All Major U.S. Cloud Providers Have Stepped Back from Business in Russia

As another week of Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine comes to a close, all of the major U.S. cloud providers have stepped back from doing business in Russia.

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Dell, HPE, IBM Cloud, Oracle and VMware and other cloud companies have either stopped selling to new, or servicing existing, customers in Russia.

Worldwide, vendors of all stripes have faced pressure to leave the Russian market as Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues. The U.S. cloud providers were not among the first businesses to act. But act they finally have as the West and its allies impose even tougher sanctions in efforts to break Putin’s resolve.

“You basically have Russia becoming a commercial pariah,” economist Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, told CBS News. “Pretty much no company, no multinational, wants to be caught on the wrong side of U.S. and Western sanctions.”

What Have the U.S. Cloud Providers Said About Leaving Russia?

The big vendors all have released statements about their reasons for either stopping service or suspending new sales in Russia. Here are some highlights:

AWS

“Unlike other U.S. technology providers, AWS has no data centers, infrastructure, or offices in Russia, and we have a longstanding policy of not doing business with the Russian government. We have also stopped allowing new sign-ups for AWS in Russia and Belarus. Our biggest customers using AWS in Russia are companies [that] are headquartered outside of the country and have some development teams there.”

Read the company’s full statement, which includes actions it’s taking to support Ukraine, here.

Azure

“[W]e will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia. In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions.”

In terms of helping Ukraine, Azure is heavily focused on cybersecurity protections in the besieged country. Find the complete blog here.

Google Cloud

Google Cloud has only released a blanket statement to media, rather than posting on its website. Here’s what the provider has shared with TechCrunch, The Hill and other outlets: “We can confirm we are not accepting new Google Cloud customers in Russia at this time. We will continue to closely monitor developments.”

Google Cloud has not commented on whether it has stopped or will stop serving existing customers in Russia.

HPE GreenLake

HPE, like Google Cloud, has not released an official statement on its activity in Russia. However, HPE, which owns the GreenLake cloud portfolio, has stopped doing business there, according to reports.

IBM Cloud

“In addition to having stopped selling technology in Russia, we also do not do business with Russian military organizations,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told employees on March 3.

On March 7, he reiterated, “[W]e have suspended all business in Russia.”

Read the first memo here; the second, here.

Oracle

“On behalf of Oracle’s 150,000 employees around the world and in support of both the elected government of Ukraine and for the people of Ukraine, Oracle Corporation has already suspended all operations in the Russian Federation.”

That word came from Oracle via Twitter earlier this month.

VMware

“VMware is suspending all business operations in Russia and Belarus. We stand with Ukraine, and we commend the bravery of the Ukrainian people. … The suspension of operations includes suspension of all sales, support and professional services in both countries in line with VMware’s commitment to comply with sanctions and restrictions.”

Read what else VMware is doing here.

Others

Dell, SAP and Salesforce also have stopped doing business in Russia, according to multiple reports.

Each of these decisions will come with ripple effects. Channel partners need to plan accordingly. Philip Carter, group vice president, worldwide thought leadership research at IDC, had this to say (there’s more here as well): “Given the fluid nature of the conflict, IDC recommends that companies identify weak links in their value chain ecosystem, develop agile supply chain strategies, and create action plans that enable them to anticipate and react to a range of disruptive market movements.”

CNN is keeping a running tally of all the companies that have abandoned the Russia market. Find that list here.