Efforts are underway to keep Russian corporate and state users away from Google services by deploying specialized software that blocks the inclusion of products from a Western company on workstations. The coverage notes this trend based on information from three IT firms.
Leaders of organizations are increasingly purchasing private enterprise VPNs, gateways, and firewalls to create distance from Google. Representatives from Softline and Code of Security indicate that demand for these tools surged in 2022 as administrators sought tighter control over what can be accessed on work devices. Google Docs and Google Drive are frequently targeted by these restrictions.
Denis Chigin from the Softline Group of Companies Information Security department explains that gateways and firewalls directly curb access to the services themselves. The VPN, in contrast, provides a secure channel for data exchange between users, he notes.
In addition, both private firms and government bodies are adopting virtual data room technologies to move away from Google. These solutions enable controlled document exchange from enterprise storage and effectively replace Google cloud storage with a managed, on premise or private cloud option.
Earlier reports suggested that Google did not include Russia in the List of Countries Participating in the Year in Search project. [Citation: Vedomosti report, corroborated by three IT firms]