It is a common knowledge that India is one of the leading country when it comes to software piracy. According to a survey released few months back, over 65% software’s used in India are pirated amounting to loss of over USD 2 Billion. When it comes to Movie piracy, Indian is ranked 4th in the world.
But surprisingly, a Microsoft report says that 86 percent consumers in India are ready to pay more for genuine software.
I highly doubt this finding!
The report findings are based on inputs from about 2,000 people in India who took part in the survey, which covered more than 38,000 people across 20 countries. Consumers that had a personal computer and were the primary decision-makers at home on PC/software purchases took part in the survey.
Either the people who participated in the survey did not give out the real facts, or demographics of people chosen for the survey did not reflect the reality at large.
To be honest, it is quite evident even if you see in people and small companies around you. Most of the Small companies and Individuals cannot afford buying genuine software. Do you think a Graphic designer will shell out close to a lakh of rupee to get Adobe photoshop on his machine. More than 95 percent of all installations are pirated.
Infact, I am surprised that of all, Microsoft has come out with this survey where they have been shouting for years that Piracy is rampant in India!
The survey also shows that 82 per cent of respondents said software companies should do more to stop their products from being counterfeited and 76 per cent believe the government should take more steps to curb illegal software.
Again like I mentioned earlier, the the biggest reason why piracy happens in India is because exorbitant cost of software’s. The only thing that can get piracy down in India is if regularly used software’s can come in common man’s reach.
What is your take on this ?