What is the Biggest Risk of Ignoring Software Licence Compliance?   by Michael Smith

in Computers / Software    (submitted 2011-01-31)

Of all the reasons why you should ensure you comply with software licence regulations, the most important is almost certainly removing the risk that is posed to your data when you use software illegally, particularly its loss, theft and damage.

There are several other risks associated with not complying with software licence regulations. These range from the ethical perception of your business among your employees, to the detrimental effect it will have on the economy of the British Software Industry.

However, as this article will explain, data protection should be the number one reason software licence requirements rank highly among your organisation’s priorities.

Data Theft, Data Loss and Viruses

The number one reason your business needs to take its software licence compliance requirements seriously is to protect its data.

Most businesses will not need telling that their information is one of their most valuable assets. If it is lost, or gets into the wrong hands, it can seriously jeopardise the livelihood of the business.

The reason illegally acquired software poses a threat to data is, that to acquire it, you will have to have established a link with a source of which you cannot guarantee the trust of. The motivations of the source you have established a link with may be somewhat sinister.

Once they have shared the software, they will have a route into your data – which they may decide to steal or damage.

Up-To-Date Technical Support

You should also be aware that software outside of its licence requirements does not come with the guarantee of technical support if something does go wrong. A guarantee of support will minimise the downtime faced by your organisation if something goes wrong, meaning you can be back up-and-running in as little time as possible. With unlicensed software there is no telling how long your business could be out of action for.

Maintaining your software licences also means your data will be guarded against the latest threats in the industry. The threats information technology faces are not static. It is imperative your software responds to these threats as and when they are created. Its management is a constant process that must be thoroughly maintained.

The explanation of these risks should be enough to make software licensing a priority at any organisation. Failure to recognise its importance seriously jeopardises the information of a business.

About the Author

For more information on software licence compliance, visit Trustmarque Solutions. Trustmarque are industry leaders in information technology consultancy.