SMEs found lacking in their software licensing

Survey reveals that large proportion of small businesses are unaware of their legal obligations

Nearly half of all SMEs in Britain are lacking any form of software licensing policy and most are unaware of the legal obligations of having software licences, a survey by PC World Business (PCWB) has revealed.

Richard Harrison, services director at PCWB, said: “A software license policy is essential to all businesses. Not only does it eliminate all of the legal risks, it also creates numerous efficiencies and allows businesses to receive regular upgrades andtechnical support.”

The survey also revealed that 58 per cent of small businesses do not keep records of the software they own and don’t have filed or readily accessible licence certificates. Despite this, 87 per cent of businesses believe they are compliant with all legal requirements and have licences for all of their PCs.

The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), which has been campaigning for more help for SMEs to understand licensing, was not surprised by the findings. “We have got 9,000 corporate members who thought they had software licensing all sewn up when they joined FAST, but in fact didn’t,” said Chris Minchin, membership director of FAST corporate services. “We receive 100 reports a month from people telling us about firms using illegal software.”

John Lovelock, director general at FAST, added: “We have 15 resellers in our Certified Reseller Group, which we set up in August 2004 to ensure that organisations feel they can get expert advice and support from a recognised and certified source.

“A lot of SMEs rely on their reseller to handle and look after their software licenses, as they may not have an IT department or expert within their firm, but a lot of resellers don’t understand software licensing. Our Certified Resellers had to undergo intensive training, including in depth understanding of the FAST Audit Certification Programme for software compliance, concluding with an exam, followed by one year’s probation, before certification is granted.”