In Russia, they will create an alternative to Microsoft and Amazon cloud services for 1 billion rubles

Photo: Sergey Kiselev / Kommersant

The company Parallels in the framework of the project "Rosplatforma" is developing a domestic "cloud" service, which can serve as an alternative to Microsoft Azure and Amazon Cloud, writes "Kommersant". According to the leadership of Parallels, it will help to get "technological independence from the United States." The company itself was founded by domestic entrepreneur Sergey Belousov, but now the company's assets are largely owned by foreign shareholders. Experts believe that the goal of Parallels is to create a product in Russia in order to bring its own products in line with Russian legislation. The total cost of the "cloud" project will be more than 1 billion rubles.

The main part, the core of Rosplatforma, will be Parallels Cloud Server services, Parallels Automation and virtual desktops (VDI). "Rosplatforma" will become the basis of Russia's electronic sovereignty, the subject of strategic exports to countries seeking technological independence from the United States ... "- the company said in a video message. Now, according to the authors of the project, the share of foreign software in the Russian Federation is about 75%. This is more than 90 billion rubles in monetary terms.

A separate legal entity will be created to work on the Rosplatform project, 50% of which will belong to Russian citizens. Thus, all products of the new company will comply with the requirements of domestic legislation. Recall that from January 1 of next year, all government agencies will be required to report on the purchase of foreign software. By the way, now the shareholders of Parallels are such companies as Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Almaz Capital, Russia Partners, Cisco and Ingram Micro, so it is difficult to call it purely Russian. True, the share of partners is unknown.
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In 2015-2016, the company hopes to get about 1.05 billion rubles in third-party investments, and by 2018 Rosplatform is hoping to bring it to self-sufficiency. Since 2020, the project initiators plan to receive more than $ 50 million a year, as a turnover of the company, with an annual profit of $ 8 million. They also want to bring Rosplatform to an IPO, with an initial offering price of $ 400 million.

The project is headed by ex-president of the ITC “Rosa” SEC, Vladimir Rubanov, who currently holds the position of vice-president in the virtualization department of Odin, as part of Parallels. Also, according to Kommersant, Parallels has transferred a large number of managers from STC IT Rosa, co-owned by ex-Minister of Communications Leonid Reiman. The departure of Vladimir Rubanov provoked a rather large conflict, so Reiman is unlikely to invest in Rosplatform, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Earlier, the project initiators planned to attract state funds, for which the project was first presented to Dmitry Medvedev, and after that an application for funding was submitted to the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications. However, the company could not receive funds for the project.

“Cloud services for providers are not critical now in terms of import substitution,” he explains. “Now the public sector first needs to switch to Russian application software, including operating systems, database management systems,” said Ilya Massuh, President of the Information Democracy Foundation.