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As more and more Ukrainian businesses abandon russian 1C/BAS software, the demand for analogs has become a steady trend in the small and medium-sized business segments. According to Oleg Shcherbatenko, founder and owner of the Ukrainian product company IT-Enterprise, the year 2023 became the turning point with the authorities and industry associations joining the movement. Among them, IT Ukraine Association played a significant role in this process.
Business demand for MASTER solutions by IT-Enterprise increased 2.5 times. In particular, large retail chains such as MD Fashion and Delta Sport also switched to Ukrainian software systems, and it is retailers that became the most prominent players in the 2023 software migration trend.
According to Oleg Shcherbatenko, in 2023, businesses showed a high interest in replacing the enemy software: 1C/BAS and clones of AmoCRM or Bitrix24. This trend is reflected in the growing number of requests for comprehensive IT-Enterprise solutions, in particular, MASTER products for small and medium-sized businesses, or even microbusinesses. This software product line for the SME segment has been developed since 2016.
The first wave of refusals to use russian software took place after 2014–2015. Yet for the most of it, the initiative was driven by state-owned companies and the large corporate segment. In 2022, we started getting numerous requests from medium-sized businesses, but the danger of software with russian roots still was not a very well-known issue. Finally, in 2023, institutions and associations joined the discussion, and since then, businesses of various formats have committed to the mission of working with politically sustainable, safe software. I see this as a movement, a trend that should and will be developing in 2024,
commented Oleg Shcherbatenko.
The CEO of IT-Enterprise emphasized that the market of business automation systems in Ukraine has great potential and continues to grow. According to preliminary forecasts, within 5 years at least 500 thousand new users will require new, sustainable software instead of russian-made technology. One necessary condition, though, is that Ukrainian society should maintain focus on the need to abandon russian software, while the government agencies should stop any lobbyists’ attempts to keep the enemy software intact through rebranding.
According to Oleg Shcherbatenko, there will be enough space on the market for all software companies, because the more quality products appear, the easier it will be for Ukrainian businesses to choose a product to suit their needs and facilitate the transition.
We are the major developer of a product line for various business segments: from corporations to microbusinesses. Luckily, the scope of tasks is so large and the importance of getting rid of the enemy software is so fundamental that seeing new Ukrainian products and companies inspires us, not vice versa,
he commented.
In 2023, we added handy solutions for trade to the MASTER line, including POS and digital cash registers, and developed and improved our CRM. In 2024, we continue to work on improving the architecture, automating and simplifying processes for users, and creating more stable configurations. Currently, we have solutions for budgetary institutions, commercial companies, education, medicine, military units, housing and utilities, agribusiness, electricity supply companies, water utilities, and heating networks, and the range will only grow in the future. We are also introducing some helpful AI-powered features for communication with customers,
said Oleg Shcherbatenko.
Back in 2017, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine banned the use of the aggressor’s software products by state institutions, in particular, due to the threat of compromising the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data managed by these systems. Nevertheless, the enemy platforms continued to dominate the market, and the problem was silenced. In 2019, 1C/BAS and its analogs were used by about 80% of Ukrainian businesses.
Early in 2023, IT-Ukraine Association appealed to Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation, with an initiative to introduce a nationwide program to abandon software originating from the aggressor country, which also suggests making amendments to the current legislation.
On April 15, 2023, the President of Ukraine imposed 10-year sanctions against russian technology companies by Decree No. 227/2023, supplementing the previous Decree No. 133/2017.
At the end of 2023, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 10186, which proposes to ban the sale of software based on code written in the aggressor’s language.
