Having compute software that is legitimate isn’t only the right thing to do, but it is also safer for computers users. But according to the ‘Global Software Survey’ from Business Software Alliance (BSA), it seems that there are many users in South Africa who are throwing caution to the wind.
According to estimates by the company, as much as 33% of computer software in South Africa are unlicensed. While it is still very high, there is a sliver of hope as the figure has dropped by 1% when compared to 2013.
“We are happy to see the rate of unlicensed software use has dropped again. We believe this progress is in part a result of the successful cooperation between the South African government and the software industry, including the recent joint initiative between BSA, the Companies & Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and DALRO on raising awareness among South African companies on intellectual property and driving software license compliance,” said Billa Coetsee, Chair of South African Committee of BSA, in a media statement.
As mentioned it is still very high, but when compared to the rest of the countries in the Middle East and Africa region, SA is well below the average – which is currently at 57%. The region’s average also fell by 2% from 59%, which is always a good thing.
According to BSA, the drop in the unlicensed rate in the region can be ascribed to a decrease in the consumer share of PC shipments, enterprise oriented IP protection efforts, and a migration to subscription-based software.
Besides the fact that having illegal software opens a whole lot of doors for cybercriminals, there is also a financial aspect to the company who make the real deal.
“However, as the report highlights, the value of unlicensed software in use in South Africa is $274 million, which is very high. We will have to continue building the success of our recent initiatives with government, other stakeholders and the business community,” Coetsee said.
- 39 percent of software installed on computers around the world in 2015 was not properly licensed, representing only a modest decrease from 43 percent in BSA’s previous global rate in 2013.
- Even in certain critical industries, unlicensed use was surprisingly high. The survey found the worldwide rate is 25 percent for the banking, insurance and securities industries.
- CIOs estimate that 15 percent of their employees load software on the network without their knowledge. But they are significantly underestimating the problem; nearly double that amount—26 percent of employees — say they are loading unauthorised software on the network.
- CIOs said their highest concern was loss of data associated with such a security incident.
- CIOs also said that avoiding security threats is a critical reason for ensuring the software running in their networks is legitimate and fully licensed.
- In the broader survey of employees, 60 percent cited the security risk associated with unlicensed software as a critical reason to use legitimate, fully licensed software.
[Image – CC by 2.0/ShellyS]
