Posted Mar 4 2010 3:26 PM by Scott Cunningham
You've been ripped off and you don't even know it; a seemingly perfect crime. I am seeing more stealing from companies as the economy tanked and revenues and competition for projects increased. Here is the crime, and the harm once uncovered.
Just yesterday we found out, along with Co. XYZ's CFO, that the former IT co. illegally loaded all Co. XYZ's business software. The former IT co. took money in payment for legal software from XYZ Co., but the IT co. then loaded software that was already licensed and being used legally elsewhere. Why would the IT Co do this? The IT Co. pockets the money for the software (not paying the software vendor for new licenses) and thus nets thousands of dollars in revenue instantly. Why does this tick me off? Several reasons:
This is stealing and stealing is wrong. But this crime has a significant negatively impact on the victim, the business. The small business person paid money for product they didn't get, which means they will have to pay again for legal software, and they are at serious risk of significant fines from the BSA if caught; large fines. This is so unjust to the small business owner that already has enough challenges in normal day to day operations.
Also, bad co. prices their project proposals artificially low, as they know they will get this ill-gotten profit by selling stolen software. This is unfair competition.
Finally, the real issue is a business owner cannot fairly select and evaluate technology as they are not trained and experienced enough to do so. Trust has been broken. I liken it to selecting a surgeon, lay people don't know surgery technique, methodology and select on the basis of trust. These thieves are taking advantage of the small business person and that hurts the small business person and all industries.
Ensure you get receipts documenting your purchased software and get the original (not copies) of the software licensing keys. You can also move to volume licensing (but this cost more) and the keys and software come with a license management system. Also, this topic is covered in our other blog, "why documentation is so critical to a small business" - click to view steps you can take to protect your business.
Click on the following link to see a video on how to protect your business.
What questions do you want answered? Send me an email or put the question in the comment section.
Scott Cunningham
Just yesterday we found out, along with Co. XYZ's CFO, that the former IT co. illegally loaded all Co. XYZ's business software. The former IT co. took money in payment for legal software from XYZ Co., but the IT co. then loaded software that was already licensed and being used legally elsewhere. Why would the IT Co do this? The IT Co. pockets the money for the software (not paying the software vendor for new licenses) and thus nets thousands of dollars in revenue instantly. Why does this tick me off? Several reasons:
This is stealing and stealing is wrong. But this crime has a significant negatively impact on the victim, the business. The small business person paid money for product they didn't get, which means they will have to pay again for legal software, and they are at serious risk of significant fines from the BSA if caught; large fines. This is so unjust to the small business owner that already has enough challenges in normal day to day operations.
Also, bad co. prices their project proposals artificially low, as they know they will get this ill-gotten profit by selling stolen software. This is unfair competition.
Finally, the real issue is a business owner cannot fairly select and evaluate technology as they are not trained and experienced enough to do so. Trust has been broken. I liken it to selecting a surgeon, lay people don't know surgery technique, methodology and select on the basis of trust. These thieves are taking advantage of the small business person and that hurts the small business person and all industries.
Ensure you get receipts documenting your purchased software and get the original (not copies) of the software licensing keys. You can also move to volume licensing (but this cost more) and the keys and software come with a license management system. Also, this topic is covered in our other blog, "why documentation is so critical to a small business" - click to view steps you can take to protect your business.
Click on the following link to see a video on how to protect your business.
What questions do you want answered? Send me an email or put the question in the comment section.
Scott Cunningham
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