Govt sees opportunity for Indian cloud players as Microsoft restores services to Nayara Energy

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The recent disruption of Microsoft’s services to Nayara Energy has prompted the government to underscore the risks of over-reliance on foreign technology providers and the need to explore homegrown alternatives.

“We are constantly working on internet resilience and cybersecurity; it is part of our digital infrastructure. We cannot over-depend on any one supplier or any one country. That is always going to be a problem,” a senior government official told Moneycontrol, confirming that services to Nayara Energy have now been restored.

The official said the episode highlights the importance of maintaining alternative service providers to ensure business continuity. “This is an opportunity for homegrown cloud players as well,” the official added.

Microsoft had suspended tech support to Nayara Energy on July 22, days after the European Union imposed fresh sanctions on the Indian refiner under its 18th sanctions package, announced on July 18.

The move disrupted access to business-critical services such as Outlook and Teams for Nayara employees, and also restricted the company's access to its own licensed data and proprietary tools.

Calling the suspension “abrupt and unilateral,” Nayara Energy moved the Delhi High Court on July 28. Following the legal proceedings, Microsoft restored services on July 30.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Microsoft is committed to supporting all its customers in India and worldwide and has restored services for Nayara Energy. We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Union towards service continuity for the organization.”

Nayara Energy, 49 percent owned by Russian state-run oil major Rosneft, processes a significant volume of discounted Russian crude at its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which accounts for 8 percent of India’s refining capacity.