More than half of all PC users worldwide run pirated software

It comes as no surprise that the recent study by the Business Software Alliance has concluded that more than half of all the PCs around the world run pirated software. This was a study done over 2011 and the results were announced only a while back. The survey was carried over a sample of some 15,000 computers in 33 different countries. Interviews were taken early this year and some startling responses were received. For example, only 38 percent of those asked clearly said that they would never install pirated software on their PC. Majority of those asked admitted to having already used or wanting to use pirated software at some point in time. The report also talks about the value of pirated software over the years. The value of the pirated software is said to have risen from $58.8 billion to $63.4 billion between 2010 and 2011. 

Software piracy rampant all over the world

It’s not the developed countries where piracy is rampant, but it’s the developing countries were new PCs are being bundled with pirated software. Going by what we’ve seen, it’s also the case in India. There are some other interesting facts that have cropped up, too - most of the pirates are young males who install pirated software on PCs. The study also looked at the average cost of the hardware in a PC, across countries as well as the average cost of software bundled in the PC. For example, the average cost of a PC in India turns around to be around $620 (approximately Rs.34,000). The average cost of software bundled with a PC in the US is $120.22 (approximately Rs.6,600). Surprisingly, the average cost of software bundled in a PC, in India is just $33.79 (approximately Rs.1,900).

As odd as it seems, piracy of software in India is actually dropping, albeit by a tiny fraction - just 1 percent between 2010 and 2011. The global piracy rate hasn’t fluctuated a lot, though. There are a number of reasons for this, primarily in the massive success that tablets and smartphones are seeing. The PC market in general, is more or less the same as it was in the past year.

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