Businesses are no longer willing to compromise: companies are demanding performance, resilience and security from digital solutions, and all three factors are considered together. This is forcing IT companies to adapt their products and strategies while accommodating major regulatory changes. This was discussed by the participants of the T1 Forum, which took place on March 19.
The conference of the T1 IT holding has become a point of attraction for experts from the fields of IT, finance, retail, telecoms, industry, transport and the public sector, who are champions of digitalization in Russia.
The IT industry risks and practical solutions were discussed at several forum sites. Experts from Russian big tech and business together looked for answers to the questions: “How to spend less,” “How to earn more,” “How to manage risks and ensure safety,” which reflects the demand of companies to increase efficiency and sustainability in a turbulent economy.
The forum opened with a presentation of the review “The AI Accelerator Market”. According to the IT holding T1, the volume of the Russian market for AI accelerators in 2025 amounted to about 63 billion rubles, with a forecast of an increase to 257.6 billion rubles by 2030. As T1 analysts noted, the key barriers to the implementation of AI are high costs, the need for infrastructure development, and insufficient data sets.
During one of the discussions at the forum, the focus was on the vulnerability of corporate systems to technological, logistics and regulatory shocks (the so-called “black swans” on the path to the sustainability of IT infrastructures).
The most important topic is the search for a flexible strategy for the development of IT infrastructures in conditions of limited access to equipment and a continuing shortage of components. Participants discussed how, using architectural approaches, optimization of computing platform configurations and multi-cloud solutions, to compensate for the lack of hardware, especially in CII and high-load systems – banking, trading and payment. The speakers also discussed scenarios for rapid scaling of domestic solutions and the risks of cyber-physical threats to data centers.
The answer to new sustainability challenges is the transition to trusted software and hardware systems. At the same time, experts emphasized that the criteria for “power of attorney” and the interpretation of regulatory requirements have not yet been unified, which is why both manufacturers and customers are faced with legal and technological uncertainty.
“IT infrastructure is a complex system consisting of hardware and software solutions from various vendors integrated with each other. Its cyber resilience depends on each specific product and how well they are assembled into a single whole. Today it is important to implement secure development practices in software creation, develop guidelines for hardening products and use the Security By Default approach, maintain a public database of vulnerabilities for your products, and also participate in Bug Bounty programs to realize the risk of “injecting code into the development pipeline,” commented Marat Churakov, head of the department for improving the security of IT infrastructure at Positive Technologies.
Experts explained which investments are critical for business continuity and data protection, and which can be attributed to the “second wave” without compromising operational processes. Using the examples of the approaches of large vendors, it was shown how trusted software systems, DevSecOps practices and a more responsible approach of IT and information security solution providers help integrate security into the life cycle of products and platforms.
“At the T1 Forum, the discussion about the effectiveness of technology reached a new level: it brought together vendors, integrators, and clients who, in the current economic conditions, find a foothold for business sustainability. AI is becoming one of these growth points for business due to multiple cost reductions and process automation. But it also places high demands on information security, digital literacy of employees, and cyber resilience of contractors,” noted Nikolay Sivak, commercial director of the Solar Group.
This trend, in his opinion, creates a demand for expertise and comprehensive solutions that take into account the current profile of cyber attacks and business challenges in the field of data protection, access control, network security, secure development and incident monitoring.
In addition to being a discussion and expert platform, the forum became a place for the launch of new products: for example, new IT solutions for retail and industry were presented here.
The forum day ended with a bright talk show about techno-adventurers, techno-realists and their role in the Russian IT market. It was attended by businessmen and leaders of domestic big tech and popularizers of science: Dmitry Kharitonov (T1 IT holding), Pavel Boksha (MTTEX, Moscow transport), Andrey Davidyuk (Motorics), Ilya Sivtsev (Astra Group), Ilya Semerikov (P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute), Dmitry Markov (VisionLabs) and Alexander Pushnoy (musician, showman, actor). The format of the live conversation allowed us to discuss in a new way the boundary between technological ambitions and pragmatism, as well as the role of risk appetite in the digital transformation of large businesses.
“At almost every session of the T1 Forum, experts in one way or another discussed risk, experiments, and technological ideas that were incredible at first glance: from the development of quantum computing and building our own microelectronics to technologies that can affect the success of business and directly affect the lives of millions of people. But if you take away the fancy words, in the IT industry everything still comes down to one simple question: either the technology works or it doesn’t. And the drive of techno-adventurism is justified if at a critical moment we can honestly say: “Yes, we took a risk, and the solution functions effectively for business, for the country and, most importantly, for people,” summed up the forum Dmitry Kharitonov, CEO of T1 IT holding.
“T1 Forum” this year is supported by key players in the domestic IT market: the general partner of the forum is the company YADROalso supported by companies Solar (gold partner status), Positive Technologies And F6 (silver partner statuses), Orion soft. General media partner of the forum – Kommersant Publishing Housebusiness program partner – RBC group of companiesstrategic information partner – Russian newspapernews flow partner News.ruofficial media partners of the forum – Hi-Tech Mail, INC., Vedomosti, Frank Media, Russian Business and magazines Expert, Connect-WIT, Financial One, Monocle And Computerra. Community partners of the forum – editorial office of “Moscow Youth”, FinTech Association, Association “RUSSOFT”.
