IT support services are important when dealing with unlicensed software issues. According to statistics, unlicensed software accounts for 37% of software installed on personal computers. As a business, you are at risk as most organizations use unlicensed software unknowingly.
Unfortunately, using unlicensed software is against the law; it can cost you time and resources and reduce your workforce's productivity and efficiency.
Software licensing is an agreement between you and the software owner that allows you to do certain things without going against the software copyright. The software license covers three main things:
• If you can copy, redistribute or modify the software
• The number of times you can install the program
• If you can look at the original source code
Here are few pros of using licensed software.
Complying with the Law
Investing in unlicensed software puts your business at risk legally and financially. This is because it is considered software piracy, which involves the distribution or duplication of copyrighted software.
Businesses lose roughly $46 billion annually due to unlicensed software. If you are caught using unlicensed software by copyright owners, they can take legal action against you. In addition, you could be held personally liable and forced by the government to pay compensations depending on the violation of their copyright.
Improved Protection from Cybersecurity Threats
Using licensed software reduces the risk of cybersecurity incidences significantly. However, when you obtain unlicensed software, you increase your chances of encountering malware. Reports indicate that businesses that use unlicensed software have higher chances of encountering malware than those that don't.
Cybercriminals embed malware on the software and use it to gain unauthorized access to your business information. According to a survey conducted by BSA, user malware is a result of unlicensed software. To invest in the right software, get help from IT support experts.
You Will Save Money in the Long Run
Purchasing genuine software allows you to establish a stable, reliable, and effective IT environment that can save you money in the long run. For example, it can cost you more than $10,000 to fix malware issues per infected computer.
As a business, purchasing licensed software, you won't be required to keep on reinstalling the unlicensed software; all you need is to upgrade the software when it becomes out of date.
Conclusion
Investing in licensed software is crucial as it helps you save money in the long run, protects you from cybersecurity issues, and allows you to be compliant with the law. For IT support, contact us at Vitalpoints, and we will gladly help you!