Posted by Networking giant Cisco has decided to follow in the footsteps of IBM and Microsoft to wind down its business in Russia. Cisco told Reuters that it plans to fully exit and wind down its business in Russia and Belarus. With this, Cisco follows IBM and Microsoft out of Russia.
“We have now made the decision to begin an orderly wind-down of our business in Russia and Belarus,” the company said in an emailed statement sent to Reuters. With this, Cisco follows IBM and Microsoft out of Russia.
IBM has begun winding down its business in Russia this month, while Microsoft has been making substantial cuts to its Russian business and overall operations.
“We chose to suspend operations so that we could evaluate longer-term options while continuing to pay and provide for our employees in Russia,” IBM Chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna wrote in a blog post on June 7.
“As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM’s business in Russia,” said Krisha in his blog post.
According to a media report, Microsoft’s move to curtail its business in Russia would impact around 400 employees.
Not only that, the software giant appears to have blocked Windows 10 and Windows 11 downloads and updates in Russia. Microsoft has remained silent on why the latest Windows software updates are unavailable in Russia.
Is the company’s move intentional or pre-planned to disconnect and further disrupt Russia on the technology front remains unknown so far?
Cisco had already suspended its sales and services; and the overall business operations in Russia in March, following the Russian forces’ invasion of Ukraine in late February this year.
Since the Ukraine-Russia war broke out, major US-based technology companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Amazon, Polycom and others, have already exited Russia. They have either suspended their Russian business operations since March or moved their operations to neighbouring countries.