Software export from Russia

2024

"Russoft": Export of Russian software returned to growth

Exports of Russian software in 2024 returned to growth. Prior to that, for two years there was a significant decline, which is associated with the formed geopolitical situation. This was announced in early October 2024 by the president of the Russoft association Valentin Makarov.

According to him, in 2022, a drop in exports by 21% was recorded: the volume of foreign sales of Russian software amounted to $7.95 billion. In 2023, a reduction of another 30% was noted with a final result of $5.53 billion. In 2024, the situation stabilized, and exports began to increase: it is expected that growth will be at the level of 6.6% - up to $5.9 billion.

Russian software exports have grown

Makarov notes that until 2022, the overwhelming volumes of Russian software sales fell on countries that later turned out to be among the unfriendly. Because of this, the export vector has shifted significantly. However, new markets for exports require different approaches. Russian companies face a number of difficulties, including the lack of state support for the export of services - these, for example, include licensing.

To solve the problem, you need to create a state program that will establish that the export of computer services is a priority, - emphasizes the president of the Russoft association.

As Makarov says, companies can create showrooms in different countries to demonstrate products. At the same time, travel abroad is not well supported, which is necessary to get acquainted with company representatives in person and look for partners. Makarov believes that Russian companies need more support to hold meetings with potential customers and study markets. It talks about the importance of platform solutions for working with government customers in India, Brazil and China. Russian companies can offer comprehensive solutions, which will be beneficial both for the Russian Federation and for partner countries.

Russoft notes that access to international markets is becoming a necessity for Russian developers, since the capacity of the Russian market is insufficient for the payback of developing new products. Among the most promising markets, experts name Uzbekistan and India. Members of the Russoft association, in particular, have created four joint ventures with Indian IT companies with the aim of exporting Russian technologies. For example, in India, it is planned to launch the production of tablets running an OS based on Alt. At the same time, experts emphasize that Russian companies need to take into account the features of these markets, such as the prevalence of family business in India and the importance of personal meetings and trust in Uzbekistan.

In the coming years, we will definitely go to foreign markets. First of all, these are India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Latin America. The state will definitely support. We are moving on to the stage when the state begins to consider one of the priorities to support the Russian IT sector and export products abroad, especially to the BRICS countries, "Makarov said.

ASCON Marketing Director Dmitry Ginda adds that as of 2024, the problem of establishing cross-border payments remains. According to him, work is underway with digital attachés. Being full-time employees of trade missions of the Russian Federation abroad, they act as a link between Russian business and partners in the host country, identify demand and potential niches, and also assist Russian companies in building a constructive dialogue with foreign counterparties.^[1]

Russian trusted AI will be exported to friendly countries

On August 26, 2024, it became known that Russian trusted artificial intelligence would be popularized abroad. In particular, such solutions are planned to be exported to friendly countries.

The initiative, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, is stated in the action plan of the federal project "Artificial Intelligence" of the national project "Data Economics and Digital Transformation of the State." Trusted AI is the concept that intelligent systems must be designed to provide reliability, security, efficiency and productivity. The requirements of ethics as well as confidentiality should be taken into account. In Russia, such platforms may include the developments of Sberbank and Yandex.

Russian AI is exported to friendly countries

It is assumed that startups (through marketplaces), media companies, field missions and exhibition participants will be engaged in the distribution of domestic AI products outside the Russian Federation. In addition, it is planned to promote Russian trusted AI in the format of hackathons, including at international platforms. To stimulate developers, the state is preparing support measures in the form of grants for computing power and preferential loans with subsidies for rates up to 2%.

As the head of the IT division of the Polilog agency Lyudmila Bogatyreva notes, the Russian trusted AI should include two key components. These are domestic data sets on which training is carried out, as well as placement on servers in the Russian Federation. At the same time, AI solutions must comply with international transparency standards.

The task of Russia is to create domestic competitive AI solutions that will be trained on our content. This is especially important in the context of an information war, which is only gaining momentum every year, "Bogatyreva notes.[2]

Russoft: The main problem of the Russian IT market is the lack of state support for exports

In the current geopolitical situation, Russian IT companies have lost access to many foreign markets for the export of their products. At the same time, new countries have opened, but business development in them is difficult due to insufficient support from the state. This was announced in early January 2024 by the president of NP Russoft Valentin Makarov.

According to him, one of the problems is the lack of grant state support, which Russian companies could use, for example, to promote their projects in friendly countries and create a system for training local personnel. Makarov points out that the supply of software and IT services abroad is not one of the state priorities, thanks to which exporters can count on financial assistance, in particular, lending, insurance and guarantees.

The Kommersant newspaper, referring to Makarov's statements, notes that as of early 2024, there are several tools to support the export of IT solutions. However, they concern only a small number of exhibitions and information support from trade missions of the Russian Federation in friendly countries. In such a situation, Russia, according to the president of Russoft, may miss important opportunities in the transforming IT market, which will hit the export potential as a whole.

We are seeing a 20% reduction in the export of Russian IT solutions to unfriendly countries in 2022, and by the end of 2023 there will be another 5-10%. Yes, there is a noticeable increase in sales in the CIS countries and other friendly regions, but the pace is much less than it could be with state support, says Makarov.

The President of Russoft adds that without support at the state level, Russian companies may lose promising sales markets, losing them to foreign competitors. We are talking, in particular, about the BRICS + countries (Brazil, India, China, etc.).^[3]

2023

76.2% of software sales of Russian developers fall on the Russian market. This is a new anti-record

At the end of 2023, the share of the Russian market in the total sales of domestic software companies reached 76.2%, while the share of exports decreased in all regions, including friendly countries. In particular, in the direction of neighboring countries (post-Soviet space), sales decreased to 10.2% against 11.5% in 2022. In terms of the share of sales of Russian software abroad, a new anti-record was recorded, as stated in the study of the Russoft association, the results of which were published on August 2, 2024.

The observed trend, as noted in the report, is explained by the increased demand for software in Russia as part of import substitution. In addition, there are problems with the development of exports: operational reorientation to foreign markets is hindered by low awareness of foreign partners about the technological advantages of Russian solutions. The authors of the study emphasize that the main problem that requires support from the state was and remains financial and infrastructure issues - in this situation it is difficult to establish regular and predictable receipt of funds for the supply of products abroad. Compared to the domestic market, external competition is much more acute - both with global technology companies and with local suppliers.

The Russian IT market is still far from saturated - this is due to both vacated niches and high import substitution potential, and the global mainstream of ubiquitous digitalization, - said Alexander Rozhkov, director of international business development at Softline Group of companies.

The share of Russian software exports to the United States and Canada at the end of 2023 amounted to 3.3%, while a year earlier the figure was 5.9%. Deliveries to Europe fell year-on-year from 5.7% to 3.8%. Exports to South and East Asia decreased from 5.9% to 3%, and to South and Central America from 1.6% to 1%. The Middle East accounted for 2% against 1% in 2022.

It is noted that work on the international market is important for ensuring the technological sovereignty of the Russian Federation and for winning a place among leaders, since the growth of foreign exchange earnings allows not only to increase the amount of financing for the development of import-substituting solutions important for the economy, but also to improve the quality of such products in conditions of fierce competition. In 2024, it is expected to continue to reduce the share of sales of Russian companies in such macro-regions as the USA/Canada, Europe (without Russia and neighboring countries) and Australia/New Zealand. At the same time, in other markets that cover friendly countries, an increase in the volume of Russian software sales is predicted. Almost two-thirds of the companies surveyed show interest in working in the markets of neighboring countries (already present, plan to be present in the regions or study them). The markets of North America and Europe in terms of the share of companies that are interested in them are among the most attractive, but in terms of growth they are much ahead of South and East Asia. The largest growth in sales of Russian software companies can be expected in the markets of neighboring countries, in South and East Asia (primarily in India), in Africa and the Middle East.

Igor Bederov, head of investigations at security supplier T.Hunter, believes that the decrease in the share of exports in general, including to friendly countries, may be due to several factors, including the growth of the domestic market and an increase in demand within the country. In addition, changes in the global economy, political factors and the competitive environment in export markets can affect the share of exports to friendly countries. This, according to Bederov, resembles the "Chinese way" of developing an economy that is able to survive at the expense of only the domestic market.^[4]

Export decline by 15% to $7.8 billion

The volume of exports of Russian software in 2023 decreased by 15% compared to the previous year and amounted to $7.8 billion. Such figures at the end of April 2024 were cited by Valentin Makarov, president of the Russoft NP association.

According to him, revenue from Russian IT exports in 2023 decreased due to Western sanctions, blocking the SWIFT system for Russian organizations and their subsequent withdrawal from the EU and US markets.

The volume of Russian software exports in 2023 decreased by 15%

According to the calculations of the Bank of Russia, the volume of Russian software supplies abroad in 2023 decreased by 44-47% compared to 2022 - to $3.1-3.3 billion. Russoft explained the difference with the statistics of the Central Bank by the fact that the regulator calculates revenue only from foreign currency receipts to the Russian Federation, but under the conditions of sanctions, the currency enters Russia through third countries in the form of other types of receipts. In addition, as explained in the association, the Russian Central Bank takes into account only export revenues from the sale of "computer services," while the export of software and services for its development is carried out in other forms, for example, when exporting services for research and design, software and hardware complexes, education services, etc.

Valentin Makarov attributed countries, EEU India countries of Africa and countries under sanctions to key markets for Russian IT exports, including. Iran In addition, according to the head of Russoft, domestic vendors are showing interest in exotic countries. Among them -, which Myanmar approved the roadmap for the development of the digital economy until 2025. According to the trade representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Vladimir Kazadaev, Russian business should increase the turnover of funds for IT in the republic to $12 billion a year. At the same time, he did not specify the indicators for 2023 or 2024. The source "" Businessman claims that the investments of the Republic of Myanmar in IT amount to approximately $490 million per year. At the same time, a significant market share in the republic should be occupied by Russian IT, the source said.

Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, agrees that the EAEU, India, Africa and Iran have an increased demand for Russian IT solutions. In these markets, there is a low level of penetration of digital technologies, he noted.

Valentin Makarov says that Russian manufacturers have great prospects in the UAE market. They show interest in new technologies, the UAE is ready to accept Russia for the country of new technologies, he is sure. According to Russoft forecasts, the revenue of Russian IT companies from sales abroad in 2024 should grow by about 20%.

Obviously, exports will grow at the expense of friendly countries and by stabilizing exports to unfriendly countries. The fall was not there now, because they found ways and somehow continue to export to these unfriendly countries, - said Makarov on the sidelines of one of the business forums, which took place in April 2024.

He also noted that the share of Russian companies that intend to export software has grown in recent years from 20% to 70%. According to Anton Nemkin, one should not wait for the rapid conquest of the markets of friendly countries by Russian IT companies, since this is a long-term process that will require significant investment.

But to occupy a dominant position, of course, there is an opportunity. Not only in terms of exporting solutions to Russian business, but also state technologies. On the latter, by the way, it is already necessary to focus, - added the deputy.[5]

Exports of Russian IT solutions for the year decreased by 44-47% to $3.1-3.3 billion

The volume of exports of Russian software solutions and IT services in 2023 amounted to about $3.1-3.3 billion, which is 44-47% less than a year ago. Such data in January 2024 led to the analytical company "Yakov and Partners."

According to experts, Russian IT solutions were in growing demand in many friendly countries. Among them are the markets of neighboring countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus) and the Middle East (primarily the UAE ).

As noted by the technical director of Yakov and Partners Digital Fyodor Chemashkin, Russian products in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, including those based on computer vision technologies, are well sold in the Gulf states. There is potential to export IT services to countries in Africa and Latin America as well as India, but their actual contribution in 2023 was not great, he added.

The Russian Export Center told Kommersant that Russian IT exporters are developing business in the markets of the Middle East and North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, but by 2023 exports in these areas did not compensate for the losses of the markets of Western countries.

The developers themselves, contacted by the newspaper, say that abroad they have managed to gain a foothold in such IT products as solutions in the field of cybersecurity, facial recognition and public security within the framework of smart city systems.

