Software Piracy...Is the risk worth it?

Also reported recently in the newspapers, was an ongoing case where the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has charged two software engineers for infringement of copyright. This is in connection with a complaint made by a company who alleges that their source code was surreptitiously taken away from the company. From the side of the law, it appears that the infringement of intellectual property is getting much attention.  But there is also another side to this, which needs to be considered where the use of pirated software is concerned, and that is in these modern times, it would be rather self-defeating (on a larger canvas) for individuals or organisations to pirate software.
 

Third Word in the field 
 

Because no longer is it a case of an underprivileged country using the sophisticated software produced by the first world and a matter of it being thought better to turn a blind eye.  The situation now is that us third world nations are also trying to level the playing field by producing this software.
 

For one, software is no longer as expensive as it was some years ago and the prices are not prohibitive from a third world country’s point of view.  But going beyond that, it is not that our businesses are so much behind the western countries in terms of earnings and growth.  It’s probably a lack of understanding and knowledge that could be attributed to the decision makers of these companies who might be carelessly using pirated software, which in actual fact would put the entire company at risk not only from the point of view of its reputation but also in terms of compromising the safety of valuable data stored in their computers. 
 

Asia becoming producer
 

More than ever Sri Lanka and South Asian countries need to move towards understanding piracy from a larger perspective and that is from the point of view that we are no longer consumers of these software produced through western countries; but due to the world becoming flatter due to globalisation Asian countries like us are becoming some of the largest producers of applications for such widely used operating systems like Windows. 
 

Microsoft itself through many of its programmes and partnerships with local universities has been training local software developers on how to get onto this platform.   They have through a number of their CSR programmes given free software tools to schools and universities across Sri Lanka, so that these institutions would have the opportunity of become application developers. 
 

Even Apple which is not that active in Sri Lanka have a local developer community which recently gathered for the first time for a Colombo iPhone Development Camp hosted by the Apple Dev Camp Community. This is said to be an independent association founded by a pool of local Apple developers. Microsoft, which also has a very active local developer community have developed a range of local Apps which span from categories such as business, education, games health, fitness and more.   
 

Thirty years behind
 

The general perception of the Western world is that countries like Sri Lanka are 30 years behind as far as modern technology goes. This is a flawed judgment based on false perceptions.  Vance Shipley a Canadian expat who works for a local It Company Wavenet, says that Sri Lanka, in reality, is just 24 hours away from the world’s latest technology as much as any other flourishing nation.
 

He says that people in Sri Lanka are aware of what is happening in the US on the technology front and how the occurrences in the US impact them. “For instance, soon after the iPhone5 was introduced in the US market, it was seen in cities like Colombo and Lahore and there was plenty of excitement in the market about the new arrival.  What gives them access to the advancement of modern technology? As I believe, the educational structure of Sri Lanka plays a pivotal role in it. In spite of upheavals that take place at regular intervals, there is a robust education system in Sri Lanka and students have access to new advancements of modern technology, compared to other countries in the region” he says. 
 

Companies operating in Sri Lanka certainly do not have to use pirated software because financially speaking the costs are not as prohibitive especially since software which is fairly widely used in Sri Lanka is now available on Cloud which is on a pay as you use system costing far less than what the market might perceive. It is the business of the CIOs to inform their boards about the advantages and the costs of using genuine software not only due to the punitive repercussions of using pirated software, but also from the point of view of data security.
 

Above all it is also important for CIO’s to practice a code of conduct, which would encourage them to use genuine software; not only to keep their professional standards intact but also to foster an industry they themselves are a part of. 
 

(The writer can be reached via [email protected])