Software (mis)management
There is an organisation called the
Business Software Alliance (BSA) and they released their annual report on software piracy in May 2005. The study, conducted by analysts IDC, claimed that 27% of business software in the UK is pirated.
The BSA is a non-profit organisation which represents the interests of major companies such as Microsoft, IBM, CISCO and Symantec, along with the
Federation Against Software Theft (FAST).
They are lobbying the UK government to stiffen penalties for intellectual property crime. But they are equally likely to take matters into their own hands and bring civil prosecution against companies who they can prove are using unlicensed software.
Many businesses fall foul of copyright law not because they are intentionally trying to defraud but because of their processes (or lack of them). The BSA offer free tools and advice to help educate companies.
Some users have questioned the BSA's methods. The BSA is accused of approaching companies too aggressively with a "guilty until proven innocent" approach. They also say that asset management tools cannot give the sort of control the BSA demands.
There are views that the differing licensing methods out there from different companies only add confusion and grey areas and many believe that the BSA and FAST should work together to encourage software vendors to have clearer, more standardised licensing programmes.
Software license control does not need to be ardious and time invested now reaps rewards in the long run. There are tools and mechanisms you can use to help manage your software usage and maximise the business use of the Investment you have already made. If you would like to talk about your software usage or concerns then I am here to help.
