Google to Visa Face Russia Rules, Boon to Local Data Centers
Russia’s new rules requiring that global technology companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Visa Inc. store more data locally will benefit data-center providers such as OAO Rostelecom and OAO MegaFon (MFON) in a market that may reach about $550 million this year.
President Vladimir Putin’s government is pushing providers of global Internet services to store personal data on Russian users in the country, with the draft law on the subject accelerated this week to take effect in January 2015. Putin has also urged Visa and MasterCard Inc. (MA) to participate in a national payment system and process transactions locally to avoid fines for blocking Russian clients’ cards.
The recent legislation may cause an increasing demand for data storage services in Russia, said Vadim Samoylov, deputy general manager of DataLine, the country’s largest data-center operator. There are more talks with potential clients now, while some companies started relocating their servers to Russia even before these laws, he said.
Автор: Илья Хренников