Johannesburg, 10 Dec 2013
Online piracy is usually only associated with illegally downloading and copying movies, TV shows, music, games and books, but another industry is also greatly affected by this kind of theft: computer software.
Since most people defend their decision to illegally download or buy counterfeit software by saying they do it in order to save money, the irony is that it could cost them dearly in the end, says Simon Campbell-Young, CEO of Phoenix Distribution.
Earlier this year, a study which was conducted by market research company International Data Corporation (IDC) on behalf of Microsoft, revealed that software piracy is not only costing the software manufacturers, developers and resellers money, but that consumers and businesses are losing billions of dollars due to losses they suffer because they have used counterfeit software. In the end, it would have often cost less to just buy the real software.
The IDC study, called: "The Dangerous World of Counterfeit and Pirated Software", found the chances of infection due to unexpected malware were one in three for consumers and three in 10 for businesses, and that consumers would spend an estimated 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of the malware, while it would cause global businesses to shell out approximately $144 billion in 2013. IDC said potential losses from data breaches could reach nearly $350 billion this year.
Pirated software refers to software that has been knowingly and illegally duplicated and distributed, and is unlicensed. Counterfeit software is fake software presented as the genuine article, and it often contains a nasty surprise in the form of malware that has already been embedded into it, which is why it puts so many consumers' and businesses' machines and networks at risk.
Most of the victims are actually honest consumers who buy seemingly great computer deals from rogue sellers. In the beginning of this year, when many people were buying computers for their kids for university and school, and for themselves to use at the office or at home, there was actually a police raid at two branches of a prominent computer dealer in Pretoria, who faced allegations of having sold counterfeit software and PCs loaded with illegal software to unsuspecting customers. When you fall victim in this way, you only realise that your software is invalid and your machine therefore basically unusable once you have to validate the software online by entering the licence key.
This could become a major problem again soon, as we enter the holiday shopping season. Although the IDC survey didn't include South Africa, Microsoft South Africa conducted an informal survey of its own and found that close to a third of respondents had unwittingly installed pirated software on their computers in the past two years, which means they have had to spend time and money recovering from the project – time that could have been better spent on more productive pursuits, such as building their businesses.
Users should stick to buying software and computers from accredited dealers. If a deal is too good to be true, it usually is. And another way to ensure you are buying genuine software is to make sure that a certificate of authenticity and the original media have been provided.
Phoenix Distribution
Phoenix Distribution is currently the leading value-added distributor of software, accessories and peripherals across the African continent, covering software publishing, localisation and product distribution across multiple territories in multiple languages. The business is segmented into two divisions, namely corporate software licensing and consumer product distribution.
The business is segmented into two divisions, namely corporate software licensing and retail product distribution, and Phoenix Distribution dominates the consumer and SMB security sectors through key brands which include: Norton/Symantec, AVG, Kaspersky and Bitdefender. Additional brands within the consumer-focused range include, Microsoft software and peripherals, Beats by Dr Dre, Trendnet Wireless products, Monster Cables and mobile accessories.
The corporate licensing division sells volume licensing into the enterprise and SMB reseller environments, as well as covering architecture and implementation. The ESD division delivers download content into all channels, including B2B and B2C.
The retail division delivers physical product into the retail environment, covering all mainstream ICT, CES, telco, lifestyle, fashion and sports outlets, as well as independents and online stores. This division delivers direct to outlets and or customers across sub-Saharan Africa.
Phoenix Distribution is growing at 70% per annum, with additional acceleration coming from development within the greater African marketplace, as well as the acquisition of significant high-end product lines within the enterprise arena. In addition, the company's UK business, PX Security, is firmly entrenched within the UK retail and SMB reseller environments, shipping product through trusted distribution partners into mainstream retail outlets and direct engagement with B2B resellers. The UK operation publishes and distributes Bitdefender, Webroot and Avast.
Additional bespoke services offered to partners include Electronic Software Distribution within the B2B and B2C environments, category management, training and end-to-end merchandising.
Phoenix Distribution, including the UK subsidiary PX Security, was recently acquired by First Technology Holdings.
For more information, visit www.phoenixsoftware.co.za, www.pxsecurity.co.uk and www.pxsoftware.co.za.
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