Actu
BSA: The use of non-compliant software cost French companies more than € 460,000 in the first half of 2013
October 2013 by BSA (Business Software Alliance)
According to BSA | The Software Alliance, the use of non-compliant software cost French companies exactly € 465,000 in the first half of 2013, following proceedings conducted by BSA. This represents an increase of 25% during the same time period the year before. The use of illegal software cost one company alone more than € 110,000.
These amounts includes damages related to the offense, as well as additional costs associated with buying the correct amount of software licenses
A 40% increase of the number of settlements compared to the first half of 2012
In the first half of 2013, the number of settlements increased from 40% in France compared to the first half of 2012. The cost of using unlicensed software represents more than
€ 465,000 in the first half of 2013, for French companies. This is just over 10% of the total amount collected in the Europe, which reached € 4.5 million.
“The use of unlicensed software is still wide-spread in France and companies should remember that legal software is more reliable and secure, maximizing productivity. In addition correctly licensed and properly managed software enhances reliability and decreases risks”, François Rey, chair of French BSA committee in France says.
Use of unlicensed software cost companies in Paris and Nantes the most
In the first half of 2013, legal proceedings were conducted by BSA | The Software Alliance all over France, but two regions are particularly highlighted in terms of non-compliance settlements : actually, it has cost more than € 250,000 to Paris’ companies and nearly € 100,000 to Nantes’ companies.
However, according to the latest study on software piracy conducted at the regional level by
BSA | The Software Alliance in collaboration with IDC, Ile-de-France and West are among the regions where fewer non-compliant software is used, with respectively 34% and 36% rates of non-compliance versus 37% for the national average.
A solution for companies to be compliant: set up the Software Asset Management
Software Asset Management ensures many benefits: streamlining the software portfolio, reducing the costs (through the delete of unused software or of too many licenses), optimizing the information system in order to serve the organization and reducing financial, reputational, legal and security risks.
BSA | The Software Alliance participated to the AFNOR working group that aimed to develop an Application Guide ISO / IEC 19770-1:2012 standard on the "Software Asset Management" (SAM).
Available since June 2013, the guide has been developed to facilitate the understanding and implementation of the "Software Asset Management" and provide a set of rules that give a practical approach to large companies, SMEs and governments engaged in such an approach.
BSA encourages reports of suspected software piracy, including businesses using unlicensed software, or individuals and organizations selling illegal software over the internet. Confidential reports can be made at www.bsa.org. The BSA website also provides guidance to help companies operate within the law. Further information and software compliance tools are available from www.bsa.org.
