The conference “Infrastructure for Growth — Data as a Strategic Resource” took place at the Eastern Economic Forum

Invited experts discussed how the market is evolving and what challenges the industry is facing. Today, storing information on domestic platforms is not only a matter of convenience but also of the country’s strategic security.

Vladimir Khlebnikov, Founder of Parus Electro; Valery Ermakov, Deputy President of Rostelecom; Andrey Klementyev, Minister of Digital Development and Communications of Primorsky Krai; Andrey Lavrov, General Director of Grinatom; and Evgeny Virtser, CEO of Open Technology Engineering and Founder of Key Point Group, agreed that the demand for data centers in Russia is rapidly growing, and legislation must keep pace with the industry’s development.

Evgeny Virtser emphasized: “The earlier and more transparently consumers articulate their needs and strategies, the higher the chance that the market and the state, working in synergy, will be able to respond in time. This is the key to the industry’s growth.”

The discussion highlighted that the future of the data center industry requires three key resources: people, financing, and technology — from workforce training and dedicated financial models to ensuring domestic equipment remains competitive in terms of cost.

In the coming years, the industry must be formally consolidated: adopting an industry classification code (OKVED), defining the criteria for a “domestic data center,” and broadening support mechanisms.

The potential is enormous, and the key task today is to keep moving forward.

You can watch videos from the conference on the websites of OTV Primorye and Vesti Primorye.