BSA launches London crackdown

One in five pieces of software in London is being used illegally

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has launched a two-month campaign in a bid to eliminate software piracy from London businesses.

The operation follows on from previous campaigns in other illegal software hotspots, Glasgow and Manchester.

The BSA is contacting more than 1,000 London businesses to offer a Software Health Check through a self-audit form.

The firm is also offering free consultancy from software asset management (SAM) resellers.

Research unveiled by market watcher IDC – to coincide with the London campaign – has revealed that London businesses are installing pirated software worth £149m each year.

London is responsible for more reports of software piracy than any other place in the UK. One in five pieces of software in London is being used illegally, according to new figures.

Alyna Cope, spokesperson for the BSA country committee, said: “We urge London businesses to come forward and ensure that their software licencing is up to scratch, checking all software – from office productivity suites, to design packages and fonts.

“Software piracy deprives developers of the rewards of their work and innovation, with the greatest financial impact felt by smaller firms and start-up software companies, and we need to ensure resource and expertise is not being lost at the base of the sector.”

The BSA said there are, however, wider implications for London’s economy: software piracy drains revenues that technology and creative companies would otherwise invest in research and development and jobs, it claimed.

This would stifle the growth and development in a sector that employs more than half a million people and is responsible for 20 per cent of job creation in the capital each year, the BSA added.