According to the source of the publication, Western sanctions against Russia in some cases even play to the benefit of domestic companies, since they show the resilience of the country's IT infrastructure.

They [potential buyers abroad] see that over the past two years, the IT systems of banks have not collapsed in the Russian Federation, the Public services are working, and in general, the IT infrastructure has shown itself to be stable in combat mode, the source said.

However, the negative impact of sanctions is not complete. An employee of one of the major Russian suppliers told the newspaper that in Vietnam, when negotiating with private customers, they asked not to mention Russian origin. Contracts have to be concluded through foreign layers, the source said.

But when negotiating with government agencies, the situation is different, they are excellent at the fact that their potential partner is from the Russian Federation. This is especially true for law enforcement agencies. Many high-ranking Vietnamese military studied in the USSR, you can often speak Russian with age generals, he added.

Nikolai Sivak, Commercial Director of Solar Group, in a conversation with the publication indicated an increase in interest in products from both the public sector and large corporate customers in Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Azerbaijan and Belarus. In 2024, the company hopes to triple sales abroad, he said. The developer of VKS solutions TrueConf in 2023 recorded an increase in demand for Russian solutions in India, Cuba, the Middle East and Myanmar.

According to the source of Kommersant's source in the IT market, to promote Russian technological products abroad, "billions of rubles or hundreds of millions of euros are required annually per company, but the result will be noticeable only in 3-5 years." By the beginning of 2024, the interlocutor of the publication does not see on the market "someone who would be ready to do this," and doubts that the export will really be supported by the state.

Mikhail Fedorov, a resident of the expert club of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), believes that the peak of the fall in IT exports has passed and now it is either stabilizing or will decline at a slow pace.^[6]

Russian software exports targeted at Asian countries

The Association of Exporters ON RUSSOFT , with the support and participation ARPP "Domestic Software" , conducted a survey of Russian developers and found out the current trends in exporting IT solutions. This was announced on November 9, 2023 by the press service of the deputy. State Duma of the Russian Federation Anton Nemkin

The study involved 294 the Russian companies, both software exporters and non-export companies. As expected, it turned out that the current Russian exports are focused on. countries Asia Thus, 74% of companies software developers see Asian countries as promising for the export of Russian solutions and services. At the same time CIS , only 43% and 35% of companies are oriented in exports to the countries and countries of the Persian Gulf, respectively. But in general, 94.2% of all IT companies Russia are "somehow export-oriented," the researchers report.

In addition, exports to South America and Africa are expected to grow, but the real experience of exports to these regions is about 8%. According to experts, it can be increased to 25%. It is also noted that about half of IT companies are already exporters.

Russian IT solutions have great opportunities to consolidate in foreign markets, said Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.

Indeed, if earlier Russian exports were aimed more at the United States and European countries, then a change in the geopolitical situation led to the fact that the most favorable markets were the countries of Asia, Africa and South America. There is an advantage to this. As a rule, we are talking about developing countries with unformed markets, in which there is no monopoly on any software. Therefore, with proper integration, domestic solutions can become a kind of Microsoft in such markets - that is, absolute leaders, the expert believes.

As of November 2023, the market is more than $5 billion. In fact, the benefits introduced (for example, a decrease in the income tax rate to 3%) led to a revival of economic activity and allowed us to focus not on covering current costs, but on opening new directions. At the same time, the gross added value of IT developments, which is 1, 2 trillion rubles, also increased by 20%, - said the deputy.

The state is interested in the development of IT solutions, as evidenced by the introduced measures aimed at supporting the industry, the deputy said.

But you need to understand that such measures should be considered not only in the logic of import substitution, but also in the logic of growth of the total share of the IT segment in the structure of GDP. Our task is not just to import substitution of existing solutions, but also to become the world leader of IT, the parliamentarian concluded.

Russian IT companies will reorient the export of domestic software to the East

The share of unfriendly countries in sales of Russian software in 2022 was halved - to 12.5% from 25.25% in 2021. This is evidenced by the data of Russoft, which became known in early August 2023.

According to the association's materials, the Russian Federation and neighboring countries in 2022 accounted for about 77.1% of the revenues of Russian software companies against 65.95% a year earlier. The share of friendly countries during this time increased from 8.8% to 10.4%. According to experts, Russian software developers will reorient exports to the East.

Today, a rather strong emphasis is placed on opposition - friendly and unfriendly countries. But the word "friendly" does not mean at all that in a particular state we are waiting for customers and partners who are already ready for cooperation, purchase and are generally positive. The markets of friendly countries are the same competitive markets as everywhere else in the world. That is, all the same companies with which you have to compete, for example, in Europe or the United States, have long and successfully been present in friendly countries, "said Sergey Ozhegov, CEO of SearchInform.

As indicated in Russoft in August 2023, the share of friendly countries in the revenue of Russian software developers has increased for several years, starting in 2015, but in recent years it has fluctuated around 8-10%. Taking into account the measurement error, there is no obvious change in this indicator over the years. However, the absolute value of sales in these countries has still increased over the past 4-5 years - along with the total turnover of Russian software companies, the study says.

According to analysts, there are no obvious signs of a reorientation of the Russian software development industry to the markets of friendly countries yet. The fact is that entering these markets cannot be quick and easy. With a sharp increase in the attractiveness of the domestic market, the business considered it unjustified to spend resources to enter new markets or to expand sales there, the researchers report.

According to them, the numerous sanctions introduced in 2022 aimed at undermining the Russian economy, and the termination of work in Russia of almost all large companies representing the United States and other Western countries, provided the work of Russian software developers for years to come. Therefore, sales growth in the domestic market in the next few years will be limited only by the state of the economy and the availability of specialists.

TrueConf noted that the decline in exports to the markets of "unfriendly countries" fell at the beginning of 2022, but in a short time mature companies managed to reorient and successfully offset this effect due to high interest in Russian IT in India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and other countries.

Increasing exports is the most important step for the development and promotion of mature IT solutions. Our experience is an average 30% increase in interest in the markets of friendly countries, and at a peak of up to 50% during 2022. To develop these indicators, state support must expand and become systemic, and the conditions for exporting Russian IT solutions should be better than that implemented by colleagues abroad. The best example is the support of Chinese manufacturers in international markets, - said Dmitry Odintsov, Development Director of TrueConf.

Russoft adds that when ensuring digital sovereignty in the countries of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia (with Oceania), it is necessary to solve approximately the same problems as in Russia, so the connection of work in the domestic market with the export direction becomes even closer. Moreover, some complex tasks that require significant resources (human, investment, organizational) can be solved together with states that have embarked on technological independence from Western countries.^[7]

The Ministry of Digital Development instructed to develop a strategy for the export of Russian software to the BRICS and EAEU countries

On July 5, 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development instructed to develop strategies for exporting Russian system-wide and industrial software to the BRICS and EAEU countries.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, a new structure will be formed for the implementation of the project in Russia - the Техлид.рф Center for Technological Leadership. This organization will collect data on priority markets and assess the prospects for products. In addition, specialists will form a list of companies whose work is export-oriented, create a network of partners, and also train local customers to use Russian software.

Within the framework of the initiative, it is planned to export a wide range of domestic solutions. These are, in particular, operating systems, DBMS, instant messengers, computer-aided design systems, Internet of Things (IoT) device management platforms, deepfake recognition tools, business process management systems and other products for the corporate sector. In addition, the possibility of exporting gaming applications and social platforms is being considered.

It is said that "Техлид.рф" will provide "advisory support to exporting companies." However, market participants doubt the success of the initiative. It is noted that it does not provide for the allocation of funds from the budget, and therefore difficulties may arise with financing strategies. In addition, several departments and organizations are already engaged in the development of software exports in Russia, including the Ministry of Digital Industry, the Ministry of Digital Development and Trade, RFRIT and others. But the problem is the lack of centralized process management in these structures - so current support measures are ineffective. In such a situation, experts believe, the development of new strategies and the launch of an expert center will not eliminate the existing restrictions.^[8]

Russian "digital attachés" appointed in 6 countries

As noted by the Deputy Head of the Government of the Russian Federation, in order to qualitatively promote Russian IT products abroad, the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT) organizes information and educational events for "digital attaches," which include visiting the offices of IT companies and industries. Read more here.

Russoft "asked 465.3 million rubles to support the export of Russian software

The Association of Russian Software Manufacturers "Russoft" asked 465.3 million rubles to support the export of domestic software. This follows from the draft roadmap developed by the organization, which became known on March 7, 2023.

As Vedomosti writes with reference to this document, Russoft proposes to launch an acceleration program designed for 500 IT companies per year. Financial support is necessary to bring their products to new markets, according to the authors of the initiative. To do this, "it is proposed to consolidate the experience of leading accelerators - IIDF, the Skolkovo Foundation, Generation S - and select companies together with them.

The "preliminary financial model" of the program assumes that the cost of acceleration for one company will be about 1.2 million rubles. Of these, 80% will be allocated by the state, and 20% by the company itself.

Russoft sent the prepared document to the Ministry of Digital Development in early February 2023. The initiative was developed by Russoft together with REC (JSC Russian Export Center, part of the ВЭБ.РФ group). The Ministry of Digital Development was asked to justify budget financing of the roadmap projects, in particular the acceleration program.

By March 2023, Russoft is conducting a survey of market participants to "prepare an economic justification for the return of state support measures in the form of concluding export contracts and additional tax revenues," which is planned to be completed by April 2023, a representative of the association said.

Experts interviewed by the newspaper believe that 1.2 million rubles - a rather small amount for the withdrawal of a product to a new foreign market looks like. According to their estimates, this amount will not last long: a campaign to promote in the foreign market costs an average of 10-12 thousand per month.^[9]

2022

Russian software exports to friendly countries grew by 10%

In 2022, Russian IT companies increased by 10% the supply of software to friendly countries in comparison with 2021. Dmitry Zhelvitsky, chief analyst of the Russoft association of Russian software developers, spoke about this in early March 2023. According to him, against the background of a fall in all exports, this is a very good indicator

Zhelvitsky also cited data according to which the share of friendly states in the total revenue of Russian software companies increased to 10%. At the same time, he did not disclose absolute indicators.

If we consider exit intentions, then an increase of 1.8-2 times in companies wishing to enter these markets in 2022 compared to 2021, the analyst said (quoted by TASS).

Earlier, the president of the Russoft association, Valentin Makarov, estimated the losses of domestic IT exporters in 2022 at about 80 billion rubles - based on the expectation that about 20 thousand programmers would leave the country, and not 75 thousand, as some analysts believed, giving a loss figure of 300 billion rubles.

For rapid growth in friendly markets, serious support for foreign marketing is needed, says Makarov. - In order to seriously engage in export support, you must first agree on a development strategy for Russia.

In his opinion, an understanding of the need to support IT exports will depend on the choice of strategy. However, the second strategy is less understandable for officials and for the population, which for centuries has become accustomed to seeing the country defending itself from an external enemy.

But in the modern situation of entering the world stage of former colonies with a billion-dollar population, the second development strategy turns from a communist dream into a post-capitalist reality, Makarov added.[10]

Export revenue of Russian IT companies decreased by 17% to $8.4 billion

According to the results of 2022, Russian IT companies sold software abroad in the amount of about $8.4 billion, which is about 12-17% less than a year earlier. This was announced in early March 2023 by the Russoft association, which unites more than 300 software developers.

Representatives of the association explained the fall in IT exports by the departure of Russian software developers from the European and American markets due to sanctions. Russoft noted that against this background, Russian programmers began to redirect export channels to the CIS countries, South and East Asia, and the Middle East. There is also growing interest in African and South American markets. But "the chances of significantly increasing sales there in a short time are small," said Valentin Makarov, head of Russoft.

According to one of Kommersant's sources, some European buyers by early March 2023 still continue to cooperate with Russian manufacturers.

I will not name the companies and categories of this software, but I can say that a number of Russian developers have already established structures that are not formally related to them abroad and continue to supply their solutions, the source said.

European and American markets for Russian software companies have been difficult to sell before, and over the past year, interest in them from Russian companies has cooled even more, said Sergey Ozhegov, CEO of SearchInform.

