“The clock is ticking for companies who fail to manage their software efficiently. For whatever reason, employees all over the country are providing leads for our enforcement team,” warned Siobhan Carroll, Regional Manager Northern Europe at BSA.
New figures from the BSA show that more than 300 investigations into businesses were opened last year – 25 of these have reached settlement stage and the rest are still being investigated. Companies reported to be using software illegally ranged from firms with only two PCs to those using over 1,000 computers, and were based throughout the UK.
The greatest number of suspected companies were based in London (9%) with Manchester following in second place (4%), said the BSA.
The BSA has traditionally given a reward of 10% of the value of any software recovered, with a ceiling of £20,000, to anyone who reports illegal software usage in an organisation.
“People are becoming more aware of piracy and intellectual property issues but a software piracy rate of 27% in the UK illustrates how much of a problem it continues to be,” explained Siobhan Carroll. “While we’re doing everything we can to help and support businesses we’re also asking them to appreciate the value of software in their business. Software is an essential business productivity tool and fostering an attitude of respect for intellectual property will allow businesses to continue to create, innovate and grow.”
The BSA is urging businesses to manage their software as they would any other valuable business asset and has launched an improved version of its Software Asset Management tool www.justasksam.co.uk. The site enables organisations to establish the effectiveness of their existing software management policies by using an interactive risk assessment tool.
