Russia on course to become one of Europe’s largest IT markets

Despite the recent fall in oil prices, Russia remains on course to become one of the largest IT markets in Europe, declares Business Monitor International in its Russia Information Technology Report Q1 2009. Urgent demand for higher computer penetration, stable incomes and immense potential for IT spending by traditional industries all provide a strong foundation for optimism in Russia’s IT market.

Over the next five years, Russian IT spending per capita is expected to triple from around US$100 to US$300. Government initiatives like the ‘computer for every home’ programme and an increasing emphasis on IT as an instrument of reform in various economic sectors will support this trend. The Electronic Russia informatisation programme alone should generate around US$2.4bn in spending by 2010.

Companies that have invested in previous years enjoyed rapid revenue growth in FY 2008. Microsoft, for example, reported that Russia was its highest-growth market among Central and Eastern European countries, recording growth of above 45%. Long-term barriers to growth are constantly being reduced.

Russia’s software piracy rate is set to fall closer to average Eastern European levels amid government efforts to strengthen intellectual property (IP) protection to secure entry to the World Trade Organization.