Ministry of Digital Development The publication was told that Russian solutions in the field of "digitalization of transport logistics,," are in demand abroad. agricultural extractive industry However, the department admits that "there are difficulties with transactions to open and support businesses, as well as withdraw profits in." Russia As of autumn 2022, according to the Center for Strategic Research, 18 countries were interested in Russian technologies, including,,, and China. Brazil India Turkey Saudi Arabia

The newspaper recalls that the Russian authorities have repeatedly assured that they will help Russian companies establish ties in friendly regions, in particular, with the help of "digital attaches" - specialists who will act as lobbyists for Russian IT solutions in export markets. Their preparation in 2022 was carried out by the information technology Russian Development Fund together with the Ministry of Digital Development and. The Ministry of Industry and Trade government assumed that already in 2022, digital attachés will begin work in 16 countries. However, according to sources "," by Businessman the beginning of March 2023, the mechanism also did not work.

No digital attachés help companies to establish exports on the ground, enterprises cope themselves, says one of the newspaper's sources.

According to Sergei Ozhegov, the attachés should start work in March, and it will be possible to give the first assessment of their work after six months of presence in new regions.

The main obstacles to exporting cybersecurity solutions will lie in the political plane, says Oleg Shakirov, a consultant at the PIR Center. Due to the hostilities in Ukraine and the confrontation with the West, it is harder for Russian companies to do business abroad, "it is easier for foreign counterparties not to take risks and choose a non-Russian vendor," he notes. Also, according to the actions of a number of companies with Russian roots, it is clear that they want to reputationally distance themselves from Russia, Shakirov added in a conversation with the newspaper. This does not mean, he clarifies that foreign markets are closed, the examination of Russian companies is still competitive, but "now they need to make additional efforts and put up with uncertainty in the form of possible new restrictions."^[11]

Payment for deliveries of Russian software abroad is planned to be transferred to settlements in cryptocurrencies

As it became known on November 9, 2022, the developers association Russian ON "" Russoft prepared a roadmap for export support. software One of the proposals concerns the transition to settlements in. cryptocurrencies

As Vedomosti writes with reference to this document, in order to remove or reduce restrictions "on payment when transactions with foreign customers, as well as reduce costs when carrying out such payments," it is necessary to work out the use of "alternative payment solutions," including by establishing experimental legal regimes (EPR). Also, as one of the measures to support IT exports, it is proposed "to work out mechanisms for the abolition of currency control for IT companies," the newspaper points out.

But the ability to use cryptocurrencies in calculations will not solve all the problems of software export, the partner warns. B1 Sergey Nikitchuk Firstly, software is immediately made either for the international market or for the local one, so it will not be possible to quickly bring domestic products abroad and make them in demand. Secondly, cryptocurrency is not yet available for the mass market, such payments will not ensure an increase in demand, the expert adds.

Alexey Smirnov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BASEALT, believes that the use of cryptocurrencies in calculations will not solve all the problems of exporting programs abroad, because software, firstly, is made immediately either for the domestic or foreign market, and, secondly, cryptocurrencies are not yet available for the mass market - such payments will not provide demand growth.

The roadmap was sent to Ministry of Digital Development back in August 2022, according to the interlocutor of Vedomosti in one of the domestic software developers. According to him, although the ministry did not oppose, the discussion stalled, since the map involves the allocation of additional funding in the form of various benefits, but now there is no such opportunity.^[12]

Ban on state institutions in Romania to buy Russian information security solutions

In September 2022, Romania adopted a bill on the protection of IT systems of state authorities and government institutions in the current geopolitical situation. The document, in particular, involves the introduction of a ban on the purchase of Russian products for information security (information security). Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development promotes Russian developers of information security systems abroad

At the end of October 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation announced assistance to Russian developers of information security systems in promoting abroad.

Now we are actively working in the direction of promoting our developers of information security systems abroad. Here we collect relevant proposals from leading companies, and if there are interested parties, please contact, write letters to the ministry that you have such and such a high-quality product, "said Russian Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Alexander Shoitov.

According to him, when considering applications from developers, the department assesses the possible demand for the product abroad, after which the state can help promote.

Shoitov said that although it makes no sense to talk about promotion USA to or countries, Europe a large demand for Russian separate and comprehensive solutions is observed in friendly and neutral countries.

At the same time, we need to work so that we can provide and open something for export, "he said.

CEO of Zecurion Alexei Rayevsky, in a conversation with Газетой.ру, said that the turning point in the fate of Russian information security vendors in the United States and the EU was the scandal of 2016-2017, in which the American authorities accused Kaspersky Lab products of draining data to Russian special services

The export of our products to the EU countries is now minimal. Even, most likely, is equal to zero, - he noted.

The regions that account for most of the exports of Russian information security tools are Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America, Rayevsky said. Specifically, Zecurion, he said, sells its software mainly in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Vietnam.^[13]

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation slowed down support for the export of Russian software for 1.3 billion rubles

On June 21, 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation slowed down the transfer of budget funds to support the export of Russian software in the amount of 1.3 billion rubles to the Russian Information Technology Development Fund (RFRIT). This money was accumulated in Rosinfokominvest JSC (100% of the shares in the Federal Property Management Agency). But the JSC is undergoing liquidation, and its functions were transferred to RFRIT by a government decree of March 16, 2022.

The transfer of funds from Rosinfokominvest RFRIT was to take place in accordance with the presidential decree, the draft of which was prepared by the Ministry of Digital Development and published for discussion on February 17, 2022. As indicated in the explanatory note to the draft, to carry out the functions transferred from Rosinfokominvest to RFRIT, funding is required that has not yet been brought, since the road map did not identify its sources, as well as the mechanism, procedure and timing of the transfer of assets.

This project by June 21, 2022 still cannot receive final approval: the Ministry of Finance is making adjustments, Vedomosti interlocutors said. According to one of them, the ministry does not oppose the transfer of funds per se, however, over and over again sends the project for revision, asks for additional justification for the mechanisms for financing IT solutions.

The source of the newspaper in one of the large IT companies also heard about the difficulties of coordination:

Now the Ministry of Finance is very reluctant to resolve any issues that relate to the allocation of money for something, he adds.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance told Vedomosti that "on these issues it is advisable to contact the relevant department - the Ministry of Digital Development." The representative of the Ministry of Digital Development only confirmed that "the draft presidential decree is undergoing approval procedures," and the Ministry of Finance refused to comment on the information on the adjustments.^[14]

The Ministry of Digital Development and IT-Business saw new opportunities for Russian products amid sanctions

Against the background of the current crisis situation, Russian IT companies have good prospects for business development both in Russia and abroad, said Natalya Kasperskaya, chairman of the board of the Domestic Software Association of Software Developers (ARPP), president of InfoWatch. In terms of exports, sanctions on Russia have shown the world how unsafe the use of Western solutions can be, and this could spur other countries to look for alternatives.

According to Kaspersky, announced on March 15, some Russian IT companies have already received proposals from a couple of countries that want to urgently expand cooperation in the Russian Federation. The fact is that sanctions against Russia to disconnect from IT solutions have demonstrated to the whole world that working IT products of Western production are vulnerable, explains the chairman of the board of ARPP "Domestic Software." Sanctions are carried out in an arbitrary manner, unpredictable, and this poses a certain threat to countries.

Countries are introducing some solutions at home, and suddenly it turns out that by someone's external pointer you can disable these solutions, says Kasperskaya.

Now that there is a clear example of this, Russia will have the opportunity to systematically sell software at the country level, because there are practically no alternatives in the world. China software In little, and it is quite specific, the West and Russia remain. This is a big new opportunity for Russia, Kasperskaya believes.

Deputy Minister of Digital Development Maxim Parshin notes that the export of Russian IT companies has been and has previously been focused largely in Latin America, Africa and Asia, so the situation will not change much geographically.

Russian solutions in these markets are already successfully competing with global IT products, he added. Russia is one of the few countries along with the United States and China that has an extensive stack of its own developments, from social networks to office software and products for automating various processes. Moreover, they developed in a competitive environment, when the largest global IT companies were present on the market, Parshin notes.

The same reserve will contribute to import substitution, which will soon move at an increased pace, opening up more opportunities for Russian companies to develop within Russia. The deputy minister notes that the existing developments will allow a lot of import substitution in the future. And the state is ready to invest in this.

In addition to the already adopted new measures to support the industry, for the application of which the necessary regulations are currently being adopted, the funding models at the level of organizations through which grant support is carried out are also being revised. So, for example, the general director of RFRITAlexander Pavlov said that their organization held a series of meetings with IT companies, following which new tender documentation is being developed to select candidate projects for grants and the necessary changes to the regulatory framework.

According to Pavlov, the RFRIT expects to change the conditions for co-financing projects. Now co-financing is carried out in a proportion of 50/50, but this is not effective enough, you need 20/80, where the latter is the share of grant funding.

Regarding the personnel issue, Deputy Minister of Digital Development Maxim Parshin notes that the IT market is now being reformatted, taking into account the fact that various Western companies are talking about their departure from Russia, and IT specialists will not be left without work, he is sure.

The request from IT companies is so large that everyone will be employed. And the Ministry of Digital Development, for its part, will provide both support for demand for domestic IT solutions and support for our leading developers, the deputy minister said.

Natalya Kasperskaya believes that the shortage of personnel was partly due to the fact that in the past 3 years there has been powerful digitalization in Russia, and many developments have been carried out in parallel, and sometimes digitalization projects have been carried out for the sake of digitalization. Now many such projects will disappear, and this will completely reformat the market. On the one hand, IT specialists will remain in demand, and on the other, the pressure of the shortage of IT personnel will decrease somewhat, Kasperskaya believes.

To expect that we will have a further increase in the deficit, I consider it wrong, - said the head of InfoWatch.

2021

Russoft: State support for software export is not enough, it is difficult to get it

At the end of June 2021, the non-profit partnership (NP) Russoft"" pointed out the insufficiency of export incentive measures software and difficulties in obtaining state support.

In particular, as the D-Russia edition writes, software exporters note such problems as:

• the bureaucratic complexities of combining regional and federal support measures;
• the need to refine support tools in terms of "soft" measures, which include the promotion of Russian technologies in new markets or the introduction of training programs on domestic software (or using them) for schoolchildren and students.

The Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT) at the end of June 2021 agreed with the Russoft export committee on the joint formation of a list of measures to support exporters. The Russian Export Center, in turn, expressed its readiness for individual meetings with exporters to adjust support measures and solve problems when receiving them.

From a legislative point of view, the rules for purchasing or replacing domestic software products have not been sufficiently worked out, Vladimir Komov, general director of Forsyth, which develops software products, told Telesputnik.

For us as a product company, the big problem in participating in tenders is that many require the disclosure of the source code of the software and the transfer of the exclusive right to it directly to the company or the National Fund of Algorithms and Programs. For vendors, this is a risk of losing the rights to software versions and getting a direct competitor, "Komov explained.

As the newspaper notes, Russian legislation requires a gradual transition to domestic equipment, especially in government agencies and institutions subordinate to them. But consumer companies often find excuses, explaining the impossibility of using domestic equipment by the fact that it does not fit well with other systems.^[15][16]

Cancellation of subsidies to support the export of Russian information security solutions

In early February 2021, it became known about the decision of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation to abolish subsidies to support the export of Russian information security solutions. The agency published the corresponding draft government decree on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts. Read more here.

2020

Export growth rate decreased by 4 times

In December 2021, Russoft released a study clarifying the state of affairs in the Russian software export market.

In 2020, Russian developers delivered software abroad for a total of $8.6 billion rubles, which is 4.3% more than a year earlier. At the same time, in 2019, the growth rate was significantly higher - about 17.5%.

At the same time, experts note that it is incorrect to correlate the absolute values ​ ​ of 2018 and 2019. given that some companies have ceased to be considered Russian. In the Russoft study, growth for 2019 takes into account only the indicators of companies that by the end of 2021 remain Russian (excluding those that have lost this status).

