A Turnkey Service: BILLmanager Launches an Application Store
Russian developer ISPsystem, which is part of Astra Group and develops platforms for comprehensive IT infrastructure management, has added an Application store module to its BILLmanager platform.
The business-process automation platform now includes a storefront for ready-made services that hosting providers can automatically deploy and sell to customers along with server rentals. SaaS and PaaS services are brought together in a single catalog, where users can select a ready-to-use application and put it into operation immediately, without additional configuration.
The Service Economy
The launch of the Application store within the BILLmanager ecosystem changes how providers and their customers interact. Cloud, service and hosting providers can create their own storefronts for ready-made digital services. The user selects and pays for an application, after which VMmanager, ISPsystem’s platform for building fault-tolerant virtualization environments, automatically reserves a server, installs the operating system and deploys the required software.
The IaaS model is evolving toward a service economy: providers can now sell software services as well as virtual machines. Additional services can increase revenue, while full process automation reduces the workload on staff. There is no need to monitor the service lifecycle, either: the virtual server is automatically deleted when the application is removed.
For small and midsize businesses, the Application store provides access to a range of technology solutions in a single catalog and lets them obtain ready-to-use services without manual installation. Companies can get corporate portals or specialized software up and running through a single storefront in just a few minutes. For the IT industry, this creates a new distribution channel. Russian software developers that integrate their modules into the BILLmanager catalog gain access to the customer bases of dozens of cloud operators.
A Monetization Tool
Users are becoming less interested in infrastructure for its own sake and are increasingly choosing end-to-end digital services with measurable business results. PaaS and SaaS services, which deliver software and platforms as a service, are evolving in response to that demand. BILLmanager, in turn, is becoming a tool for monetizing demand for a higher level of service.
The application catalog could become an effective way to promote software products not only in Russia but also in countries interested in building independent IT infrastructures. ISPsystem is actively expanding its international presence.
“Our solutions are competitive in other countries as well, thanks to their price and, of course, their functionality. We work across every continent: today, customers in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America use ISPsystem platforms,” said Anton Karasev, ISPsystem’s marketing director.
From Storefront to Platform
Russia’s domestic digital application stores began developing in 2022, when similar foreign platforms changed their terms of service in response to Western sanctions. One of the most successful was RuStore, launched by technology company VK together with Mintsifry (Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation). It quickly became a mass-market sales channel for Russian mobile app developers and helped set the direction for building software distribution ecosystems. That same year, the first Russian marketplace for enterprise software, Russoft.ru, was launched. But it functioned more as a storefront than a fully-featured store: users had to go to a developer’s website to purchase software.
In 2023, cloud providers such as Selectel and MTS began offering specialized cloud platforms that allowed companies to build their own applications without relying on third-party infrastructure. PaaS and SaaS services also developed rapidly in 2024.
In 2025, ISPsystem expanded its ecosystem: the launch of a module marketplace on BILLmanager allowed partners to list their own integrations. In 2026, the integration catalog gave way to a full-fledged Application store with end-to-end automation of the service delivery cycle.
New Distribution Channels
The shift among IT providers from an infrastructure-based model to a platform-based one is no longer a question of the future. By launching the Application store in BILLmanager, ISPsystem is helping providers become aggregators of digital services while giving developers a sales channel. The number of such Russian platforms is likely to grow, supporting the country’s technological sovereignty. At the same time, the development of the ISPsystem ecosystem could become one of the drivers for exporting Russian solutions for IT infrastructure automation and SaaS services.
