New software companies could emerge after recruiting their staffers and leasing offices in line with normal European rates, rather than overstated Moscow prices.
Russia's software business can be tentatively subdivided into three segments. Several world-famous companies, such as ABBYY, Kaspersky Laboratory, Dialog-Nauka, CBOSS, 1C and some others make up the first segment. They develop and supply ready-made commercial software packages. These companies mostly owe their commercial successes to the domestic market, but could also vie with their foreign rivals.
The Russoft association unites offshore outsourcing companies that provide custom-made software. It is hoped that such Russian companies would compete successfully with India, Ireland, Israel and other countries on the global offshoring market.
ISDEF, which represents the third category, comprises various companies and separate developers offering ready-made software packages on Western markets. The list of their buyers includes U.S. governmental agencies, such as the Pentagon and the FBI. The market situation is quite favorable if competitive products are being offered. And Russian programmers are up to the mark.
ISDEF representatives estimated their total annual turnover at $150-200 million during their 2004 fall conference. No statistics were mentioned this time, but corporate experts claimed their business operations tended to skyrocket by more than 100 percent each year.
