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- Server pole: Russian business has dramatically increased purchases of foreign IT services
Server pole: Russian business has dramatically increased purchases of foreign IT services
Purchases of IT services abroad in the second quarter of this year jumped by a third compared to January–March and reached $909 million. This follows from the data of the Central Bank, which was analyzed by the editorial board. Russian companies purchase foreign software and pay foreign contractors for data processing and storage and maintenance of IT systems. Demand is fueled by the development of artificial intelligence and the lack of computing power within the country. Why business lacks Russian solutions and whether the trend contradicts the need to support digital sovereignty is in the Izvestia article.
Why has the import of computer services increased?
In April – June, Russian companies spent $909 million, or 74.6 billion rubles, on foreign computer services, according to statistics from the Bank of Russia. This is $210 million (17.2 billion rubles), or 30% more than in the first quarter. The Central Bank takes into account software development, purchase of programs and licenses, processing, storage and hosting of databases, creation of websites and maintenance of IT systems.
One of the reasons for the growth is the shortage of computing equipment, said Mikhail Khulapov, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Kodik AI tools ecosystem. According to him, shipments of servers with graphics accelerators (GPUs) through parallel imports fell from thousands of units in 2024 to dozens in 2026. The delivery time has increased from two to six months, and since the end of May, the products of a number of foreign brands have been excluded from the list of parallel imports.
"When equipment cannot be imported, it is replaced by renting computing power abroad, and the import of goods actually flows into the import of services,— Mikhail Khulapov explained.
Such rentals usually take place through cloud services. Businesses connect to other people's servers via the Internet and use them without buying equipment. Similarly, people store photos in the cloud.
Additional demand is created by the largest technology companies that train their own artificial intelligence models, according to Oleg Yablokov, an expert at the National Technology Initiative (NTI) on wireless communications. This requires thousands of graphics accelerators. At the same time, memory and other components for data centers have become more expensive all over the world, so it has become more expensive to create your own server capacities. Companies have become more likely to rent ready—made computing resources abroad, for example, in friendly countries.
This format is also convenient because the need for capacity varies depending on the task, said Nikita Kulikov, CEO of the NGO PravoRobotov. To create new software and process data, resources are often needed not constantly, but for a specific project. Due to this, renting becomes more profitable than buying expensive equipment.
In Russia, only about 9% of organizations have AI infrastructure, Mikhail Khulapov added. At the same time, local providers have already suspended the allocation of additional capacities, which has increased demand for foreign services.
Another possible reason for the increase in imports is the cost of using foreign neural networks, suggested Alexey Begaev, founder of INSEK Group, member of the General Council of Delovaya Rossiya. Domestic companies are actively using artificial intelligence, so subscriptions to Western models can be taken into account in statistics on the import of IT services.
AI tools are needed not only for development, but also for the daily routine of business, said Vigo Product Director Anton Prokopenko. With their help, organizations automate document management, analyze data, and solve other tasks. And Russian products do not yet provide comparable capabilities.
At the same time, it is impossible to connect directly from Russia to a number of Western AI models, so companies do this through intermediaries, Mikhail Khulapov said. Aggregators and payment agents charge an extra charge of 5-30% for access.
An additional growth factor was the restoration of channels for the purchase of programs and settlements with foreign suppliers, said Mikhail Shurygin, chairman of the ROCIT Commission on cloud technologies, hosting and information security. In recent years, companies have adapted to the restrictions and have established the acquisition of digital services through organizations from friendly countries.
How does the growth of imports combine with digital sovereignty
The Ministry of Industry and Trade consistently supports the development and implementation of domestic software and hardware solutions for industry, the press service of the department told Izvestia. This ensures the technological independence of key industries and creates a steady demand for Russian developments.
The domestic IT industry is actively developing, but its solutions still need time to be finalized, implemented and widely used, said Arthur Leer, President of the Association of Exporters and Importers. Therefore, there is still a demand for foreign products. For example, for complex industrial, highly specialized and high-tech software, programs for microelectronics, as well as for international consulting and technical support for businesses in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Large-scale production, the raw materials sector and financial logistics are especially in need of them.
Large enterprise and production management systems, industrial automation and engineering programs remain difficult to replace, explained Dmitry Sytsko, Information Technology Director at BCS Bank. Russian products are already capable of performing many tasks, but the transition from a foreign solution to a domestic one takes time and costs.
The cloud technology market in the Russian Federation has developed significantly in recent years, Mikhail Shurygin emphasized. Russian solutions are already available for most standard corporate tasks, but the final product choice will depend on the specific business goals.
At the same time, even purchases from suppliers from friendly countries pose risks to digital sovereignty, Arthur Leer warned. Companies may face secondary sanctions, partner restrictions, maintenance problems, or loss of access to the program.
The business continues to transfer critical systems to Russian platforms, Mikhail Shurygin specified. According to him, in the coming years there will be not a complete abandonment of foreign technologies, but a division of their fields of application. The meaning of digital sovereignty is that a foreign product should be a conscious choice of companies, and not an addiction that can stop their work.
Will Russia import more IT services
In addition, businesses can start using cloud services more actively for backup distributed information storage, said Anton Prokopenko, Vigo's product Director. Hosting data on multiple remote sites reduces dependence on a single data center and makes companies less vulnerable.
Demand for computing power for AI will continue until Russia has enough of its own data processing centers with modern accelerators, Oleg Yablokov believes. Big business is already building such complexes, but it takes years.
By the end of 2026, large enterprises may reconsider their approach to the location of their IT infrastructure, Eldar Murtazin believes. In mid-October, the Association of e-Commerce Companies proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers to temporarily allow businesses to deploy critical systems in foreign data centers if this cannot be done in Russia. Therefore, in the near future, domestic firms may actively consider the issue of capacity allocation between friendly countries, the expert added.
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