Russian business increases dependence on foreign IT services amid possible traffic restrictions In the second quarter of 2026, Russian companies spent $909 million on foreign IT services, which is 30% more than in the first quarter. According to the Central Bank data, businesses pay for foreign software, licenses, data processing and storage as well as maintenance of IT systems. One of the reasons is the lack of servers with powerful graphics cards to work with AI. According to experts, the supply of this type of servers through parallel imports will decrease from thousands of units in 2024 to dozens in 2026, and delivery times will increase from 2 months to 6 months. "When it is not possible to import equipment, it is replaced by renting computing power abroad, and the import of goods actually flows into the import of services," explained to Izvestia Mikhail Khulapov, director of strategic partnerships at Kodik. Additional costs involve the use of foreign neural networks and cloud platforms. According to the expert, aggregators and payment agents charge a markup of 5-30% for access to Western AI models. At the same time, only about 9% of Russian organizations get their own infrastructure for AI. Domestic IT solutions are developing, but it is not always possible to replace foreign programs for industry, microelectronics and production management. Against this background, the Ministry of Digital Development is discussing restrictions on foreign internet traffic. A contradiction arises: Businesses need foreign computing power to develop artificial intelligence and support IT systems, but they are trying to limit access to foreign resources. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, meanwhile, said the IT industry's contribution to Russia's GDP has more than doubled over the past 6 years. He called for expanding the range of home software, cloud services and industrial systems. Mishustin also stated that the revenues of certified IT companies in the first half of the year amounted to 6 trillion ₽, and the number of registered Russian IT solutions is in the tens of thousands.

Russian business increases dependence on foreign IT services amid possible traffic restrictions In the second quarter of 2026, Russian companies spent $909 million on foreign IT services, which is 30% more than in the first quarter. According to the Central Bank data, businesses pay for foreign software, licenses, data processing and storage as well as maintenance of IT systems. One of the reasons is the lack of servers with powerful graphics cards to work with AI. According to experts, the supply of this type of servers through parallel imports will decrease from thousands of units in 2024 to dozens in 2026, and delivery times will increase from 2 months to 6 months. "When it is not possible to import equipment, it is replaced by renting computing power abroad, and the import of goods actually flows into the import of services," explained to Izvestia Mikhail Khulapov, director of strategic partnerships at Kodik. Additional costs involve the use of foreign neural networks and cloud platforms. According to the expert, aggregators and payment agents charge a markup of 5-30% for access to Western AI models. At the same time, only about 9% of Russian organizations get their own infrastructure for AI. Domestic IT solutions are developing, but it is not always possible to replace foreign programs for industry, microelectronics and production management. Against this background, the Ministry of Digital Development is discussing restrictions on foreign internet traffic. A contradiction arises: Businesses need foreign computing power to develop artificial intelligence and support IT systems, but they are trying to limit access to foreign resources. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, meanwhile, said the IT industry's contribution to Russia's GDP has more than doubled over the past 6 years. He called for expanding the range of home software, cloud services and industrial systems. Mishustin also stated that the revenues of certified IT companies in the first half of the year amounted to 6 trillion ₽, and the number of registered Russian IT solutions is in the tens of thousands.