In rubles, export revenues in 2020 increased by 16.5%. Approximately the same dynamics was observed in the product sales segment within Russia. The total turnover of enterprises in the software industry in Russia at the end of 2020 amounted to ₽1,305 trillion, an increase of the same 16.5%.

According to the report, about 59.8% of Russian software manufacturers receive less than 10% of export revenues. The share of such revenue exceeds 75% only in 12.3% of market participants.

At the end of 2019, 14.3% of the surveyed companies had zero export income, but in previous years there were at least 25%, which more accurately reflects the real situation in the industry. In 2020, such companies turned out to be 30%, which is also closer to the real state of affairs. The increase in the share is partly due to the fact that small companies that previously did not work very actively abroad and do not yet have a good reputation, it was especially difficult to conclude new contracts in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the authors of the study explain.

According to them, the decrease in the share of total exports from the surveyed companies also reflects a reorientation to the domestic market. This process concerns most of all service companies, many of which previously did not work in the domestic market at all. There are almost no such people left. Some of them have an even small share of sales in the domestic market - about 10%, but earlier this figure was completely zero.Export of the Russian software development industry. 18th Annual Study

According to Russoft estimates, by the end of 2020, at least 4.2 thousand "sustainable" companies engaged in professional software development worked in Russia, not counting startups that do not have regular income. Annually, the number of software companies grows by about 2.5-4%. Foreign economic activity, according to the association, is conducted by at least 2.5 thousand Russian software companies.

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, about 9 thousand companies received funds for the provided "computer services" (explanations of what they mean, below in section 2.4.) In 2017. The difference between 2.5 thousand and 9 thousand, as well as in the total number of software enterprises, is explained by the fact that the same company, in the understanding of Russoft, can sell its services and solutions through several related legal entities. In addition, companies that cannot be considered software can receive income from "computer services," since software development is not the main area of ​ ​ activity for them, the report compilers explained.

The study provides the opinion of Lev Matveev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SearchInform. He says that the situation in the IT industry is heterogeneous, including in exports. Companies whose products are associated with leisure and entertainment have strengthened their positions, these are online games, social networks, and so on. But in the export of corporate software, in which personal meetings, negotiations and so on are important, there was a decline, he said.

Software exports from Russia grew by 4.3%, to $8.6 billion - Russoft

The revenue of Russian developers from the supply of their products abroad in 2020 reached $8.6 billion, an increase of 4.3% compared to 2019. In previous years, the growth rate was higher and amounted to more than 10%, reports Russoft"" in its study published in July 2021.

Despite the decline in positive dynamics of software exports from Russia, the share of foreign sales of software companies in all Russian exports of goods and services over the year increased by more than a third - from 1.7% to 2.3%, and in the case of exports of services alone, it increased from 13.1% to 18.3%. Analysts attribute this rise to the fact that the industry managed to achieve a slight increase in sales amid a serious decline in exports of services to the entire economy: it decreased by 20.5%, Russoft experts explain.

The increase in the share of computer services in the total export of the Russian Federation turned out to be even more significant. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the arrival of currency received from the sales of these services increased by 13.5% - from $4.5 billion in 2019 to $5.1 billion a year later. Thus, their share in the total export of the Russian Federation rose from 0.94% to 1.3%.

As analysts explain, the export of computer services is official information about the receipt in Russia of part of the revenue of software companies from sales abroad. Another part of the export of software and services for its development (approximately 27%) takes place under other items of foreign currency receipts from the sale of services (transfer of intellectual property rights, research, etc.). If we compare the data of the total export of software and services for its development with the total volume of their foreign sales, then, according to Russoft, 18.5% of the total foreign sales of the industry remained in accounts abroad by the end of 2020. Some of these funds are returned to Russia in the form of dividends, and some go to cover the needs of companies in foreign representation and marketing.

Since computer services account for a significant part of foreign sales of software companies, it is logical to assume a similar change. However, at the end of 2020, the export of computer services increased much more than the total foreign sales of software developers - by 13.5% and 4.3%, respectively. This difference is explained by the fact that due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the cost of participating in foreign marketing events has sharply decreased.

On the other hand, the personnel deficit has sharply increased in the domestic labor market. Because of this, the average salary of software developers increased by more than 10% in 2020. The cost of recruiting also increased due to the increased turnover of personnel. The need for spending abroad has decreased, and within Russia it has increased, the report says.

Other factors may have had an impact. For example, the heads of companies could decide that against the background of geopolitical risks and the struggle of the state for deoffshorization, it is more reliable to store free funds in a domestic bank, and not somewhere abroad. In previous years, sales of software companies once already accounted for 2.3% of all Russian exports. This level was achieved at the end of 2016. However, the total export of software companies then took into account the revenue of several large companies, which Russoft ceased to consider Russian due to the change of their owners. Thus, for software companies that remain Russian, the share in total exports from Russia received at the end of 2020 is an absolute record, the association noted.

Cashback 3% for software export

On February 1, 2020, it became known about the letter that Russoft sent to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and which refers to the proposed measures to support Russian software manufacturers. In particular, companies are asked to introduce cashback in the form of subsidies in the amount of 3% for the export of software, which, according to the operating director of Positive Technologies Maxim Pustovoy, will allow them to increase their net profit. Read more here.

2019

Growth of 20.5% in rubles and 17.5% in dollars

Revenues of companies from software sales outside the Russian Federation increased more - by 20.5% in rubles (up to 533 million) and by 17.5% in dollars (up to $8.25 billion).. Read more here.

Russoft: rating of regions of Russia by the level of development of the software development industry

On December 20, 2019, the association Russoft reported TAdviser that in the framework of the study "Development ON Russia in a regional context," its analysts presented information about the state of the software industry in 40 regions of the Russian Federation with the largest cumulative volume of software development.

The review was compiled on the basis data of a survey of industry participants, the content of the database of companies accredited in (Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation almost 11 thousand juris. persons) and on the basis of Russoft's own database of software companies (about 2 thousand enterprises). To these sources CENTRAL BANK , Russia's data on export volumes,, telecommunication computer information services with a division in all regions were added. In addition, Russoft analysts collected on the website hh.ru data on the number of companies and the number of vacancies in the field of "Development" for software the subjects of the federation that had the largest export of such services at the end of 2018.

As a result of analyzing data from various sources, it turned out that at least 96% of Russian software exports are in 40 regions. It is too early to study the state and potential of the development of the software industry in regions that are not included in the top 40. Such regions can only have individual, and not very large, software companies.

If we judge the leaders of the software industry, then in all respects (the number of companies, the number of specialists, the volume of exports and the total turnover) Moscow and St. Petersburg will be in the first places without any doubt. At the same time, their positions (first and second places, respectively) will be unchanged in the foreseeable future, given the huge gap between them and the same gap between St. Petersburg and its competitors.

It is impossible to accurately measure the size of the industry in each region, primarily due to the fact that almost all large companies have several software development centers distributed across different cities of Russia. The monetary contribution of remote software development centers to the total turnover of a large company is difficult to assess even the company's management. Approximately, this contribution can be determined by the number of employees, but the average qualification can differ significantly in different offices. This indicator has no one hundred percent correlation with the level of wages.

It is even more difficult to estimate the volume of export software development in the regions where the development centers of metropolitan companies are located, since the statistics of the Central Bank of Russia attribute exports only to the region in which the export contract is directly executed. Therefore, the specific position of the region in the Rating is quite relative, especially when several regions have slightly different indicators. Russoft analysts chose the distribution of regions by groups, including regions close in terms of indicators, which is quite reasonable.

All 40 regions of the rating are distributed in 4 groups - A, B, C, D. Of the first three groups, the Rating "Top-14 subjects of the federation" is formed, about which we can say that they have a formed software industry. The presence of such an industry is recognized if at least 100 software development companies operate in the region, some of which are actively working abroad.

Moscow and St. Petersburg are located in Group A, although the absolute differences between them are so large that they can be considered to be in different categories. However, their difference from all other subjects of the federation is still much larger, which allows both capitals to be included in the same leading group.

There are 5 regions in Group B that claim third place (Nizhny Novgorod Region, Novosibirsk Region, Republic of Tatarstan, Sverdlovsk Region, Rostov Region). None of them has an advantage in all respects. By the volume of exports of telecommunications, computer, information services (data of the Central Bank of Russia), as well as by the number of accredited IT companies, the third subject of the federation is the Moscow region.

However, in other respects, this region is quite far from third place. Judging by the database of companies using the search for employees in the field of software development on the hh.ru website, by the number of open vacancies, the Moscow region is in 22nd place, by the number of companies with open vacancies - it takes 19th place, by the number of all registered companies - in 10th place. The high rate of exports of services is probably due to the fact that in the Moscow region it is profitable to register companies for export income.

Nizhny Novgorod the region in terms of export is the next contender for third place with a slight advantage over the Novosibirsk region. However, according to Russoft, Novosibirsk there are more large development centers for Russian (primarily Moscow) companies that operate for export, and there are also large companies that are more focused on the domestic market. Novosibirsk also has a serious advantage in terms of the total number of companies and the number of open vacancies. There is every reason to put the Novosibirsk region in third place.

Not very far behind the 5 regions of the second group are the subjects of the federation, located from 8th to 14th place (Moscow region, Voronezh region, Tomsk region, Perm territory, Chelyabinsk region, Samara region, Krasnodar territory). Group C was formed for them.

There are 26 regions in Group D, the vast majority of which do not individually consider either the possibility or the big point. Almost all of them have prospects to move to Group C if they use the existing development potential.

The ranking of regions from 15th place and further was carried out by the average indicator of the following parameters: the number of vacancies, the number of companies (in the hh.ru database), the volume of exports of telecommunications, computer, information services.

The top 14 regions in which a full-fledged software industry has formed provide 82.44% of Russian exports of telecommunications, computer, and information services. At the same time, 13.76% of exports in the statistics of the Central Bank are not distributed by region. Most likely, almost all undistributed export revenues were obtained from development in 15-20 constituent entities of the federation with the largest total turnover of software companies. Thus, more than 96% of software exports are given by these 20 regions.

Of the total volume of Russian exports of telecommunications, computer, information services, 71.7% are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Obviously, the real contribution of these cities to the aggregate indicator should be much lower, given that many large and even medium-sized software companies in the two capitals have development centers in other cities. If only computer services are allocated, then Moscow and the Moscow region will account for 47%, and not 53.7% (as for computer, telecommunications and information services). Petersburg provides 21% of computer services exports.

These data were obtained from the Department of Statistics of the Central Bank at the request of Russoft. There are no similar indicators for other regions due to the fact that in some cases it will not be difficult to find out the export of one company that provides 100% or almost 100% of the export of a subject of the federation. Such information cannot be publicly presented under the law on statistical reporting.

If we take into account the presence of remote development centers for metropolitan companies in various cities of Russia, as well as a fairly massive move of specialists from the regions to the capital, then Moscow's contribution to the total export of software companies and their total turnover will have to be significantly reduced. How to carry out such a recalculation is a difficult question that can hardly have an unambiguous answer. The approaches may be different. At the same time, all the necessary data for such an allocation is not available.

Nevertheless, a survey as part of Russoft's annual study showed that almost half (40.8%) of specialized technical employees of 36 Moscow companies work in other cities of Russia (another 6.9% - abroad). If we take into account that the sample is larger for large companies that have a much larger share of nonresident employees than relatively small companies, then in other cities of Russia 33-34% of employees of Moscow software companies work.

In any case, Moscow will account for more than 35% of exports (most likely, about 40%), despite the fact that in terms of population its share is approximately 8.5% of the country's population.

Among the 40 largest regions in terms of export of telecommunications, computer, information services, it is worth noting the rather high positions of Yakutia (17th place) and the Vologda region (8th place). At the same time, all sources say that there are no large number of software companies in these regions. It was known that in the Vologda region no more than 15-20 enterprises specializing in software development. There was no information about software companies in Yakutia at all. In the database of hh.ru in these two regions there are only 4 companies that are looking for specialists in the field of software development.

Apparently, a quite decent amount of exports of computer services were provided to them by individual companies (the Central Bank of Russia does not disclose indicators for specific enterprises).

