Microsoft Says Pirated Software Invites Disaster

The study compared midmarket companies (defined as firms with between 24 and 500 PCs) in the U.S., U.K., China, and Brazil that use fully licensed software with ones that have allowed pirated software to play a role in their operations, in a comparison not unlike the 'Goofus And Gallant' cartoon of Highlights magazine fame.

In a Monday blog post, Alex Kochis, senior product manager in the Windows Genuine Advantage group, said companies that use pirated software are more likely to encounter system failures that lead to data loss and employee downtime.

"The biggest difference between companies that are committed to using genuine software and those that aren't relates to loss of sensitive data and critical system failures that impact more employees and customers," Kochis wrote.

The report asserts that using fully licensed software is a fundamental cornerstone of business success, and shouldn't be seen as a policy that will add weight to IT budgets.

"Businesses using fully licensed software report they're growing faster, are more profitable, and are more likely to be leaders in their market as opposed to those using a mix of genuine and unlicensed software," Kochis wrote.

Businesses that decide to permit the use of counterfeit software also run the risk of upsetting their employees, and potentially cause them to take less pride in their chosen place of employment, Kochis wrote.

Although Kochis doesn't mention the Business Software Alliance by name, the existence of a BSA telephone hotline that employees can call to report their employers for using pirated software suggests that this final point will get the attention of many companies that have been living dangerously in this regard.