Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the sanctions and decoupling imposed on Russia have been continuously increased. On August 10 local time, an Internet research institution disclosed that the Internet giant Microsoft may no longer allow Russian companies to renew their products and services, and may completely stop Russian business.
According to a report by Russia’s Interfax News Agency on August 10, TelecomDaily, a Russian Internet industry research organization, disclosed Microsoft’s letter to its Russian corporate customers on the same day, which indicated that due to obstacles in the payment system, Microsoft may no longer allow Russian companies to renew their subscriptions. any of its products or services.
In the letter, Microsoft technical support pointed out that Microsoft, as a US business, “can no longer accept” Russian bank account transfers as a payment method, so Russian customers will not be able to renew the service: “All active subscriptions will be subject to the remaining applicable terms of your agreement. The subscription period (before September 30) will continue to be valid. However, subject to payment conditions, any service will not be renewed.”
According to reports, an unnamed large Russian company confirmed that the services provided by Microsoft are becoming more and more “unreachable”: “We have not received such notifications, but earlier, in May this year to be exact, Microsoft has cut off the service.” Our connection to some of its services resulted in us having to switch to a similar Russian solution as soon as possible.”
According to Interfax analysis, currently Microsoft does not have any systematic competitors in Russia, and it is difficult for Russian service providers to perfectly replace Microsoft. Russian Internet giants such as Yandex and VK can only provide more than a dozen basic services sporadically, but they cannot establish a package solution comparable to Microsoft. If the services provided by Microsoft are lost, the electronic office of Russian enterprises will be thrown into chaos.
According to previous reports, after the full-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, Microsoft announced in March 2022 that it would no longer sell any new products or provide new services to any customers in Russia and Belarus, but will continue to provide support to existing customers. However, under the circumstances of international sanctions, decoupling of the financial system, and increasing pressure from public opinion, Microsoft may have been unable to continue any business in Russia.
Source: The paper