The company Playrix with Vologda roots became known only recently, when, as a developer of mobile games, it hit the global AppAnnie rating, being in 32nd place. Some experts estimated its turnover at about $200 million, and its capitalization at more than $1 billion. There is no reliable information about the turnover of this company, but it is measured in at least tens of millions. dollars

In Yakutsk, the young company MyTona (created in 2012) is very active in recruiting personnel. She positions herself as one of the largest game developers and publishers in Russia and the CIS. Its staff includes 600 specialists. In March 2018, it was ranked 4th on the list of highest grossing games in the United States on the iPad.

Apparently, Playrix and MyTona account for most of the export of computer services in the Vologda region and Yakutia, respectively.

In this regard, we can mention the iSpring company operating in the Republic of Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola). It most likely also provides most of the export of computer services to this subject of the federation. However, Mari El still has more companies recruiting specialists in the field of software development than in the Vologda region and Yakutia.

These examples suggest that software companies that successfully operate in the global market can appear even in small-scale regions that do not have well-known universities and developed infrastructure. At the same time, their location (especially Yakutsk) is not very convenient for working with foreign customers. The main condition is the availability of the Internet.

When determining the volume of exports of telecommunications, computer, information services per capita, the four leading positions are the same subjects of the federation as in the main rating of regions, compiled by the size of the industry in absolute terms. However, Moscow no longer looks like such an unconditional leader in comparison with St. Petersburg. Moreover, if you allocate only computer services, excluding telecommunications and information, then the northern capital will come first.

Unfortunately, such an allocation is impossible for other subjects of the federation. Therefore, it is assumed that the share of telecommunications and information services is the same for them, and is about 20%. According to the export of computer services, it is known that for all of Russia in 2018 it is $4.06 billion, the share of Moscow and the Moscow region is 47%, and St. Petersburg is 21%. Then it turns out that for each resident of St. Petersburg there are $159.3 export revenues from sales of computer services abroad at the end of 2018, and for each resident of Moscow and the region - $152.6. At the same time, 41% of the employee of the surveyed Moscow software companies works in other cities of Russia (when extrapolated to all software developers, the indicator will be lower - about 30-35%).

St. Petersburg has a corresponding share of development centers in the regions much less. For the surveyed companies - 18.5%, and when extrapolated to the entire software industry of the city - 12-16%. At the same time, Moscow companies have large development centers located in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg companies also have developers in Moscow, but their number is insignificant. Usually these are sales office specialists needed to be closer to the client.

If we take into account the contribution made only by software developers living in Moscow or St. Petersburg, then the shares of the two capitals in the total export of computer services will be approximately 35-40% and 18-20%, respectively. That is, the advantage of the northern capital in per capita exports will be even higher (approximately $150 per person against $130 in Moscow).

If you rank only cities, then, most likely, Taganrog, located in the Rostov region, will be in third place, with an indicator for the export of computer services per capita of about $60. This is much less than that of St. Petersburg and Moscow, but much more than that of other cities in Russia.

The availability of data on the volume of exports of computer, telecommunications, information services in the first half of 2019 made it possible to determine the regions with the largest growth in this export. The data on the increase in percent provide little interesting information, since the regions in which export revenues from the provision of computer, telecommunications and information services are virtually zero were in the first positions. For example, the Tambov region showed the largest growth in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period last year - an increase of 617% (that is, more than 7 times). However, even with such an increase, the absolute value of exports turned out to be almost symbolic ($0.43 million). Among the regions that have more than $10 million in export revenues over the half year, the largest increase is in the Perm Territory (by 60%) and Yakutia (by 89%).

You can pay attention to the growth indicators of some regions if we consider them for a longer period (at least 2-3 years). However, the data on the export of computer services divided by regions of the Central Bank of Russia was first disclosed only in 2018.

More informative will be the rating of regions by the absolute increase in the export of computer, telecommunications, information services in millions of dollars. In this rating, St. Petersburg and the Nizhny Novgorod region stand out as a big increase, and the maximum reduction is Moscow, which, in terms of export reduction, took the last place among 67 constituent entities of the federation that export computer services. It is possible that such a sharp reduction in exports is caused by the change of the legal address of one or more large Moscow companies to addresses in other regions with a lower tax burden and a lower level of remuneration. For more meaningful conclusions, you need to wait for the data of the Central Bank of Russia for the next period.

If we estimate the growth in exports of software companies (based on a Russoft survey), then at the end of 2018, the Rostov Region took the first place with an increase of 18%. According to the Central Bank of Russia, it has about the same increase in the export of computer, telecommunications, information services (+ 19%), but according to the results of the first half of 2019. The leadership of the Rostov region is also to increase the total staff of enterprises developing software. Tomsk companies have the highest focus on expanding exports, although at the end of 2018 their sales in the domestic market grew faster than exports.

Only about 35% of Russian software companies are actively working abroad

On July 9, 2019, it became known that according to a study conducted by NP Russoft specialists on the development of Russian software companies in 1990-2019, more than 50% of Russian software companies either do not work abroad at all, or have insignificant and irregular export revenues for them. At the same time, the company often implements individual projects only in the near abroad. About 35% of Russian software companies are actively working abroad. Read more here.

2018

Russian software developers reduce the share of sales abroad, but want to conquer the United States and Europe in 2 years

On September 24, 2019, the Russoft organization published a study in which it announced a reduction in the share of sales abroad among Russian software developers. However, within two years, companies intend to significantly strengthen their positions in the United States and Europe. Read more here.

Russoft: Export of software and services for $10.5 billion (+ 19%)

According to the Russoft non-profit partnership, the volume of foreign sales of Russian software and services for its development in 2018 amounted to approximately $10.5 billion with an increase of 19% compared to the previous year. "This indicator also includes revenue that remains abroad; it can, in particular, go to the development of foreign offices and marketing, "the^[17] clarifies^[18].

So far, we are talking about preliminary data. Russoft emphasizes that the association will be able to draw final conclusions about the size of software exports only after its traditional survey of companies, which will begin in mid-February 2019.

The total turnover of Russian software companies in 2018 in Russoft is tentatively estimated at $16.87 billion - with an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. As for this indicator in our national currency, the association believes that it began to be measured by a 13-digit number and amounted to about 1.042 trillion rubles, adding 25%.

Sales in the domestic market are estimated at $6.33 billion (+ 15%) or 395 billion rubles. (+ 23%). Thus, in dollars, the share of foreign sales in total turnover should be 64% at the end of 2018 (a year earlier it was 62%). "Exports are growing faster than sales in the domestic market," conclude in Russoft

Indicators of service and product companies

The association believes that due to the weakening of the ruble exchange rate in recent years, service companies are growing faster than grocery ones. The total turnover of the former is $7.37 billion with an increase of + 26%. In this amount, about $5.3 billion falls on exports, and $2.06 billion on domestic sales.

For food companies, the turnover reached $8.88 billion with an increase of 12%. In this amount, exports account for $4.7 billion, local sales - $4.14 billion.

2017

Russoft: Export of software and services for $8.5 billion (+ 10%)

The volume of foreign sales of Russian software and services for its development in 2017 amounted to approximately $8.5 billion. Valentin Makarov, president of the Russoft non-profit partnership, uniting domestic software companies, spoke about this. These are preliminary data, the details of which will appear at the end of March 2018^[19]

Makarov believes that the growth rate of the designated segment remained at the level of 2016 in 10 - 12% - despite the "sanctions and problems of geopolitics." "Forecast for 2018 - the volume of foreign sales will continue to grow, primarily due to an increase in sales in the markets of third world countries," he notes.

As he explained to CNews, in his understanding, it is now necessary to enter the third world not with the products and services that are embedded in the so-called chains, as most often happens in developed markets. Now platform solutions are more relevant, which are created not by one company, but by entire consortia. According to Makarov, similar Russian consortia have now clearly managed to succeed in Vietnam and Indonesia. According to him, the iT group of companies played an important role in this.

Exports of IT services exceeded imports for the first time in 9 years

Positive trends in the development of Russia's IT industry are evidenced by the growth of its export potential. According to the results of 2017, for the first time in the last 9 years in the foreign trade of computer services, exports, although insignificant (by 0.5%), exceeded imports: export volume - $3417 million. USA, imports - $3398 million. UNITED STATES. Compared to 2016, these indicators increased by 28 and 11%, respectively, the^[20].

Russian software developers are drawn to exotic markets

The main markets for Russian software companies are still the markets of Russia and the EAEU countries, the USA and Western Europe, but in the past few years the share of sales in those countries that are to one degree or another exotic for Russians has been growing, the Russoft Association shared its observations in early October 2017.

Sales growth in New Markets

In 2015-2016, Russoft first determined the approximate value of this share, as well as its change over the year. If at the end of 2015, New Markets accounted for 5.9% of the total sales of Russian software companies, then in 2016 - already 6.9%. According to representatives of the association, in this case, the calculation method allows you to quite accurately determine the dynamics and direction of change, but not the absolute values ​ ​ themselves.

At the same time, the very growth in the share of sales in the "New Markets" is confirmed by other data. For example, the presence in these markets noted about 1.5 times more surveyed companies than 3 years ago. The turn towards emerging markets is also confirmed by the number of news in the media, which reflects one or another interest in them by Russian developers of high technologies and government agencies. If in 2015-2016 there were 11 such news, then in 2016-2017 - 26 at once.

When surveyed in 2017, the companies listed as key all 14 markets into which the global market is divided by geographic, linguistic and cultural characteristics. A year earlier, 3 of these 14 macro-regions were not mentioned as key by any respondent. Such a change is a sign that Russian developers are increasingly interested in those markets that were not interesting for them quite recently.

The concept of "New Markets"

The name "New Markets" is conditional and temporary, because at such a rate of growth of their share, these markets can turn into "traditional" years in 5-10 years. Western vendors call them "Markets of developing countries," but this term is no longer entirely correct, since "developing" countries in some respects are already ahead of some conditionally "developed" states of Western Europe, Russoft said.

Decrease in interest in the "USA and Canada" region

The importance of New Markets is growing due to a reduction in the share of the Western World (in absolute terms, sales are growing in all markets, but at different growth rates). In 2016, interest was declining, primarily in the North American market. Calculations show that the share of the macroregion "USA and Canada" in the total sales of Russian companies in 2016 decreased significantly - from 20.4% to 12.9%. However, such a great loss of interest in this market is not confirmed by other data. In terms of the share of companies present in this market, the change is only insignificant (there is even a slight increase from 36% to 37%). The key market in 2016 was for 25% of the companies surveyed, and a year earlier - for 21%. In addition, 9% of companies plan to enter the American market for the first time in the next two years, and a year earlier it was 8%. Nevertheless, the share of the macroregion "USA and Canada" most likely decreased, although insignificantly.

The expansion of the measurement horizon allows us to confidently talk about a relative decrease in interest in the US and Canada region over the past 10 years. The share of companies surveyed operating in the American market began to decline since 2007. This happened mainly at the expense of small companies (although large companies also somewhat reduced activity in the United States). In 2013-2014, interest in the American market recovered, but in 2015, due to geopolitical risks, this interest again decreased and turned out to be only slightly higher than in 2012.

Forecast for the coming years

According to Russoft experts, an unambiguous conclusion about a future long-term decrease in the interest of Russian IT companies in the American market should not be made, because, firstly: this market is the largest in the world, and it would be unreasonable to abandon it, and secondly: this market is the most competitive, which means it will require high-tech solutions regardless of the political situation and geography of suppliers.

Most likely, a slow decline in the share of sales in the United States and Western Europe will continue in the coming years, since Russian companies are clearly growing interest in new markets, the association believes. However, this reduction may not be slow if, as a result of the aggravation of political relations, geopolitics will prevent Russian companies from working in the United States and countries that are considered American allies. Such interference already takes place from the authorities of these countries and foreign media, which sometimes try to discredit Russian companies (especially those that work in the field of information security), noted in Russoft.

