28 technology Don’t risk software piracy
Software licensing must rise up the agenda for businesses in the Thames Valley argues Julian Swan, director, compliance marketing EMEA, Business Software Alliance
When was the last time you reviewed the software your business is using? Are you 100% certain that the software your company uses is fully licensed? This month, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the leading global organisation representing the commercial software industry, is urging businesses in Reading to check that their software licensing is up to scratch, and highlighting the risks that organisations run by turning a blind eye to software licensing issues.
Think of software piracy, and images of counterfeit goods being sold in shady establishments or downloaded from unscrupulous websites probably spring to mind.
The potential cost to businesses In fact, under-licensed software
use is also a long-standing problem, and in its 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, conducted in partnership with market research firm IDC, the BSA calculated that one in four pieces of software installed on personal computers (PCs) in the UK is illegal 1. Under-licensed software is where software has been installed onto more PCs than the licence agreement allows, for example, a licence may support the software being installed on up to 20 PCs, but it may end up being installed on 30 PCs.
... only 2% of organisations in the region were confident that the software in their organisations is correctly deployed ...
The use of under-licensed software could be opening your business up to a multitude of risks from financial penalties through to disrupted business operations and damage to your personal and business reputation. With so much at stake, why is under-licensed software use so prevalent? One reason is that software licensing is still regarded as just an IT issue rather than being considered a strategic business asset. In 2011, the BSA polled 250 financial directors (FDs) in the UK about their attitudes towards software piracy, and found that 83% of FDs surveyed in the South East are responsible for software licensing2. However, only 2% of organisations in the region were confident that the software in their organisations is correctly deployed, with over a third admitting that they cannot confidently say there is no illegal software use in their organisation.
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Under-licensed software can potentially carry a number of significant business risks. Firstly, if you use unlicensed software you may not have access to technical support. Secondly, you won’t receive regular software updates, so may be giving away your competitive edge as your staff will not have the tools they need to do their job properly. Finally, you may not have enhanced protection against viruses and malware. With huge volumes of business critical information now residing on company networks, using unlicensed software could be disastrous.
Many businesses monitor the obvious assets ... software is often not monitored ...
It also carries the threat of legal action, which can be very costly, as the expense is usually unplanned. Following a BSA investigation, an architecture company was previously found with substantial quantities of unlicensed software and ordered to pay over £15,000 in damages, plus £18,000 to purchase legal copies of the software. The media exposure that often follows these settlements adds the cost of a damaged reputation to the financial outlay.
Benefits of effective licence management
Achieving compliance in software licensing is a matter of having effective policies, processes and controls in place. By using an on-going business process, Software Asset Management (SAM), you can not only identify instances of under- licensing, but also where licences exist that are not being used, so saving money.
An independent study on SAM by KPMG estimated that a massive 50% of IT staff costs could be saved through the deployment of SAM, and there are many instances where effective SAM will pay dividends 3. When you are a growing business for example, it can be easy to overlook software licensing when you are hiring new staff. Many businesses monitor the obvious assets such as company cars, mobile phones and laptops. However, software is often not monitored in the same way.
It’s your responsibility...
Most businesses do not intend to use illegal software, or break the terms of their licence agreements, but many end up doing so. There is also a false belief in some companies that under-licensed software use is acceptable because it does not hurt the IP owners or the economy, when IDC’s research indicates that reducing the UK’s software piracy rate by 10 percentage points over four years could create over 13,000 jobs 4.
This year, the BSA will continue to crack down on businesses that use under- licensed software across the UK and in the Thames Valley. To avoid facing this scrutiny, we urge business leaders to take an active interest in the value of their software – and treat it like any other business asset.
Details:
www.bsa.org
To report software piracy: visit
www.bsa.org/reading or call 0844-241-3460.
1 “Business Software Alliance/IDC Global Software Piracy Study”, 2010
2 FD Spotlight survey, Business Software Alliance, 2011
3 “Software Asset Management: Mitigating Risk and Realizing Opportunities”, KPMG, 2009
4 IDC’s Software Piracy Impact Study, 2010
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2012
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