Traditionally the BSA has given a reward of 10% of the value of any software recovered, with a ceiling of £10,000, to anyone who reports illegal software usage in an organisation. Until the end of the year the ceiling has been doubled to £20,000.
Research carried out by YouGov for the BSA revealed that just under half of UK workers (47%) would be bothered if they knew illegal software was being used at their workplace. When asked why it would bother them, 57% said they believed illegal software use was indicative of poor company management while 21% were worried about being found personally guilty of an illegal act.
Siobhan Carroll, Regional Manager for Northern Europe, BSA said:
"People are concerned about working in an environment where illegal or counterfeit software is used. In order to tackle software piracy head on and reduce the UK's 29% piracy rate, we are doubling the reward, as we think businesses will become more aware of the dangers of non-compliance."
Typically those who have reported illegal use to the BSA in the past are current or former employees of the company's IT function, according to the group.
The BSA provides free software auditing tools, tips and advice to help companies ensure software compliance and implement effective software asset management (SAM) at www.justasksam.co.uk.
