Technology enthusiasts will recall the name Sailfish OS, a mobile operating system that never managed to gain much traction. But Jolla is not out of business yet, and they just secured a partnership with their biggest client to date. Moving forward, the Russian government will only use Sailfish OS smartphones, due to their improved security. Moreover, Jolla will be adding government-oriented apps to the platform in the coming years.
Sailfish OS To Be Embraced By Russian Government
The news comes as quite a surprise, although things have been looking positive for Jolla in recent months. The company is in talks with governments in China and South Africa to develop government-oriented applications for their Sailfish mobile operating system. Now, however, it appears that even the Russian government has taken a special interest in Sailfish OS.
Jolla issued a Sailfish OS license to Open Mobile platform, a Russian company with close ties to the government. Both parties will collaborate on future applications and features for the operating system. This is only the first step along the way of ensuring that Russian government officials will, in the future, use Sailfish OS exclusively.
It is no secret that the Russian government distrusts American companies who develop mobile operating systems. Android and iOS, for example, are often frowned upon in the country for obvious reasons. Rather than creating their own proprietary system, their partnership with the Finnish company seems to work out well for all parties involved.
It is not the first time that the Russian government has swapped out Western services for other lesser-known solutions. Earlier this year, all of Moscow’s administration has been transitioning from using Outlook to a different email client. To be more precise, they will switch to a Russian service provider, keeping sensitive information within digital country borders.
For the time being, it remains unclear which devices will be running Sailfish OS. It is expected that Jolla will have to port their mobile operating system to commonly used brands, which are not officially supported at this stage. New phone models may be announced and released on the Russian market exclusively in the coming months, although that has not been officially confirmed.
What is rather peculiar is how Sailfish OS is compatible with virtually every Android application in existence. Using a locked down OS will not make these phones safer by default, as users can still install apps from unknown sources. It is expected, though, that the government will make sure that the option is disabled and cannot be bypassed.
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