There have been cases when the “giants” of the international level have won tenders, but the work was not carried out at the proper level in Armenia, said Chair of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) Aleksandr Yesayan at the discussions of the 7th Business Innovation Forum (BIF-2019) on Sunday.

He is sure that the country has long crossed the line when it was believed that domestic software could not be of high quality. 

He pointed out the need to create conditions for protecting the interests of local IT companies. Along with this, Yesayan noted that the formation of conditions should not at all mean closing the market for foreign companies. Yesayan proposed putting forward requirements for the use of open codes. He noted that large companies will not be interested in participating in tenders in these conditions, and this will create more favorable conditions for domestic companies.

The head of the e-Hayq company Vahagn Poghosyan did not agree with this approach, stressing that large companies will find solutions. He noted that no one in Armenia requires withdrawing foreign companies from the Armenian market. However, it is unacceptable to create a situation where the state is getting on the needle. Poghosyan explained that representatives of these companies often do not indicate prices for updating systems in an application for a tender. As a result, the systems are provided with the possibility of free use in the first few years, and then millions of demands are put forward for each update, the state may refuse to pay, because it will be immediately blacklisted. 

He noted that it is necessary to put forward clear requirements for indicating the full price, including for updates. Moreover, he is sure that all updates should come from Armenia, and not from the US or other countries.