Customers get world-class economics based on the TCO model, secure infrastructure ready for certification for significant KII objects, as well as a unified ecosystem in three consumption formats: public cloud, private cloud, and a turnkey hardware-software complex.

Источник изображения: provided by the press service of "Astra Group"

"Astra Group", a Russian developer of infrastructure software, announces the launch of Astra Cloud, built on Russian Baikal-S processors from "Baikal Electronics". Pre-orders for Astra Cloud infrastructure on Baikal-S are already open.

This is the country's first commercial cloud where the entire technology stack, from the chip to the end service, is the result of domestic engineering work.

The new cloud service is primarily focused on critical information infrastructure. KII entities today require an ecosystem and platform approach where every technological layer is controlled, including low-level hardware. This is the only way to form a truly sovereign and secure environment, free from vulnerabilities of imported equipment. Astra Cloud on Baikal-S is designed to provide such an environment for Russian enterprises: complete import independence with regulatory compliance requirements embedded at the architectural level, which come into force in January 2028.

"We don't just package foreign hardware in a nice case. We create end-to-end technology in the cloud – from a Russian central processor to the end service used by the customer. For us, there is no choice between 'Russian' and 'effective'. Astra Cloud on Baikal-S is a direct and honest compliance with the global ARM standard, and we give businesses a tool for a smooth transition to trusted infrastructure today, not on the last night before the deadline," comments Denis Mukhin, CEO of Astra Cloud.

Fundamental Difference – ARM Architecture

Until recently, there was no cloud service in Russia based on the ARM architecture, which today defines the development vector of global data centers. Astra Cloud on Baikal S processors closes this gap for the first time.

ARM architecture provides fundamentally higher energy efficiency, which, in turn, reduces operating costs and delivers high performance for modern cloud workloads (AI/ML computing, database operations, or web services). As a result, the total cost of ownership is significantly lower than that of traditional x86 solutions. These significant advantages have prompted global cloud providers (Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Google) to adapt their services to ARM.

Now this global trend is coming to Russia: Astra Cloud on Baikal S gives customers the same efficiency and performance, but on a domestic stack with ARM architecture.

Three Consumption Scenarios for Real Business Needs

For partners and integrators, "Astra Group" is preparing joint delivery packages so that the market receives not only technology but also well-established commercial scenarios for its implementation.

 In the public cloud Astra Cloud on Baikal-S, the company receives secure certified infrastructure and applications in the Astra Cloud data center, provided as a service. This allows starting without creating its own hardware platform and scaling for specific business tasks (from pilot to industrial load).

 Private cloud on Baikal-S is a dedicated infrastructure within the customer's perimeter for those who require maximum isolation and direct ownership of equipment. The same cloud technologies operate under the organization's full physical control.

 The XCloud hardware-software complex on Baikal-S is a ready-made turnkey cloud platform that is deployed either within the customer's perimeter under license or in the Astra Cloud data center by subscription.

In all scenarios, the cloud infrastructure operates identically. Thus, the customer has the freedom to choose the consumption model without technological compromises.

Roadmap and Invitation to Cooperation

Astra Cloud on Baikal-S is already undergoing final refinement under real loads within "Astra Group". Pilot access for selected clients in the uncertified segment will open by the end of July 2026, and free testing is being considered for this period until the end of the year. Also, by the end of 2026, the certified segment will be operational, and commercial subscription will scale in parallel with the development of the service showcase for developers.

Simultaneously with the cloud infrastructure, Astra Cloud will provide a ready-made development platform, including code repositories, CI/CD pipelines, and secure development tools. This will significantly accelerate the adaptation of applications to the Baikal-S architecture and relieve customer teams from the need to build DevOps chains independently.

In addition, during 2026, Astra Cloud on Baikal-S will be supplemented with GPU servers for artificial intelligence tasks and high-performance computing. This will enable Russian companies to run AI workloads entirely on a domestic stack, without the need for parallel use of foreign GPU clouds for machine learning models.

Access Rules for Piloting Participants

Participation in the Astra Cloud pilot on Baikal-S is structured according to a transparent and predictable scheme for businesses. To join, companies need to fill out an application for pre-testing and pre-ordering IaaS services on Baikal-S, indicating planned use cases – for example, migrating productive workloads, development and CI/CD, launching AI tasks, or practicing fault tolerance scenarios. This approach allows "Astra Group" to pre-select resource configurations for the customer's real profile and methodologically support the pilot.

"Astra Group" is confident that the cloud on Baikal-S will soon become a national standard for significant Russian objects, and within two to five years – the basis for exporting trusted infrastructure. The company invites developers, information security vendors, and cloud integrators who see technological sovereignty as an opportunity for a qualitative leap to cooperate.