New Delhi: Microsoft intends to restrict access to over fifty cloud offerings for Russian companies by the end of March, with sanctions mandated by EU regulators in December. Originally decided for March 20, 2024, the suspension has been postponed to the month-end.
A machine-translated statement from Softline highlighted, “On behalf of Softline Group of Companies, we confirm receipt of official information from Microsoft and Amazon about the suspension of access to cloud products in Russia from March 20, 2024.”
The Softline Group of Companies, a significant IT service provider in Russia, announced this news of service disruptions, marking an important development.
Referencing the EU Council Regulation 2023/2873 as the driving force behind these actions, Microsoft’s communication with Softline resulted in the deferment of service shutdowns. Reports indicate a vast array of products including Power Automate, SQL Server, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Azure, Power BI, Microsoft Teams, Visual Studio, SharePoint, Intune, Dynamics AX/NAV, Microsoft 365, Excel, OneDrive, among others, are going to face license key invalidation.
Russian industries such as design, architecture, construction, media, entertainment, manufacturing, and education will be impacted due to license invalidation. Individuals, however, seem to be exempted from these access restrictions, ensuring the continued availability of the mentioned products for personal users.
As the tech landscape witnesses this transformative shift, Google, Amazon, and Oracle’s cloud services face a similar fate under the mentioned sanctions.