James Delahunty
13 Mar 2007 20:33
While Microsoft Corp. has an agressive anti-piracy campaign currently in effect worldwide, a senior executive has admitted that software piracy ends up benefiting the company in the long run. Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes believes that piracy of the Windows operating system can lead to legitimate software sales later on, with some pirates who would otherwise not use Microsoft software becoming paying customers in future.
"If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else," Raikes told delegates at last week's Morgan Stanley Technology conference in San Francisco. Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) currently checks Windows installations and alerts users of illegitimate license information. The campaign, while receiving criticism for major problems associated with it, even for legitimate users, is directed mostly toward weeding out sellers of pirated Microsoft software.
While Raikes estimates that about 20% - 25% of software in the U.S. is pirated, he makes an argument that in the long run, it can have benefits. "We understand that in the long run the fundamental asset is the installed base of people who are using our products," Raikes said. "What you hope to do over time is convert them to licensing the software."
He also said that anti-piracy efforts must focus on turning a user into a paying customer rather than pushing them away. "You want to push towards getting legal licensing, but you don't want to push so hard that you lose the asset that's most fundamental in the business," he said.
Source:
The Register