FAST IiS Research
The Software Industry Research Board (SIRB)
The first SIRB survey was completed at the end of July. It was the first UK survey of it’s kind; it targeted both private and public sector organisations to assess their current understanding of licensing practices, their attitudes towards software acquisition, their perception of new technologies and to understand where they will make changes to benefit from a more cost-effective and risk-free environment in the future. The first white paper and press release based on the analysis of the resulting data will be released in early October 2008.
The SIRB will run annual research projects to survey the market and where appropriate compare the changes year on year.
The Software Industry Research Board’s members include organisations that are amongst the most influential in the IT industry today. The Board has come together to research common issues around Software Asset Management (SAM), Software Licence Management (SLM), compliance and emerging technologies.
Click here for further information about the SIRB
The Impact of the Economy on Software Piracy
This survey, carried out in May 2008, polled technology aware business leaders to discover their attitudes to software piracy, it’s ease and likelihood given current concerns with the “credit crunch”. Its results are a timely reminder that, as the economic climate worsens, pressure can increase for IT departments to deliver applications, upgrades and purchases with “no questions asked”
Commenting on the survey results, John Lovelock, Chief Executive of FAST IiS points out “What this survey demonstrates is that the current economic climate could in fact have a detrimental impact on the current low levels of software piracy. This emphasises the need to drive home the benefits and cost savings that can be achieved through effective management of software licenses; and the necessity to continue to raise awareness of the impact that corrupt software can have on an organisation’s IT estate, not forgetting the risks of being non-compliant.”