BSA TO PROMOTE CAMPAIGN FOR IT & ITES COS IN KARNATAKA

Bangalore
The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)

Business Software Alliance (BSA), the US-based trade group representing a number of the world’s largest software makers on Thursday said that it has partnered with Karnataka Centre of e-Governance for a campaign of software asset management (SAM) for medium IT and ITeS firms in the state.

The programme, first of its kind in India, aims to promote organisational productivity and network security through SAM practices in some 1,000 IT SMEs located across Karnataka. It will help promote strong corporate governance standards making the industry globally competitive, secure and efficient. The three month programme, which will be launched in December, aims at implementing SAM practices within businesses and encouraging innovation through the promotion of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and reducing software piracy.

According to a recent BSA study, software piracy on personal computers (PCs) in India reduced marginally to 69 percent in 2007 from 71 percent in 2006, in line with the global trend. Industry losses, however, rose to $2 billion from $1.3 billion in the same period.

BSA is planning to roll out the SAM programme in AP, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.