Do you remember the days in late nineties and early 2000’s when you could get a pirated software CD from road side make-shift stall for Rs. 100 or even lesser? That single CD had pirated softwares worth thousands of dollars, be it Windows or Office or Photoshop! Everything was available for less than Rs. 100!
While many people use pirated softwares even today, the percentage has come down drastically. During that time over 90 percent of softwares used were pirated.
Now, according to BSA Global Software survey, use of Pirated software has come down in India to 58% percent. It is still very high, but in relative terms, it has come down drastically from what it was 10-15 years back. In last 5 years alone, the percentage has dropped as much as 7 percent. In 2009, the pirated software use was pegged at 65 percent.
Highlights of the Report
– Although trends have improved marginally, 39 percent of software installed on PCs around the world in 2015 was not properly licensed, representing only a modest decrease from 43 percent in BSA’s previous global study in 2013.
– Even in certain critical industries, where much tighter control of the digital environment would be expected, unlicensed use was surprisingly high. The survey found the worldwide rate is 25 percent — a full one in four — for the banking, insurance, and securities industries.
– 49 percent of CIOs identified security threats from malware as a major threat posed by unlicensed software.
– At 90 percent, Libya and Zimbabwe are countries with highest use of pirated software.
– At 17 percent, United States has the lowest amount of pirated software in use.
– In Asia-Pacific Japan and New Zealand have least amount of piracy at 18%, while Bangladesh (86%), Pakistan (84%) and Indonesia (84%) are leading countries with Software piracy.
– Among the BRIC Countries, China leads with 70% piracy and Brazil has lowest at 47%
– The commercial value of pirated software in India in 2015 is pegged at $2.68 Billion, down from $2.9 billion in 2013.
– At a global level, commercial value of pirated software stands at whopping $52.24 billion!
– Asia-Pacific has maximum share in commercial value of pirated software worldwide at $19.1 billion.
The report clearly shows that more developed the country, the lesser the software piracy and vice-versa.
[Full Report – BSA Global Software Survey]
Wow! So millions, probably BILLIONS of dollars are travelling from *INDIA*, a dirt poor third world country, to Bill Gates’ bank account in the US!! That’s sooooo nice to know!!