Distribution of sales of Russian software companies by market groups

	2015	2016
Russia and the Near Abroad	59,40%	61,10%
Western World	34,70%	32,00%
New Markets	5,90%	6,90%

If we consider sales only in the far abroad, we will get the following picture: 46% of Russian software sales are carried out in the USA and the EU, and 7-8% - in developing countries. This ratio does not correspond to the geographical structure of the global market. Based on data from Gartner and IDC, developing countries provide about 40% of global ICT spending. Consequently, 40% of the global ICT market accounts for only 7-8% of foreign sales of Russian software developers. According to experts, the huge potential for increasing foreign sales in emerging markets is hidden in this discrepancy.

Russian software developers are eager for the global market

According to the results of the study of NP Russoft "Prospects for Russian IT development in the global market," published on July 27, Russian software companies operating in the B2B market have become much more interested in the markets of non-CIS countries (or seek to expand sales in these markets if they are already present there).^[21]

Plans for expansion abroad

Thus, 74% of respondents are in the process of creating export products, and 65% not only indicated the existence of such developments, but also gave brief descriptions of the developed solutions.

Of those companies whose sales were previously limited to Russia and neighboring countries, 12% plan to enter the markets of non-CIS countries for the first time in 2017, 14% in 2018.

No more than 10-15% of Russian software developers are not yet ready for international expansion. They either create solutions only for the domestic market, or work abroad with a narrow circle of customers, which they do not intend to expand.

Thus, 85-90% of companies see their expansion abroad as a possible development strategy in the future. At the same time, as of July 2017, no more than 60% of Russian software companies operate in the markets of non-CIS countries, about half of which develop not their own software products, but provide services for the development of custom software, Russoft said.

Researchers associate the desire or desire of companies focused on the domestic market to master far abroad, first of all, with the fact that sales in Russia are not growing at the pace that existed before 2009 (from 2014 to 2017 for many they decreased not only in dollar terms, but also in ruble). Export can provide high growth.

Income difference

At the end of 2016, the turnover of surveyed companies that are not present in the markets of non-CIS countries increased by 8.6% (forecast for 2017 - + 13.5%). At the same time, the total turnover of the surveyed companies that operate in the markets of non-CIS countries increased by 20%, and in 2017 it is expected to increase by 19%.

According to Russoft, in the previous 2 crisis years (2014 and 2015) this difference was even greater. For example, in 2014, surveyed companies with an export share of less than 10% (developers who focus only on Russia and near abroad) had a turnover of 4% in dollar terms, and companies with an export share of more than 50% - by 25%. In 2015, the focus on the domestic market even led to a 34% drop in company income (if exports provide more than half of the turnover, then the increase was 22%).

Forecasts of the demand for solutions

Forecasts of world analytical agencies indicate that in the coming years, knowledge-intensive solutions will be especially in demand on the world market, which require a high level of physical and mathematical training of developers, and this is the main advantage of Russian specialists. In particular, the results of the Russoft study confirm that Russian software developers specialize primarily in finding solutions in the most competitive segments of world software (big data, artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, etc.). Thus, they are initially focused on the global market. Only in 60% of cases export-oriented developments coincide with developments for the Russian market, and in 40% - companies develop software, focusing only on the foreign market.

Restraining factors

The results of the Russoft study indicate that there are no obstacles to force majeure for the international expansion of IT companies. One of the main restraining factors is the lack of necessary skills and knowledge, as well as leadership skills in managers and entrepreneurs. This is the opinion of a number of experts surveyed in the framework of the study.

Other factors that prevent entry into the global market include a lack of "long money" (venture and credit) for business development, a lack of funds for R&D and marketing, as well as numerous bureaucratic obstacles.

Ways to overcome obstacles

One of the possible ways to overcome obstacles in terms of acquiring skills and knowledge, as well as creating sales channels, is to cooperate with international corporations. 65% of the companies surveyed already have a positive experience of interaction with international IT corporations and consider them as centers of expertise when creating new export-oriented solutions. They believe in the image and marketing effect of working with them, as well as the potential of using their sales channels. According to Russoft, only 19% of respondents do not consider the possibility of such cooperation. At the same time, the survey showed that cooperation with international corporations has a positive effect on the main performance indicators of companies.

In Russia, conditions should be created for software companies no worse than in other countries of the world. This is especially true against the background of the application of anti-Russian sanctions, which de facto lead to the squeezing out of the Russian jurisdiction of enterprises of the most competitive industry. The software industry is key for the development of the entire Russian economy against the background of the formation of a new technological structure, and its representatives are very mobile and easily change their jurisdiction. Creating conditions for its effective functioning in Russia is a common task of the state and the business community, - shared in Russoft a key conclusion regarding state policy in the Russian Federation.

About the study

The study "Prospects for Russian IT developments in the global market" was conducted by Russoft in partnership with the Association of Innovation and Technology Brokers (ABIT) at the initiative of SAP Corporation and with the support of the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation.

SAP: export revenue growth of Russian IT companies in 2017 will be 15.4%

The total export revenue of Russian software manufacturers over the past year increased by 18.8%, and in 2017 it is expected to grow by 15.4%. Such data was published in early July 2017 by SAP following the results of the study "Prospects for Russian IT developments in the global market." In total, representatives of 239 companies interested in export developments for business took part in the survey.

The survey showed that 72% of companies are in the process of creating export products or already have ready-made solutions. Another 20% plan their presence on the international market in the next 2-3 years.

At the moment, domestic software developers are following global trends, developing technologies for entering other markets in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, neural networks, computer vision, etc. It is interesting that the export-oriented products of the surveyed companies only in 60% of cases coincide with their main development areas in Russia.

At the same time, IT companies with an annual turnover of up to $15-20 million (according to Russoft, in Russia there are 97-98%) estimate the threshold for entering foreign markets as quite high.

Among the main restraining factors, respondents identified:

• limited access to financial resources (venture capital, concessional lending) - 52% of respondents noted a lack of funds for marketing, another 33% indicated a lack of financing for promising developments;
• lack of competencies to promote their solutions abroad, including weak marketing and sales;
• the specificity of the Russian market and the need to significantly adapt Russian solutions and standards for foreign customers.

Among the favorable factors for export are, for example, the low cost of production and labor in Russia, the presence of well-trained personnel and deep integration into the world environment of software developers. Companies interacting with large international corporations are more focused on exports (64% of respondents). Among the main benefits of such a partnership are the presence of expertise in the development and commercialization of business solutions, image support and developed promotion and sales tools. Almost all companies with experience in such cooperation (91%) said they already have or are developing promising solutions for the global market.

When choosing promising areas, IT industry experts advise focusing on narrower and technologically complex niches, which will allow using the strengths of Russian developers - good mathematical training, the ability to create complex products and non-standard solutions.

Among the most promising niches for export were named:

• patform and infrastructure software (portals, information security, middleware) - business application development platforms, portal and integration solutions, products in the field of information security and IT infrastructure management, solutions in the field of high performance computing and big data infrastructure.

• engineering and scientific software - a segment of complex mathematical, simulation and scientific software, including solutions in the field of artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, computer vision, modeling complex physical processes, etc.

All experts noted the importance of local presence in foreign markets and direct contact with potential customers, as well as the need to clearly position their competitive advantages and deeply understand the needs of the target customer.

As for the choice of specific countries, experts recommend paying attention to "unconventional" markets, including the BRICS countries, Asia, Latin America.

According to Pavel Gontarev, General Director of SAP CIS (SAP CIS), many experts believe that sales growth abroad will continue at a significant pace - up to 20-30% per year

.

About the study

The study "Prospects for Russian IT developments in the global market" was initiated by SAP CIS and was supported by the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation, the non-profit partnership Russoft and the Association of Innovation and Technology Brokers (ABIT).

Loan for three years at 5% per annum

The head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolai Nikiforov expressed the idea of ​ ​ issuing loans on such conditions during the business brunch "Russia is the world exporter of software," held in Moscow on March 21, 2017. Of course, not everyone should be issued, but only to those IT companies that either already export software and IT services (and those, according to Russoft (Russoft), in our country there are at least two thousand), or those (including startups) who are going to do it in the foreseeable future.

"If the domestic IT industry is not supported, then under pressure from large foreign software manufacturers it will become uncompetitive," believes Leonid Levin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy. "In December 2016, in his Address to the Federal Assembly, the President of the Russian Federation set the task of developing the digital economy, and we must do everything to solve this task." He also reminded the audience that the Council for Legislative Support of the Development of the Digital Economy was created under the Chairman of the State Duma, which included representatives of the IT industry, including developers of programs and technologies

.

On the official website of the Federal Assembly of the State Duma, you can find a message that the first meeting of this Council took place on March 20. Opening this meeting, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin noted the need to develop Russian legislation with the same intensity as the digital economy, otherwise the country will lose its competitive advantages in this area. "It is important that our legislation moves at least in step with the development of the digital economy, then certain preferences will be maintained for our country," Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized. - There is a danger that if we do not create conditions, then we will use the information product produced by other countries and lose the advantage that today we have^[22].

Russian IT companies ask to soften currency control for software export growth

The Russian Association of Software Developers "Domestic Software" (ARPP), which unites about 140 companies, sent a letter to the Minister of Communications Nikolai Nikiforov and Managing Director for Non-Financial Support of the Russian Export Center ( REC) Konstantin Evstyukhin at the beginning of the year with a request to soften currency control for the development of the ICT industry. Participants in the software development market believe that excessive requirements and excessive document flow only impede the growth of Russian software exports, the volume of which in 2015 amounted to $7 billion^[23]

In its appeal, ARPP made the following proposals: to increase the threshold amount for opening a transaction passport from the current $50 thousand to $100 thousand, to revise the deadlines for submitting supporting documents - from 15 to 60 days, to increase the deadlines for possible delay in payment to 90 days and cancel the requirements for the provision of currency control certificates, agreement with the client and documents confirming the fact of providing services. The latest documents, according to ARPP, will be able to replace an invoice or invoice, which is drawn up by the exporter electronically and unilaterally.

2016

V. Putin: IT exports from Russia close to $7 billion

In November, Vladimir Putin called the IT industry one of the fastest developing sectors of the Russian economy. He recalled that the volume of exports of domestic IT companies has doubled in five years.

"More recently, (export) of IT technologies was a figure that was approaching zero. Now - 7 billion dollars, "- said the president

.

He added that other indicators in the industry have increased, including as revenue and tax revenues. Such a return, according to him, was given, among other things, by benefits on insurance premiums for such companies.

"The Ministry of

Finance asked me not to say that this is only thanks to benefits. I say that there were other tools to support the industry, but still I must admit that these benefits played a significant role in supporting IT companies. This measure allowed them to effectively realize their intellectual and innovative potential, "Putin summed up.

See also:

• Benefits and support measures for IT companies in Russia
• Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (ICT quotes)

Western media have complicated the work of Russian software companies abroad

Monitoring of the foreign press, carried out by the Russoft Association (Russoft) as part of an annual study of the Russian software industry, showed a deterioration in the attitude towards Russia by foreign media. This change, which took place in the last 2 years, most likely negatively affects the export volume of domestic developers. Monitoring ^[24].

The tone of the Western press became largely different after the aggravation of Russian-American relations. The number of publications that negatively affect the image of Russia and, therefore, the ability of Russian software companies to promote their products and services on the world market increased sharply (exactly 2 times) in the first 12 months after the annexation of Crimea to Russia. If for the period from 01.05.2013 to 30.04.2014 there were 85 such articles, then from 01.05.2014 to 30.04.2015 there were 170 of them.

However, during these periods, against the background of a decrease in the share of publications with a positive tone from 48% to 35%, the absolute number of such publications increased by 14%, since all articles mentioning Russia and software became much more - by 42%.

In 2016, the comparison was carried out for other periods - 01.08.2014-31.07.2015 and 01.08.2015-31.07.2016, but some temporary shift does not prevent us from concluding that there was no significant increase in the share of negative publications. Only a symbolic decrease in this indicator was recorded from 32% to 30%. That is, it can be concluded that after a sharp decline, there was some stabilization with a gradual likely slide to an even lower level.

If the share of publications with a positive tone over the past 12 months. almost did not change, then the number of such publications during this period (unlike the previous one, when an increase of 14% was recorded) decreased significantly - by 24%. About the same number of articles has become less, and to promote Russian software on the world market, this is even worse than a slight increase in the share of publications with a negative tone.

