The plenary session was themed “Digital Independence of Industrial Russia.”
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Friends, colleagues, good afternoon.
Mikhail Mishustin’s remarks at the plenary session Digital Independence of Industrial Russia
It is a pleasure to welcome you all to this anniversary conference, dedicated to the integration of modern technologies into industry – CIPR (Digitalization of Industrial Russia). Tackling this challenge is a crucial condition for achieving the national development goals set by the President, particularly in technological leadership and the digital transformation of our economy.
This platform has always fostered active dialogue and the exchange of ideas between major clients and information technology companies. This year, CIPR is setting new records in terms of exhibition space, the number of events in the business programme, and overall participation.
I would like to extend a special welcome to our international guests. Russia has much to showcase – and take pride in – within the digital sphere. We are ready to share best practices with our partners.
I am confident that this conference will prove both engaging and beneficial for all attendees, serving to strengthen business connections.
I first took part in CIPR three years ago, when a number of foreign companies announced the suspension of their operations in the Russian market, effectively leaving users to independently manage the stable functioning of products they had purchased from these very firms.
At that time, our country already possessed its own foundational technologies and developments, which we began implementing on a large scale. To accelerate the release of new, in-demand software and ensure a swift transition for major enterprises, it was here, at CIPR, three years ago, that the Government decided to establish industrial competence centres.
Meeting annually at CIPR and during strategic sessions at the Government, we reviewed the progress of key projects, refined approaches, and discussed additional measures to support Russian software solutions.
Today, I propose we examine in detail the results of this joint effort.
A robust IT sector is the essential technological foundation for the digital transformation of the economy. In Russia, this industry is steadily gaining strength.
Since 2022, sales of domestic IT solutions and services have nearly doubled, reaching 4.5 trillion roubles.
The sector’s share in gross domestic product has grown by over a third, now standing at 2.4 percent.
IT companies are intensively ramping up investments in their own development – procuring equipment and expanding computing capacity. Their capital expenditures have increased 2.5-fold over three years, exceeding 800 billion roubles by the end of last year.
New talent is entering the industry. Today, nearly a million people work in this business – 50 percent more than in 2022. That is the scale of growth we have achieved.
The products of our IT industry are competitive, and greater efforts should be made to bring them to foreign markets. Digital attachés serve precisely this purpose. Digital attachés are members of Russian trade missions abroad who assist businesses in launching exports. These specialists operate in 17 countries to date, and the service’s geography will expand this year.
This has been achieved through state support measures developed specifically for the industry at the President’s instruction. The Government continues to provide the core preferential support for this sector, including profit tax incentives and reduced insurance premiums.
Additionally, we are introducing incentives to encourage customers to adopt Russian-made solutions. Of course, this is no simple task. For example, starting this year, buyers of Russian software and hardware listed in the official registry can benefit from a reduced profit tax base. As you know, these expenses are now calculated at a dual rate — an agreement reached during the previous Digitalisation of Industrial Russia conference.
As we develop further measures to support the industry, we will carefully consider feedback from businesses. The President consistently emphasises the importance of such input. Conferences like this one, along with other industry platforms, bring together business representatives, experts, and government officials to discuss the digitalisation of the economy. According to a survey by the Higher School of Economics among 700 major IT companies, the current business climate is the most favourable on record.
Around one-third of Russian IT companies have reported increased sales and expanded customer bases, despite the challenges posed by unprecedented sanctions that have effectively deprived the sector of investment opportunities and hindered the implementation of decisions planned several years ago.
Mikhail Mishustin’s remarks at the plenary session Digital Independence of Industrial Russia
It has become standard practice for our companies to rely on modern domestic solutions to enhance productivity and operational effectiveness. Last year alone, they invested over 3 trillion roubles in software procurement, implementation and maintenance, which is a 50-percent increase compared to 2021.
It is equally important that the transition to Russian-made software is accelerating across all segments, from operating systems and user applications to complex corporate platforms and technologies.
Today, 80 percent of the financial management solutions used by enterprises in our country are designed in Russia. Every second digital design software installed is also domestically developed. Russian platforms now account for more than 40 percent of production and technological process automation tools, and the share of integrated systems for resource planning, allocation, and control is over 60 percent.
A significant driver of this growth has been the network of industrial competence centres. These centres have effectively brought together major industry players with successful digital transformation experience and domestic software developers. They serve as a model of productive collaboration. Currently, there are 36 such centres, structures, ecomprising more than 500 companies across sectors.
They were used as the foundation to create projects aimed at finetuning the current solutions, developing new ones and introducing them in the test mode.
The government has approved 160 of the initiatives suggested, and started implementing 140 of them. Notably, only 32 required state grants, while the rest of them are advancing thanks to private investment. I would like to thank all the investors. Representatives of various industries are present here today, and it is clear that public-private partnerships are delivering real results. For every 1 rouble of budget funding, more than 7 roubles were provided by businesses. This is a remarkable achievement, I think. Of course, investors understand how crucial achieving independence from foreign products is, as well as raising the quality and usability of domestic solutions to make them more efficient for our enterprises.
