"ICL Open Day 2025: Digital Spring" - a platform for dialogue on the future of the Russian IT market

Right of the helm: a course towards technological sovereignty

The conference was opened by the head of the ICL Group, Viktor Dyachkov. He noted the sustainable development of the group of companies in the context of sanctions pressure: “Despite the restrictions, we continue to increase capacity. In 2024, our new plant produced 250 thousand products, and by 2030 we plan to reach a million units per year.”

Ruslan Vagizov, CEO of ICL Services, compared the situation on the Russian IT market to an assault on the high seas: “Our common course is the technological independence of the country. We are already halfway there, but there are new challenges ahead: personnel shortages, the need for modernization "on the go", economic restrictions. Our task is to move forward, find solutions, support each other and move towards a stable harbor.”

Tatarstan Minister of Digital Development Albert Yakovlev confirmed the republic's achievements in the field of digitalization, mentioning the joint experience with ICL Services in migrating government agencies to the Russian operating system Astra Linux: "Today, Tatarstan is one of the leaders in the implementation of domestic software in the public sector. 150 thousand workstations of our employees have been transferred to Russian operating systems, and this successful experience is already being replicated throughout the country."

Dmitry Ignatiev, Product Director of Kolibri-ARM, spoke about the universal innovative tool for managing IT infrastructure in the context of import substitution: "Our Kolibri-ARM is not just a device management system. It is a means of building an effective and secure digital environment of the new generation."

Roman Tsygankov, CIO of Avtozavod Saint Petersburg, shared practical experience of ensuring import independence of the industrial company Forvia: “When foreign cloud services were disconnected, thanks to the ICL Services team, we transferred the infrastructure of three plants to new solutions in five days, maintaining continuity of production. It was a huge risk, but planning and a partnership approach saved the situation,” Roman explained.

The event continued with a discussion panel “Continue the import substitution that has begun or prepare for the possible return of foreign solutions?” Its participants were Maxim Kaminsky, Senior Business Development Manager at Kaspersky Lab, Alexey Yedelskov, Director of the Digital Transformation Center of the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as ICL Services experts - Oleg Tarasovsky, Project Manager for Business Services and Applications, and Alexey Morozkov, Head of the Cybersecurity Management Center.

The speakers agreed that it is pointless to wait for Western suppliers to return — it is necessary to build a sustainable IT ecosystem based on domestic solutions. According to experts, clients are increasingly consciously choosing Russian solutions, even if a partial return of foreign companies appears on the horizon. “We used to look towards Western solutions in Tatarstan, but now we ourselves are becoming a point of attraction for new technologies,” confirmed Alexey Yedelskov.

Are we ready to live without Western vendors?

The participants of the second discussion panel “Will Western vendors return to the Russian Federation?” were Alexey Frolov, Development Director of EvaTeam, Svetlana Pesoshina, Head of Vendor Solutions Implementation Department at ICL Services, and Konstantin Lukyanov, Head of Continuous Support and Monitoring Department at the IT Department of Ak Bars Bank.

Alexey Frolov noted that Russian solutions have made significant progress in functionality, but emphasized the importance of flexibility and service support for customers.
Svetlana Pesoshina added that since 2022, the attitude of clients towards domestic IT players has changed dramatically, from skepticism to a conscious choice. The experts agreed: of course, the return of Western players may be inevitable, but Russian companies are ready to compete, especially where service and a personal approach are important.

How to choose between outsourcing and turnkey projects

The event continued with a discussion on the topic "Turnkey import substitution or outsourcing support for the customer's IT teams?" with the participation of Denis Subbotkin, Deputy Head of Infrastructure Solutions and Services at ICL Services and representatives of large international companies - Konstantin Kovalenko, Head of IT Infrastructure at Philip Morris, and Pavel Karelin, Digital Manager at Sanofi.

The topic caused a lively debate: what is more profitable in an era of change - to build everything yourself or attract partners? The dialogue showed that a competent combination of your own resources and attracted teams helps to flexibly adapt to changes. Success depends not on whether the company itself purchased the equipment or signed a contract with an outsourcer, but on how strong and involved its team remains.

 

Why PACs are important

Participants in the discussion panel “Software and hardware complexes – hype, trend or “soap bubble”?” were Ivan Sinev, Deputy Head of Infrastructure Solutions and Services at ICL Services, Vice-Rector of the Don State Technical University Andrey Mozgovoy, Deputy Head of the Project Office of the RD "South" of the company "Rostelecom" Leonid Vorotnev and Ildar Vagizov, Commercial Director of ICL Techno.

The experts agreed: PACs have already become the most important link in the infrastructure of Russian companies. This is not just a set of components combined into one product, but architecturally built, tested and ready-to-launch solutions.

The main thing is not just "to take hardware and software", but to understand the customer's tasks, create the necessary architecture, predict risk points and offer an effective, flexible solution, says Ivan Sinev. An important forecast was also made: PACs can become an export product: Russian companies are already supplying solutions to the CIS, Africa and Asia.

Not just salaries: how to retain valuable personnel in IT

 The participants of the discussion panel "How to retain employees in IT?" were Kamilya Kamaldinova, HR Director at ICL Services, Guzel Latypova, Director of the Career and Employment Center at KGEU University, Ruslan Kuzyurov, Project Manager at Ak Bars Digital Technologies.

The speakers noted that a modern employee in a digital environment values ​​opportunities for development and involvement more than the financial component. “Career growth, internal “kitchen”, involvement in large projects and respect for the employee’s personality — that’s the real motivation,” emphasized Kamilya Kamaldinova. The participants also discussed the problem of personnel shortage in the market due to external factors, such as relocation and the “gap” between the approaches to work of zoomers and millennials, and the need for long-term educational programs in IT. “If we ourselves do not start raising specialists from scratch, the problem of personnel shortage will only get worse,” summarized Guzel Latypova.

Practical solutions for digital breakthrough

In addition to the rich business program, the participants got acquainted with real solutions that already support the technological independence of Russian enterprises at the exhibition of technological achievements. Each guest could get advice from specialists, test solutions and evaluate their applicability for their business.

The stands presented the AICL PAC from ICL Astra Services - domestic software and hardware systems, the SD-WAN solution from Kaspersky Lab, EvaTeam solutions for digital business transformation, modern equipment from ICL Techno, the Kolibri-ARM IT infrastructure and server management system and other developments.

Results of ICL Open Day 2025

The speakers and participants were unanimous: the path to digital independence requires synergy of efforts of the state, business and the IT community. Giving up the relentless dreams of the return of Western manufacturers, investing in our own developments and forming new competencies is a chance to build a sustainable digital ecosystem independent of external factors.

As Ruslan Vagizov emphasized in his speech: “Today, there are no manufacturers and customers on this platform. There is a single ecosystem. Only by hearing each other and working together, we can build a new digital reality.”