“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.
