Why russian software is a ticking time bomb and what to do about it

The war started by russia in Ukraine has become a catalyst for changes in many areas, including the use of software. Many Ukrainian businesses have started migration from russian software for modern european or domestic alternatives. This decision is driven not only by security and technical risks, but also by moral aspects, as the continued use of russian software is a hidden support for the aggressor country.

In the article for The Page, Viktoriia Ilienko, Head of Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement at Innoware, explained why russian software is a «ticking time bomb», how to avoid the risks associated with its use, and what steps will ensure a successful migration to new enterprise management solutions.

Since 2022, the number of Ukrainian companies that have decided to migrate from russian accounting solutions to systems of Ukrainian or Western developers has noticeably increased. However, a significant number of enterprises are still hesitating. Some managers are afraid that their specialists will not cope with the work in the new system, while others hope that they can wait it out and continue to use the software developed by the aggressor state.

Imagine a situation: in the morning you rush to work because today is an important day – the agenda includes signing a contract with a client that has been in work for six months, reviewing quarterly results and discussing a plan for further business development with partners. But after arriving at the office, all your plans collapse like a house of cards.

First, your system administrator informs you right at the door that your accounting and CRM system has been hacked. While you’re trying to figure out how serious it is and when the work of the software will be restored, your client calls to inform you that the deal will not be signed due to doubts about your reputation. You nervously negotiate with them, trying to understand what concerns they have, as there were no complaints from their side just yesterday. Eventually, you find out the reason – unknown hackers managed to breach your system and obtain access to confidential data, which was «leaked». As a result of this leak, your client accidentally discovered that you were using russian CRM system. And the corporate policies of their company strictly prohibit doing business with partners who use software from the aggressor state. By the end of the day, your system administrator reports that the attack was repelled, but the company has lost a significant amount of critical business data, restoring which will take at least two weeks with no guarantees of success.

The scenario described above may seem like a plot for a disaster movie, but these are real cases that are happening more and more frequently with Ukrainian companies. The continued use of russian software to manage business operations is, in fact, a ticking time bomb. This is an open door through which hackers from the aggressor country, or even the software developers themselves, can penetrate your system and not only steal any information, but also completely stop the company’s operation. Cases of powerful hacker attacks on enterprises that still using russian software are a reality, not a myth.

The reliable operation of accounting and CRM solutions developed in russia is a thing of the past. Today, there is a risk that the system developer (even if they have done everything to look not «russian» but «international» solution) could fall under NSDC sanctions or for some other reason decide to exit Ukrainian market, as happened last May with the russian CRM system «Bitrix24». The owners of the product notified users by email a week before the company left Ukraine, closed access to the portal and, after some time, deleted user data.

It is also worth noting the lack of prospects for the use or implementation of russian software products. The russian federation is in political isolation, and almost all well-known Western vendors have exited the russian market. The government of the aggressor country has focused on developing its own software, but in the absence of real competition from Western vendors, local manufacturers lose motivation for development. In fact, this is a throwback to the times of the USSR, when the domestic market was closed to Western companies. As a result, russian products will increasingly fall behind international ones. For example, artificial intelligence is now being massively implemented in Western ERP and CRM systems, in particular in Microsoft systems this is the virtual assistant Copilot. Even now, while still developing and evolving, Copilot plays a significant role in system usage. But has anyone heard of AI in «Bitrix», 1C/BAS, or other russian developments?

It is also important to mention the reputational risks and the moral aspects: using any russian software directly or indirectly is a sponsorship of the war that Ukraine has been suffering from for almost 11 years. Even if the russian developer of 1C/BAS disguises itself as a Polish juridical person.

Risks of using russian software:

• Your data is under the watchful eye of the aggressor country.
• Data loss.
• Reputational risks.
• Limited opportunities for cooperation.
• Interference in processes.
• Difficult to plan and scale.
• Lack of development prospects.

Recommendations for migrating to new software

So, what should businesses that are still using russian software do? My recommendation is to choose a new, modern and secure solution as soon as possible and get rid of russian products in favor of it.

To ensure the effective and painless implementation of new software, it is necessary to follow a certain algorithm.

Firstly, make a management decision that the company is migrating from the old software to the new one. Once the decision is made, a migration team should be formed within the company, consisting of representatives from the relevant departments. For example, when implementing a CRM system, this could include the head of the sales department, a client relations manager, an IT specialist, and so on.

Secondly, structure the requirements for the new system and determine which functionalities of the existing software are critically important. After this, select a developer and a solution that fully meets the company’s needs. Thirdly, choose an implementation partner. The best approach is to treat this like selecting a lawyer – look at recommendations, the partner’s experience, and the number of successful implementation cases.

The following stages are a synergy of the partner and the client. Typically, the partner should conduct an audit of current processes and form a plan for implementing the new system.

In general, there are three possible options:

1. Implementation of a «package solution». This option is optimal for small businesses, characterized by a fast implementation time through minimal system customization.
2. Classic implementation with detailed process analysis, development and configuration of processes in a «ready to work» system. This option is most used in large companies that have specific requirements for process automation.
3. Combined approach. In this case, a package solution is deployed, but then custom configuration of the selected processes is performed. This method is characterized by an acceptable price and implementation time, making it suitable for most enterprises.

At the final stage, the new solution is implemented, during which all current business processes and data from the existing system will be transferred to the new system.

So, follow this algorithm, and your migration from hostile software to modern accounting or CRM systems will be predictable and stay within budget.

The original article is on The Page.