RUSSOFT Association

www.russoft.org

RUSSOFT

•

RUSSOFT

is the major Association of 80+ leading software development companies from Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine with more than 17000 software engineers, $500 M of turnover •

Part of the Russian Information and Computer Industry Association (APKIT)

• Leadership in implementing CMMI/ISO standards in the Industry • Organizer of marketing and PR activities in Russia and abroad together with

Fort Ross Ltd

(its marketing Agency) • • Active lobbyist of IT interests in the Russian Government (IT-parks, Export Promotion Agency, Law on better taxation, less Administrative barriers, etc.)

RUSSOFT

supports its IT-parks projects in St Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Moscow area

History

• 9.9.99 – symbolic lucky date of inauguration in a symbolic place - Smolny • 10 companies in St Petersburg supported by the Administration of the City - created Consortium for enhancing joint marketing activity • took name of the ever first Russian fortress in the US “Fort Ross” in California

Principles

• Self-financing, independence from the State • Equal rights of all participants regardless turnover nor brands • Democratic structure and procedures • Independent president with no commercial competing interests • Concentration on practical steps rather than on political demagogy

Non-commercial partnership

• Has more freedom in commercial activity compared to Association which is quite necessary for getting budget • Association needs to be approved in the ministry of antimonopoly activity while the Partnership does not (there are new changes for the worse now)

Directions of activity

• International marketing • Implementation of modern education, training, PM and QA standards in the Industry • Lobbying Government for better legislation and for less administrative barriers • Consolidation of the IT community for protecting industry against arbitrary politics of the State • Cooperation with Associations, partnerships and Clubs of other branches as well as of customers

Examples

• RUSSOFT as a part of APKIT was nominated by the Government to organize accreditation of companies wishing to get tax incentives for exporters • RUSSOFT is the major partner to the Ministry in providing data from the market (annual market study), in organizing international marketing events (CEBIT) • RUSSOFT members participate in numerous intergovernmental commissions on economic development of Russia with foreign countries

Major events supported by RUSSOFT and Fort Ross

• • •

ROSS (Russian Outsourcing&Software Summit) 2001-2006 (www.soft-outsourcing.com)

• Stand at CEBIT – 2001-2006, • Stand at Comdex Scandinavia – 2002-2003

Russian CIO Summit (2003-2006)

www.cio-summit.ru

• Russian IT Seasons (2002-2006) www.it-seasons.ru ) • President Gorbachev speaking at the Massachusetts Software Council Annual meeting (April 2005) • Open Source Forum Russia 2005 (www.opensource forum.ru) • Software Engineering Congress 2005-2006 VP of Fortune 500 companies) • 3 rd (www.secr.ru) • ExecutEve 2005 (exclusive B2B meeting with CIOs and US-Russia Technology Symposium 2006 (Stanford)

Interop Moscow 2006 ( www.interop.ru

)

Analytical Activities

• Data-base of Russian speaking software companies ( www.russoft.org

) • Annual report on the Russian software export market ( www.russoft.org

) • On-demand studies of Russian speaking markets (vertical segments, labor availability, prices, new technologies, trends, etc.) • “White Paper on Russian Outsourcing” ( www.russoft.org

)

International Cooperation Agreements with:

• BITKOM (Germany) – Russia is acknowledged as the Partner Country for 2007 by BITKOM and by Deutsche Messe (CeBIT) • Massachusetts Software Council (US) • Connecticut Technology Council (US) • Software Association of New Hampshire (US) • Vermont Chamber of Commerce (US) • US-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England (US) • Israel Association of Electronics and Information Industries – IAEII • Kansai Information Systems Association (Japan)

Conception of the Russian IT market development

• prepared by APKIT and RUSSOFT Associations • approved by the Government on November 18, 2004

Main features (1)

• Deregulation of the IT export market (diminishing of bureaucratic barriers in tax’ and customs’ regulation, in export control) • Support to the international marketing of Russian IT companies and to their QA systems certification • Internal market growth initiatives and support measures (“computer for everybody”, stimulation of IT consumption, etc.)

Main features (2)

• Support to creation of IT-parks network (application of “special economic zone” regime, assistance to obtaining rights on land on the regional level, allocation of State investment in infrastructure, cut of taxes in IT-parks) • Creation of State-Private Investment Fund for IT business development • Enhancement of IPR Protection system in IT

First results of realization of Conception (1)

• Adjustment to the Tax Code has been approved, which provides legal basis for exemption of VAT for exporters of software outsourcing services • Low on Special Economic Zones has been approved and a set of projects have been initiated in 4 regions • Customs’ regulation of software export has been simplified

First results of realization of Conception (2)

• Program of a network of IT-Parks has been adopted. RUR 1,4 B allocated for IT-parks in 2007 (appr.$50 M) • Mixed State/Private IT-Investment Foundation and a “Fund of Funds” projects have been launched • Law providing less taxation to software exporting companies (12% less taxes) was adopted. APKIT (RUSSOFT) is nominated to make accreditation of companies to the Law • Project of an IT-Export Promotion Agency was launched by the Government