Today, 66 projects have already been implemented, above all – we have spoken about this today – in oil and gas and energy sectors, construction and housing, transport, and telecommunications.
Domestic software for digital modelling and support of the full life cycle of products based on the Russian geometric core is being successfully implemented. In terms of functionality and technical characteristics, it rivals foreign middle-class solutions. It provides ample opportunities for conducting research on prototypes in a virtual environment, which is much more profitable and takes less time.
National innovations for designing buildings and structures are starting to prevail on the market.
The productivity of our leading enterprise resource planning system has increased ten times and already meets the best international standards. More than 30,000 users can now work with one database simultaneously in the mode of performing complex operations.
Maybe these are technical issues, but it was extremely important for all enterprises to implement this.
An open automated process control system is being developed with participation from companies in the oil and gas, metallurgical, and chemical industries.
Today at CIPR, we are presenting the first practical results: virtual controllers, universal cybersecurity services – as demonstrated to us – along with a comprehensive digital model of the energy system.
This platform will enable industrial enterprises to access competitive, in-demand solutions to support their operations. Crucially, it will ensure compatibility between equipment from diverse manufacturers while maintaining flexibility for future upgrades.
Furthermore, we have developed and are now widely deploying programmes for automating technological processes across various sectors.
In the oil and gas sector, we have implemented domestic systems for geological exploration, well drilling, equipment performance monitoring and analysis, among other applications.
Pilot airports are utilising them for passenger flow and baggage management. In the new regions, domestic software solutions are being employed for mobile networks.
These represent just a selection of examples – it would be impractical to list them all here. We anticipate their number will continue growing.
New industrial competence centre projects focus on developing software solutions for engineering calculations, managing the production lifecycle of automotive components, predictive analytics systems, and other applications. We will launch these initiatives this year, following the selection process concluded last month. In total, 57 projects have been approved, with 25 receiving federal budget grants.
Colleagues,
The President has set the objective for 80 percent of Russian organisations in key industries to transition to domestic software solutions by 2030. The Government will continue creating all necessary conditions to achieve this, including through the new national project, Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State, launched this year, which allocates over 50 billion roubles to stimulate new developments and corporate solution implementation.
Priority assistance will be directed towards: first, initiatives involving artificial intelligence technologies – an exceptionally promising field where such innovations can deliver breakthrough results while fostering the growth of our companies.
Second, it is vital that consortiums comprising multiple organisations can access these grants.
Third, funding should target projects where developers commit to making their software products openly available. I must admit, I was particularly pleased today to see that nearly all exhibitors showcased open-access solutions. This is critically important – without stimulating demand and widespread enterprise adoption, creating competitive, scalable products becomes impossible.
Fourth, we must expand access to this support mechanism for defence industry enterprises by reducing their co-financing requirements from own funds, thereby enhancing their digitalisation capabilities.
Special attention must be given to developing the so-called heavy platform for collaborative digital design of complex products, including through cross-industry cooperation based on our national geometric modelling core.
More broadly, we must enhance
interoperability within our domestic software ecosystem. We propose gradually
introducing requirements for compatibility between Russian application software
and our operating systems and databases.
Mature industry solutions cannot be developed without the active involvement of committed customers who share their expertise and experience with developers. This collaboration is essential for effectively retuning and piloting new complex products.
The Government has already approved applications from major corporations seeking to implement, using their own resources, more than 100 projects in this sector worth approximately 150 billion roubles. This step has yielded tangible results. The technology is now being systematically scaled and adopted by other enterprises. We should expand this practice: for instance, companies that successfully implement new Russian-made solutions could qualify for various tax incentives as partial cost reimbursement. I propose developing such measures.
Accelerating the adoption of Russian software in the corporate sector is important. We will create conditions to facilitate personal data operators’ transition to domestic software. Where available, large businesses should prioritise Russian-developed cloud services. Additionally, we must implement a two-stage transition to domestic information modelling and design systems — particularly for zoning applications — in the construction industry.
When included in the official registry, native applications and solutions must be labelled as such, since they were developed from the ground up and without reliance on foreign open-source software. These solutions should receive priority in state procurement.
Another crucial task involves power supply to data processing centres, including potential special electricity tariffs in areas with surplus capacity. For the development of data processing centres (and we will need additional capacities), it is important to streamline agreements on capital investment protection and encouragement. These agreements should be enhanced, if necessary. I propose discussing extra steps to stimulate industry growth.
One final point.
At the President’s instruction, the Government has developed amendments to the regulatory framework aimed at protecting critical infrastructure. The President signed it into law. It will take effect on 1 September.
According to the law, all essential information systems used in management by large enterprises will be categorised as crucial infrastructure. I trust that companies will approach the adoption of Russian software with due responsibility. After all, we are talking about the security and stable operation of production facilities.
Colleagues, friends
Let’s proceed to the discussion. First of all, we will listen to representatives of our organisations and leaders in the pilot implementation of new Russian-made software in their operations. Let’s hear what results they have achieved — and discuss them.
