshev, CEO of Delta Computers.

According to him, the departure of some manufacturers of electronic components from our market negatively affected the cost of finished products.

If we talk about interruptions in the supply of an electronic component base, recalls Viktor Urusov, CEO of Skala^r, then the global computer industry faced them last year against the background of a global shortage of an electronic component base. At the same time, its aggravation, caused by sanctions, contributed to the mobilization of creative forces in the Skala^r company. So she managed to exploit the lack of IT equipment in the market for the development of new products.

In March, there was the greatest shortage of DSS in comparison with other equipment, and the company accelerated the release of a new product - a data storage machine designed to store millions of objects of various types and provide quick access to them, "recalls Viktor Urusov. - In the same month, our partners faced difficulties in servicing and supporting foreign software and DBMS from their customers. In response to the market demand, we have improved the Database Machine to provide a painless migration of large high-load database complexes, such as Oracle Exadata, to the Skala^r platform.

We note an increase in demand for Russian equipment after February 24, 2022, says Sergey Grintsevich, head of the Department for the Development of Advanced Technologies and Solutions at Softline.

We had to significantly increase the volume of supplies, revise projects for systematic development and smooth entry into the sales channel of some products, - says Mikhail Ushakov, General Director of TONK.

According to him, the company was forced to postpone the creation of a promotional resource and the development of the direction of products focused on. banks All its forces were thrown into normalizing the situation with rush demand, building rhythmic deliveries and fulfilling orders in a short (2-3 months) period. And so far she succeeds.

Russian companies are adapting to new market conditions. All of them plan to continue to expand their production and product lines. We believe that starting from 2023, the shortage of solutions based on Russian developments will begin to be gradually satisfied, "says Sergey Grintsevich, Head of the Department for the Development of Promising Technologies and Solutions of Softline.

In the current situation of a commodity shortage, the very fact of the presence of one or another equipment in a warehouse or in production with an understandable shipment time for most customers is a sufficient value and reason for purchase. Accordingly, it is not the presence or absence of equipment in the Register that plays a decisive role, but the need to maintain and supplement existing IT infrastructures that are critical to business. I assume that only when the commodity supply stabilizes, the availability of a certificate from the Ministry of Industry and Trade will regain its decisive importance, - notes Shamil Aminev.

Consumers are now beginning to realize that the computing equipment of domestic manufacturers has its advantages over A-brands, and are ready to consider any domestic equipment that is available, adds Evgeny Krivosheev.

At the same time, the expert notes that so far the growing demand of customers by Russian manufacturers is not fully satisfied today. And until a component base begins to be produced in Russia, possibly with the participation of loyal partners, its satisfaction will depend on the success of purchases of sub-sanction units and components for the production of modern IT products.

Despite the fact that the sanctions forced the hardware companies to mobilize, there was not much news from them during the six months of the special operation. Almost everyone on the site can see "product" news dedicated to the inclusion of new equipment in the register of radioelectronic products or confirmation of the status of domestic origin of those hardware that were issued to manufacturers earlier.

Thus, the company "SILA" announced the extension of the conclusion on the Russian origin of its CP2 servers. Delta Computers received new conclusions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia on the inclusion in the register of Russian radio electronic products of the Raven personal computer DC-VOi and the Yastreb automated workplace.

However, there were some significant acquisitions after the announcement of sanctions on the Russian computing market. In mid-March , CNews became known that the Aquarius group of companies acquired a production and logistics complex in the Tver region from RVM Capital for 5 billion rubles, where it plans to launch production this year.

And in August, F + Tech (F-Plus: equipment and development), part of the Marvel Distribution group of companies, completed the acquisition of the Russian business of the manufacturer of printing equipment Lexmark, combining the asset with its own F + imaging brand, under which Russian printers and MFPs are produced, as well as consumables for them. Lexmark International Rus LLC will be renamed F-Plus Imaging LLC.

The company Skala^r implemented the first stages of three projects, with a total number of installations of 300 specialized high-performance nodes. The equipment was supplied and integrated by Rubytech.

By the end of 2022, it is planned to increase this figure to 1,500. The partners in these projects are the largest Russian IT integrators: AT Consulting, Gazinformservice, CROC, Rubytech, Sissoft.