If you look at what topics have changed the most, it is obvious that the growth of negativity was provided by reports of cyber threats and cyber attacks from Russia (the share of such reports has increased in the last 2 years from 39% to 56%). At the same time, the source of these messages most often turned out to be either American officials, or structures close to them, or the policies of other states that are considered pro-American. In addition, it is important to note that for most of the accusations of Russia, the assumptions of some experts or their words, which can only be accepted on faith, were enough.

When dividing the press into specialized (IT publications) and general political ones, you can trace how various media change their attitude towards Russia. Until 2010, there was the following clear pattern: positive publications favorable to the export of Russian software companies appeared primarily in specialized publications far from participating in political games, as well as in the media of countries that occupy at least a neutral position towards Russia. In 2010-2011. there were almost no differences between the specialized and general political press according to this criterion, and since 2013 IT publications have become more negative towards Russia in comparison with general political ones.

From August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016, the advantage of the specialized press in the share of publications with a negative tone decreased slightly, but it is still obvious (that is, it cannot be explained only by error). The analysis of articles over the past year allows us to draw an unambiguous conclusion about the manifested politicization of IT publications, which was not previously observed. They are no longer limited to their topics, considering it permissible for themselves to give political assessments of the events that occurred. Even the oppression of sexual minorities that allegedly exist in Russia is mentioned. At the same time, such assessments are often emotional. This change surprises even some readers who left relevant comments under the articles.

The situation has worsened, but it is not worth dramatizing it. Interest in the Russian software industry has decreased, but still higher than even 2 years ago. A significant increase in the share of articles with negative tone over the past 2 years is also not catastrophic.

Firstly, many readers of the foreign press treat a huge number of horror stories about threats from Russia calmly and with not very much confidence. Secondly, the constant mention of some sophisticated cyber attacks by Russia and the creation of complex malicious software by Russian programmers indicates a high level of training of specialists. In some articles that talk about the Russian threat, you can see actually direct advertising of Russian education. For example, when asked "Why are Russian hackers hitting us?" (Why Russian hackers are beating us) is answered by an expert from Trend Micro (Tom Kellermann). He believes that Russians are smarter than Americans. Consequently, the negative impact of publications about cyber threats from Russia can be deployed.

However, this needs to be done, which is not yet done: Russian companies, associations, government agencies still do not show the ability and even desire to work with foreign journalists. We can say that only two companies, Kaspersky Lab and Yandex, have regular media work outside Russia. Probably, another 2-3 companies also have constant contact with the foreign press, but their turnover is an order of magnitude less, and therefore they generate news reasons much less often.

At the same time, those countries where the press persistently forms a negative image of Russia and Russian developers are priority markets for Russian software companies (primarily North America and Western Europe). If the local press can be called absolutely loyal, then in these states sales of software developed in Russia are insignificant, although developing countries account for almost half of the global software market.

Proper work with foreign media will radically change the situation with the representation of the Russian software industry in them and reduce the negative impact of information wars that are being waged against Russia.

2015: $7 billion (+ 16 %)

Key Industry Trends

• The United States is a priority market for 25% of respondents (in 2014 - 10%). Sanctions and foreign policy struggle cause risks, but there are no direct bans on working with Russia (except Crimea), clients in the United States are waiting for political decisions.
• Europe: In Austria, Switzerland, Southern Europe, there is a tendency to attract investments from Russian companies.
• BRICS: Intensive exchange of delegations with BRICS countries, growing interest in the Russian IT industry as an alternative partner for cooperation in the field of high technologies.
• Ukraine: Remains the main source of personnel for development centers of Russian companies abroad. At the same time, the migration flow to Russia from Donbass provided an influx of software developers, reducing the deficit and tension in the labor market.

• Global business conditions for Russian IT companies have acquired a positive vector.
• The negative due to sanctions is leveled by the devaluation of the ruble and state support.
• Sanctions against Russia and anti-Russian propaganda in the United States and the EU have had little impact on real business.
• Against the backdrop of sanctions, interest in the Russian IT industry from developing countries has seriously increased.
• Geopolitical problems forced the IT industry to diversify sales markets, interests are directed to Southeast Asia and the BRICS countries.

Minek is preparing a plan to support IT exports

On October 6, 2015, it became known that the Russian government could support Russian exporters of IT solutions. In particular, they may be allowed to pledge intellectual property, maintain reduced insurance premium rates and subsidize banks to finance exports at preferential tariffs.

The fact that the Ministry of Economy is preparing a "roadmap" to support the export of products and services of Russian IT companies, reported Interfax with reference to its own source. This information was confirmed to the newspaper Kommersant by the representative Ministry of Economics Elena Lashkina.

Among the initiatives of the Ministry of Economy are financial support for Russian companies in foreign exhibition and fair events, subsidizing bank costs for financing exports at preferential rates and new forms of collateral obligations that allow you to set your own intellectual property or rights of claim under the export contract as collateral.

In addition, the ministry is going to include in the document proposals to extend the validity of reduced premium rates for IT companies and simplify the procedure for confirming R&D expenses when calculating income tax.

The first "roadmap" for the IT industry was approved back in 2013, it is designed until 2018. Then it was planned to intensify research and development in the field of IT, invest 4 billion rubles in the creation of 50 centers for breakthrough research of information technologies and stimulate IT exports by introducing benefits for small companies. Benefits appeared at the end of 2013, and they are valid until the end of 2017.^[25]

2014: $6 billion (+ 11%) or 1.2% of all Russian exports

The export of software and services for its development in 2014 in Russia, according to NP Russoft, grew by 11% and reached $6 billion. This is slightly less than the forecast given a year ago (growth of 15% and sales volume of $6.3 billion, respectively).

The slowdown in export growth compared to the forecast is mainly due to the deterioration of the geopolitical situation. The decrease in export growth was primarily due to a decrease in the volume of sales of services provided by foreign software development centers to their parent companies. If in previous years the volume of exports of such services steadily increased by 8-12%, then at the end of 2014 it decreased by about 5%.

Such a reduction is determined by the action of several factors at once, of which there are two main ones:

• Most of the development centers belong to companies in the USA and Western Europe, relations with which Russia has deteriorated recently.

• Western companies were wary of the law on the protection of personal data.

The total turnover of Russian software companies amounted to at least $12 billion, an increase of 5% over the year. Exports give Russian companies about the same income as sales on the domestic market - $6 billion each.

The share of exports of Russian software and services for its development in the total export revenues of Russian enterprises and organizations continues to increase. At the end of 2014, this figure was 1.2% (in 2013 - 1%, in 2012 - 0.88%, and in 2011 - 0.8%). The share growth in 2014 was ensured not only by an increase in software exports, but also by a 5% reduction in Russia's export revenues from $523.2 billion to $498 billion.

From the point of view of the share in Russian exports, the software industry is already quite significant for the Russian economy. For comparison:

• the share of food products is 3.8% of all Russian exports (including cereals - 1.4%),
• chemical industry - 5.9%,
• machinery and equipment - 5.3%,
• non-ferrous metals and products from them - 3.2%,
• arms - 3.1%,
• wood and pulp and paper products - 2.3%.

The indicators of all these industries can serve as the closest and quite achievable benchmarks for the Russian software development industry.

If we focus on the expectations of the companies surveyed during the study, then the growth of software exports in 2015 should be 16%, and the growth of turnover - 10%. However, various factors can affect both the increase in this indicator and the decrease.

The main performance indicators of companies traditionally depend on their size. The larger the company, the greater the growth in exports and turnover. However, the indicators of large and small enterprises have somewhat leveled off over the past 3 years, largely due to a decrease in the headcount threshold, which allows small companies to count on benefits from insurance premiums (in 2013 from 50 people. up to 30 people, and from January 2014 - up to 7 people). In some cases, growth is even higher for small businesses.

2013: $5.2 billion (+ 15 %)

The volume of exports by software Russian companies in 2013 amounted to 5.2 billion, the dollars head said in February 2014 at a Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Nikolay Nikiforov government meeting, where the issue of supporting non-resource exports was discussed, Prime said.

The minister noted that the growth of exports by Russian IT companies is 20% annually. Speaking about measures to support the export of IT firms, the minister noted that they should be of a different nature than measures for companies in the raw materials sector. In particular, according to the minister, IT companies need legal support in terms of helping to protect their intellectual property in different markets. In addition, support is needed in terms of developing human resources.

According to NP, in "Russoft" 2013 the volume of exports ON and services for its development from Russia grew by 15% and amounted to $5.2 billion. The NP notes a slight decrease in the growth rate of Russian IT exports: in 2010-2011. they amounted to about 20%, in 2012 - 17%.

According to President of Russoft Valentin Makarov, the growth in the volume of software exports and services for its development in 2010-2011. was due to the satisfaction of the deferred demand from foreign companies accumulated during the crisis. In 2013, the level of demand stabilized and in the future will depend on the growth of the global economy, he believes.

The NP cites data that as of 2013 there are about 2.3 thousand Russian software companies, of which about 1.5 thousand work for export. The number of personnel of foreign development centers of Russian companies is about 20 thousand people. The share of Russian software developers in the global market (including custom development services) in 2013 amounted to about 2.5%.

One of the main trends in the industry in Russoft is called the strengthening of interest of leading software exporters in the native market and the decline in the importance of the markets of the United States and Canada, which prevailed for a long time. So, if in 2010 software development services for clients from the USA and Canada were provided by 45% companies participating in the Russoft survey, in 2011 - 31% companies, then in 2012 - only 14%. For 2013, the NP predicts a decrease in this indicator by several more percent - to 10-13%.

Speaking about the forecast of future growth rates of software exports in Russia, Valentin Makarov called TAdviser two subjective factors. The first of them is the growing up of those businesses that were created by the first galaxy of Russian serial venture investors who raised their capital from the sale of successful startups from the horizon of the 90s-2000s, as well as companies created with the support of development institutions (primarily RVC and its Funds). He calls the latter the "second wave" of IT-Business in comparison with the first wave, "which has successfully grown in 25 years and now forms the basis and pride of the Russian software development industry."

"This" second wave "is developing at a much faster pace, as its leaders have absorbed the global culture of venture capital investment and the culture of doing global business at all, without which it is impossible to grow into a global player," says the president of Russoft. "This factor can give an additional 2-3% of growth in 2014, that is, 17% -19%, and from 5% to 10% in subsequent years - an increase of 20% -25% - subject to stability and some growth in the global economy

."

Makarov calls the second factor the state's policy to support the entry of Russian companies into the world market. The experience of the developed countries of the world gained by them in the middle of the last century, and the experience of developing countries gained in the 90-2000s shows that both of them created specialized tools to support high-tech exports, he notes.

"If this factor is used by the state in 2014, the growth of software exports and IT services may increase by 3-8%, depending on the radicalization of support measures. India's experience shows that the impact of this factor will be obvious for 2-3 years, that is, by 2016-2017, "says Valentin Makarov

.

Summing up the positive impact of the two factors, the growth in software exports and IT services from Russia could reach up to 30% in 2018, he told TAdviser.

2012: $4.6 billion (+ 17 %)

The volume of exports software and services for its development from, Russia according to "," in Russoft 2012 increased by 17% and reached $4.6 billion in monetary terms. At the same time, the ratio of the shares of services and products in the export structure has not changed - 50% still falls on IT services, 40% - on products and 10% - on the services of development centers.

According to the preliminary results of the Russoft study, the volume of software exports and services for its development this year will grow by 20% and amount to about $5.5 billion.

For the further development of the industry, the necessary conditions are the extension of benefits for insurance premiums, as well as the active development of the system for training IT specialists. In addition, according to the head of Russoft, further growth of the industry in the global market is impossible without the creation of the Agency for the Support of High-Tech Exports (APEX Russia) and the implementation of a large-scale export support program.

