Unlicensed software costs SA R4 billion
New research finds that unlicensed software was installed on 43% of global PCs in 2013 with a commercial value of $62.7 billion.
BSA’s Global Software Survey found that in South Africa, the unlicensed software rate was at 34%, down from 35% in the prior survey conducted in 2011.
The commercial value of unlicensed software in SA in 2013 stood at $385 million (R4.08 billion), down from $564 million 2011.
In terms of the commercial value of unlicensed PC Software, the US topped the global list at $9.7 billion at an unlicensed rate of 18% and in a licensed market of $44.4 billion, followed by China, India, Brazil and France.
Unlicensed PC software 2013
South Africa’s unlicensed software installation rate was the lowest in Africa, ahead of the likes of Egypt (62%) Nigeria (81%), Kenya (78%), and Tunisia (75%).
However, due to the size of its market, countries like Egypt ($198 million), Nigeria ($287 million), and Kenya ($128 million), were well below SA in terms of the commercial value of unlicensed software.
The report, drawn from a global survey of nearly 22,000 consumers and enterprise PC
users, along with a parallel survey of more than 2,000 IT managers, found that emerging markets now account for a 56% of all PCs in use globally — and nearly three-quarters of all unlicensed software installations (73%).
“That trend is likely to continue, as this year’s study found that 65% of the PC software installed in emerging economies was not properly licensed, versus 23% in developed economies,” BSA said.
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