"Since the start of the year, a number of Russian representative offices of international companies began to receive letters or verbal offers from Microsoft to continue cooperation ... Microsoft does not want to lose Russian customers, so it does not close its legal entity in Russia is trying to find ways to continue to support software and release updates," a source told the newspaper.
According to the report, about 1,000 companies received letters with an offer to extend the software licenses.
A source among distributors told media that Russian businesses still have demand for Microsoft products, and the IT giant's software is supplied in boxed versions through parallel imports.
Microsoft will be able to maintain its influence on Russian business for some time, Viktor Petrov, the director of the research and development center of Russian IT company IVA Technologies, told media. He said that several customers cannot start using other operating systems and office software due to a lack of budget and analogs. However, Petrov believes that Russian companies will switch to domestic software because of the Russian government's policy in the IT sector.