2010: $3.3bn

The volume of exports software from Russia in 2010 amounted to $3.3 billion, according to the association's report "." In Russoft 2009, the same figure was $2.75 billion, i.e. the growth for the year was at the level of 13%^[26]

A year earlier, the association hoped that in 2010 Russian players would gain 20% more from outsourcing development than a year earlier - $3.3 billion. According to the president of Russoft Valentin Makarov, the preliminary indicator can be adjusted upwards: "While the questionnaires of 158 companies have been analyzed, they will still arrive. Also, we have not yet added data from open sources to the results. " According to the final data, he predicts the final growth of the market in 2010 at the level of 17%.

According to the forecast (November 2011), in 2011 this figure should grow to $3.9 billion, and in 2012 - exceed $4.7 billion.

Russian Software Export Industry 2011 Report

"Rapid growth in software exports has recovered from the pause caused by the global financial crisis. If in 2009 the export revenue of Russian software companies increased by a symbolic 3% -5%, then according to the results of 2010, export growth was already 20%, "the report says

.

Exports of products and replicated solutions have continued to grow at a faster pace for several years in a row. In 2010, this segment increased by 30%, reaching $1.35 billion. The share of finished products exports in the total market volume increased from 37% in 2009 to 40% in 2010.

As in 2009, Kaspersky Lab contributed the most to the increase in total export revenue of products, which provided almost half of the increase.

Also, as the main exporters of finished software, the Russoft report includes:

• Parallels (Parallels Software) (virtualization),
• Acronis (backup, recovery and data protection),
• Transas Technologies (software for the synthesis of 3-dimensional images, navigation systems and ship traffic control),
• CBOSS (Billing Automation),
• Abbyy Russia (electronic dictionaries, recognition systems),
• Paragon (utilities for working with data on hard drives, software for handheld devices),
• Spirit (voice, video and data firmware),
• PROMT (automatic translation systems) and
• "Speech Technology Center" (speech synthesis and analysis).

Custom development remains the largest segment of the software export market. Its volume in 2010 amounted to $1.6 billion, an increase of 14%. At the same time, the share of this segment in 2010 (48%) decreased compared to 2009 (51%).

Source: NP Russoft, November 2011 

"The growth potential of the export of software development services has not yet been exhausted, despite the personnel deficit available on the Russian labor market," they say in Russoft. - Large service companies fill the shortage of specialists in Russia by creating foreign development centers. In addition, there is a certain margin in improving the efficiency of the use of human resources. "

Investments in international development centers decreased during the crisis (the development center suffered the greatest damage Motorola), but after the crisis, most corporations retained their positions at the level of 2009, analysts say. At the same time, some large foreign companies have increased the number of full-time and freelance researchers and developers working in Russia.

Thanks to these companies, investment in international research and development centers has increased by about 10%. The growth of exports of services in the field of research and development provided by universities and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences amounted to about 15%. However, this total growth turned out to be less than the growth in product exports, so the share of R&D centers of foreign companies in the total export volume decreased from 12% to 11%, according to Russoft.

The segment of development centers of foreign companies, universities and research institutes amounted to about $350 million in 2010.

Russian software companies account for no more than 2.5% of the global software market (including custom development services), analysts say. That share is increasing by about 0.1 percentage points a year.

As the president of the partnership Valentin Makarov' commented on its results , in 2010 the industry almost completely recovered after the global financial crisis, having reached the same export growth rates that were observed in 2008.

The financial crisis reduced the growth rate, according to the results of the difficult 2009, the export of software and services for its development from Russia increased by only 5%, but this growth occurred contrary to the then observed compression of the global IT market. In 2010, this figure was already 20%. Thus, the volume of software exports and services for its development in 2010 reached about $3.3 billion. Exports of products and replicated solutions have continued to grow at a faster pace for several years in a row. Accordingly, their share in the total export volume also increased and in 2010 amounted to 41%.

In 2011, respondents expect an increase in export volume by 20% and the trend of specialization of Russian developers on high-tech developments and products. Recall, according to Russoft, until 2008, the export revenue of Russian software development companies grew by 40-50% per year.

The industry's potential allows Russia to have at least $10 billion a year from software exports, the report says. Therefore, the decrease in export growth rates is largely due not to the saturation of the export revenue growth curve, but to the continuing unresolved problems of the legislative and administrative environment in which business is forced to operate. "The level of personnel costs has grown to European heights, while the instability of tax regulation and the deterioration in the feeding of new personnel from universities threaten the industry with a decrease in competitiveness," said Valentin Makarov.

Over the past 2010, Russia's position in the global market for software and services for its development has strengthened in a number of parameters, the Russoft report says. There were prerequisites for the emergence of new sources of export revenue growth, since over the previous two years, with the support of venture capital, new promising companies appeared on the market, and a number of foreign corporations announced their intention to open their own R&D divisions in Russia.

The success of Internet companies also had a positive effect on the entire Russian IT industry, the attractiveness of which for foreign investors has grown significantly due to the successes of Mail.ru and Yandex. Experts expect IPOs of other Russian IT companies. The first candidate is the leading provider of IT services in Eastern and Central Europe - EPAM Systems, which has already officially announced preparations for an IPO. Next in line is Kaspersky Lab, Parallels (Parallels Software).

The results of 2010 once again demonstrated that the economic indicators are better for those companies that have a higher share of exports in the structure of total revenue. With an export share of less than 10% of the turnover, the growth in the total revenue of companies averaged 10%. In those companies in which the share of exports exceeds 75%, companies grew by an average of 30%, according to the Russoft report.

A study by Russoft showed that as of the end of 2010, at least 12-15 software companies with more than a thousand employees had already been operating in Russia. The respondents state that the market is consolidating, and the tendency of players to move from directly outsourcing to the supply of ready-made solutions and system integration is also noticeable.

Products and Finished Solutions

Volume - $1350 million Export growth - about 30%.

The growth in exports of companies specializing in the development of products and ready-made solutions, according to Russoft, amounted to about 30% according to the most cautious estimates. As in 2009, Kaspersky Lab contributed the most to the increase in total export revenue, which accounted for almost half of the increase. According to IDC, Kaspersky Lab ranks fourth in the ranking of world manufacturers of end user protection tools.

The company's management sets the task of getting into the top three largest antivirus developers. At the same time, its turnover should exceed $1 billion in the coming years (according to the results of 2010, the company earned $538 million, which is 38% more than in 2009). Reaching a turnover of $1 billion was the goal of the owners of two more fast-growing companies - Parallels and Acronis. Their annual income 2-3 years ago exceeded $100 million, and the growth rate is at least 30% per year.

Achieving a billion turnover in the coming years is also a real task for the Transas group of companies, whose subsidiary Transas Technologies occupies a leading position in the development of software solutions for the synthesis of 3-dimensional images, navigation and ship traffic control systems, for sea and aviation transport simulators. According to the results of 2010, Transas Group's turnover amounted to more than $300 million.

The total export volume of the three largest product companies (Kaspersky Lab, Parallels, Acronis) exceeds $500 million. In addition to them, Russian developers of software products and typical solutions on the world market are: CBOSS, Abbyy Russia, Paragon Software Group, Spirit DSP (Spirit Corp), PROMT and Speech Technology Center. The export positions of the Perm companies Forecast, 1C, ASCON, DocsVision are expanding, but these companies are still more focused on the Russian market.

Some contribution to the export of the industry was made by companies specializing in the development of Internet technologies and applications for mobile devices. The total export of software generated by them is estimated at $100 million per year. Good prospects for Russian companies developing software in the field of information security.

Software Development Centers of Foreign Corporations, Universities and Research Institutes

Volume - $350 million. Export growth is about 10%.

In the past three years, several large corporations have announced their intention to create new divisions in Russia that will deal with research and development of software. In particular, Microsoft, Cisco and Symantec have announced their desire to transfer development and research to Russian territory.

In January 2011 Nokia Corporation Siemens , Networks committed to opening several new R&D centers in Russia. Several dozen international development and research centers are already operating in Russian cities (the number of their personnel varies from 10-20 to 1000 employees). In general, investment in international research and development centers increased by about 10%. The share of R&D centers of foreign companies in the total export volume decreased from 12% to 11%.

Currently, not all executives of corporations with Russian R&D centers are fully satisfied with the business climate. No company has yet curtailed its activities in the field of research and development and software development in Russia, although it is not going to significantly expand the staff of researchers and developers. The exception is EMC, which has increased the staff of its St. Petersburg R&D center by almost 25%, as well as Nokia, which has created new research laboratories at a number of Russian universities.

It is noteworthy that since the acute phase of the global economic crisis, a number of Universities and Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences have strengthened their positions as providers of services for conducting research on orders from foreign corporations. According to experts interviewed by Russoft, the total provision of cross-border services by such institutions increased by 15% in 2010 and amounted to about $80 million. Taking into account this growth, the total volume of exports generated by the segment of development centers and research and development reached $350 million in 2010.

Export services

Volume - $1600 million. Growth - about 14%.

The growth potential of export of software development services has not yet been exhausted, despite the personnel deficit available on the Russian labor market, according to Russoft. There was one major change in the structure of export revenues of service (outsourcing) companies compared to the previous year: a significant reduction in the share of custom software development (from 72% to 49%), that is, what was previously called "offshore programming."

At the same time, the share of software development and implementation increased significantly (from 11% to 30%). The share of other IT services (maintenance of IT infrastructure and IT systems) also increased. An important confirmation of the fact of the transition from custom programming according to specifications to more complex works based on software engineering is the fact of increasing the position of Russian service companies

Russian software companies account for no more than 2.5% of the global software market (including custom development services). This share increases by about 0.1% per year. In part, this tenth of a percent of the global market a year is reclaimed from India. However, while India remains a very serious competitor. According to Gartner, the share of Indian companies in the global IT services market grew from 4.8% to 5.5% in 2009-2010. The export of software development services to India is about $10 billion, which is 6-7 times more than the same Russian indicator.

Business conditions

Over the past year, respondents have become more critical of the existing business conditions in Russia. The average score compared to the previous year's survey decreased from 2.7 to 2.58 points (according to the 5-point system). Thus, the companies surveyed by Russoft still believe that their business conditions are not satisfactory (the rating "satisfactory" corresponds to 3 points). What's more, they're getting worse. At the same time, in only one area - the protection of intellectual property rights - the activities of the state are assessed by more than three points.

Source: NP Russoft, November 2011

Geographic markets

Last year USA , the market and Canada continued to decline in importance for Russian developers, ON which began several years ago. In 2006-2007, the United States was one of the main markets for about half of the respondents. In 2010, North America became a key market for only 15% of the companies surveyed.

At the same time, 73% of the companies that provide 76% of exports are still present in the American market (a year ago it was 75%). Most of them implement separate projects on it, and the promotion of services and solutions in the markets of other countries is considered a priority for themselves.

The attractiveness of the American market as a priority is reduced primarily for service companies. The demand for software development services in the United States is hardly growing. In the future, the attractiveness of the American market as a priority is likely to continue to decline. At the same time, this market will remain the largest in the world for a long time.

Russian custom software developers do not have as much dependence on the situation in the US market as their Indian competitors. For several years they have been reorienting to the domestic market, as well as to the markets of neighboring countries and Europe. In addition, Russian developers are starting to master the markets of Asia, Australia, Africa and South America.

At the end of 2010, there were almost no exporters who were not interested in the Russian market at all. 99% of respondents noted the presence on it (a year ago - 89%). The Russian market is growing rapidly, primarily due to pent-up demand, and its prices are about the same as in the most attractive markets in the world.

The share of companies that noted their presence in the near abroad (in the countries of the former USSR) is also growing rapidly. The decision to gain a foothold in fast-growing markets, the promotion of which does not require large initial costs (as in Europe and America), is logical. That is why the near abroad is more interested in product developers (52%) than service companies (36%).

The importance of almost all other markets (except for the American one) is also growing, but not as significantly as the market of Russia and neighboring countries. Only the share of surveyed companies that are interested in the Southeast Asian market, which analysts consider the most promising, has not changed. About one and a half times more respondents noted the presence in the markets of "Australia, Africa, South America," but only 2% of the companies surveyed consider these markets to be key, and a year ago - 3%.

See also

Software developers in Russia

Russian Software (Domestic Software)

Notes