As you might have heard, China had banned the use of Windows 8 on government computers, and it looks like China is not alone in trying to reduce their reliance on US-based tech products. According to a recent report from Bloomberg, it has been revealed that Russia will also be looking to reduce their reliance on US tech products from the likes of Microsoft and IBM.
This is in response to the sanctions that the US had placed on them. Speaking to Bloomberg, Russia’s executive secretary of the commission for the State Duma, Andrey Chernogorov, was quoted as saying, “This all has to do with sanctions. Given the current international tensions, substituting imports with local software and hardware becomes the key to ensuring self sufficiency.”
The State Duma is currently in the process of drafting a bill which would seek to replace products from Microsoft and IBM in favor of software and hardware made by local companies. In fact according to the information obtained by Bloomberg, it seems that they would ultimately favor products that don’t need to be imported or have licensed components.
While some believe that the idea of support local companies is justifiable, they also feel that the way the scheme will be implemented could ultimately result in local companies, who might not be as efficient, to gain a competitive advantage.