Since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, TONK has implemented dozens of projects, mainly pilot ones, in the interests of banks and commercial organizations. The Company continued its planned expansion into Central Asian markets. One of the results is the opening of Tonk Asia in Bishkek. {{quote 'We will launch the first open virtualization laboratory in the Kyrgyz Republic and hopefully look at partnership with the Kyrgyz State Polytechnic University in joint educational projects, - comments Mikhail Ushakov. }}

The imposition of sanctions contributed to the reorientation of the vector of development of Russian computer technology from import substitution to technological independence. All leading domestic manufacturers are moving in this direction. And, according to Andrei Chernyshev, the fact that Russian manufacturers dealt with the issue of import substitution until February 24 made it possible to survive the sanctions almost seamlessly.

Of course, there are also serious factors holding back this movement. They are listed in the new draft "Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Development of the Electronic Industry for the Period until 2030 and the Future," which was at the disposal of Kommersant. Among them are the lack of production capacity, the high cost of producing components in the Russian Federation , the acute shortage of personnel and the critical dependence of design and production processes on foreign technologies, including software , and materials (especially pure chemistry and silicon).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia in this document suggests that Russian computer manufacturers coordinate "research in the field of advanced technologies," increase capacity "including through the development of microelectronics production with modern topological norms," recreate the electronic engineering industry and abandon foreign architectures when designing electronics.

Market participants also recognize that Russian computer technology still depends on imported components and nodes. The country does not have production capabilities for the production of key elements, notes Evgeny Krivosheev. According to him, today assembly operations of various types are localized, including technologically complex, but equipment and components remain imported.

At the same time, the production time, risks of sanctions, logistics and financial interruptions in supplies increased significantly, which leads to an increase in the cost of the final product. An objective economy - the larger the size of serial production, the cheaper - is also not in our favor yet, if we compare the volumes of the local market with the global one, he says.

The most critical is dependence on foreign processors. That is why Andrei Chernyshev believes that it is important to pay special attention to their production in Russia. Шаблон:Quote "Over the past few years, our manufacturers have taken a big step in this direction," he comments, "but the issue of localization is still open. We believe that there will be no ready-made solution for a long time.

Localization of the production of microelectronics (high-performance processors, specialized chipsets) according to the modern technological process is considered the task for the years ahead by Viktor Urusov.

Historically, Russian IT products and solutions, with the exception of a number of software products and solutions in the field of information security, were distinguished by compromises in the field of quality when compared with the equipment of leading foreign vendors. The reason is simple - the lack of the opportunity to develop their own microelectronics in the context of the market saturation with the offer from foreign manufacturers, the standards of which are firmly incorporated into the IT infrastructure of most Russian customers, he is convinced. - In order to create demanded equipment, Russian manufacturers need to narrow the existing technological gap, relying on the standards, quality and production culture to which large corporate customers are accustomed. If we talk about product categories that are problematic for the Russian radio-electronic industry, the most difficult to develop and manufacture are IT products designed for business-critical tasks, such as data storage systems or productive data transmission systems at the core of the network.

At the same time, even the localization of technologically complex assembly operations is an unconditional step forward in relation to the import of computer equipment by global manufacturers and to the localization of the level of overlaid nameplates. There is more added value with it and it remains in the country, Yevgeny Krivosheev notes, jobs are supported, the competencies of Russian personnel are growing. It is also important that it is more difficult for a buyer of such computer equipment to inflict damage by disconnecting it, for example, from a branded service or limiting the scope or location.

And since such equipment sooner or later turns out to be in the register of radioelectronic products, customers have the opportunity to choose IT equipment from different Russian manufacturers, which can be safely used without fear of violating current regulatory documents.

Despite the turbulence of the supply of electronic components, the decline in their quality, as well as the difficulty of production outside Russia, domestic manufacturers are looking to the future with a greater or lesser degree of confidence. This is largely facilitated by the policy of the state, aimed at achieving technological independence, and therefore opening up broad development prospects for market participants.

Companies interested in purchasing servers and storage systems in the foreseeable future also have such a government policy in hand, as it allows suppliers to improve their solutions, gradually approaching global standards of reliability and quality.

• Import substitution of computer equipment and microelectronics
• Regulation of public procurement of radioelectronic products
• Register of Industrial Products Produced in the Russian Federation
• Unified Register of Russian Radio Electronic Products
• Register of Telecommunication Equipment of Russian Origin (TORP)
• Import substitution in Russia
• Import substitution in the field of information security
• Import substitution of software in Russia. TAdviser Overview
• Import substitution of software in the public sector
• Import substitution of information technologies in industry
• Import substitution of information technologies in banks