Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) earlier this week announced it will terminate cloud services for Russian users as of March 20th. This decision comes as part of the mounting economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian IT company Softline has created a Telegram channel to assist customers with data backups before services like Power BI and Dynamics CRM are cut off. Elena Volotovskaya, a VP at Softline, confirmed Microsoft notified clients of the impending shutdown earlier this month.
Volotovskaya expects other major cloud providers like Amazon and Google to follow suit soon. She advised Russian companies to transition to local service providers if they haven’t already done so.
Alexey Smirnov, director of Basalt SPO, stated this development aligns with the 12th sanctions package adopted in December 2023, giving Russian firms around three months to prepare for the loss of Western cloud access.
Information for this story was found via Windows Report, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.