American software developer Microsoft will stop extending licenses to Russian companies after September 30. This was reported by the TelecomDaily agency with reference to a letter from the technical support of Microsoft Online Services to one of the clients.
The message says that Microsoft cannot accept payments to a local bank account for services in Russia. Active subscriptions will be valid until the end of the remaining term. It will not be possible to extend them. A representative of Microsoft clarified in a conversation with Forbes that the decision was made in accordance with the sanctions of the European Union, the United States and Great Britain.
Microsoft decided to suspend sales on the Russian market in March last year due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. At the same time, in the spring of 2023, the Russian representative offices of international companies that were not subject to sanctions began to receive offers from the corporation to extend the software license. According to experts, this is how Microsoft tried to maintain its presence in the market.
Forbes interlocutors note that up to 90% of corporate clients continue to use the products of the American developer in Russia. According to experts, the inability to receive updates will reduce the security of corporate networks and make them more vulnerable to hackers.
It will not be possible to “seamlessly” switch to the software of Russian developers. Users will have to get used to new interfaces, rebuild business processes, and IT specialists will have to emble a new parallel infrastructure from Russian solutions, notes Forbes.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine at the end of February 2022, more than a thousand organizations stopped their activities on the Russian market, several hundred left the country completely.
