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Microsoft suspends deal with Ukrainian government
Microsoft Ukraine, a 100 percent subsidiary of the multinational software giant Microsoft, has suspended its agreement with the Ukrainian government on legalization of the software programming used by government agencies due to the state's failure to keep up with the terms of the agreement, a company spokesperson said: "The fulfilment of the agreement was suspended because its terms were not implemented, "according to Yevhen Sozansky, manager of software legalization at Microsoft Ukraine.
Sozansky said this does not mean the software legalization process is stopping, but that the company hopes that new conditions for cooperation will be worked out soon.
The suspension of the agreement came a month after Microsoft Ukraine voiced its concern to the Ukrainian government regarding slow implementation of the bilateral agreement that was signed between back in 2005.
According to this agreement, Ukrainian government agencies were obligated to legalize their Microsoft software, particularly Microsoft Windows and Office, between 2005 and 2007.
Microsoft Ukraine agreed to provide licensed software to the government at a 50-60 percent discount and to train civil servants in its use.
Microsoft Ukraine's general director Valeriy Lanovenko said last month that his company had fulfilled its obligations and invested significant amounts into the project, though he did not provide exact figures.
Lanovenko then blamed the Ukrainian government for carrying out just 12 percent of its obligations in 2005 and less than 3 percent in the first half of 2006.
"The slow pace of obligation of software used by government agencies sets a bad example for the market and complicates efforts to legalize software in the country in general," said Lanovenko.
Officials at the Education Ministry who are in charge of the project could not be reached for comment by the time the Post went to press.
Earlier in June, Oleg Kytaitsev, deputy head of the information technologies and computerization department at the ministry, which signed the agreement with Microsoft Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian government, told the Post they were not the ones to blame.
"The fulfilment of the agreement was suspended because its terms were not implemented." - Yevhen Sozansky, Microsoft
"Each government agency is responsible independently for legalization of its software," he said.
"Apparently, some of them [agencies] did not make the task a priority and have not allocated anyone to date to acquire the legal programming, "he added.
According to a report conducted by International Data Corporation, an independent research firm, the share of illegal software in Ukraine fell from 91 to 85 percent in 2005, which moved the country from third to sixth place on the list of countries with the highest levels of pirated software. However, Lanovenko said in June that the trend ha failed to continue this year.
Kiev Post
27th, July 2006
Page 7
By Yulianna Vilkos
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