66% of unlicensed software use was found in Thailand

The 2018 Global Software Survey  from BSA | The Software Alliance found that in Thailand, 66 percent of software installed on computers was not properly licensed, representing a 3-point decrease with commercial value of $714 million (22.84 billion baht), compared with BSA’s prior study released in 2016. Asia’s average rate of unlicensed software use is 57 percent.

 This rate of use has been influenced in part by important trends under way in Thailand. The “installed base effect” played a part on the drop in the unlicensed rate, but more important were effective enforcement by the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) of the Royal Thai Police and a series of education campaigns with respect to the risk of unlicensed software use. In addition, global-scale security attacks, especially the Wannacry virus, has created more awareness for the need of genuine software (in particular, OS and security software) across the Thai society.  Finally, IDC analysts report that the reward campaign for reporting illegal software usage in the organizations driven by BSA has been effective in creating awareness.

Mr. Tarun Sawney, Senior Director, Asia-Pacific, BSA I The Software Alliance, said that BSA in partnership with research firm IDC conducted the survey in 110 national and regional economies and found that the worldwide unlicensed software rate declined 2 percentage points to 37 percent in 2017 from 39 percent in 2015, representing commercial value of $46.3 billion (1.48 trillion baht). Use of unlicensed software in Asia Pacific dropped to 57 percent in 2017 from 61 percent in 2015, representing commercial value of $16.4 billion (526 billion baht) . Thailand’s unlicensed software rate decreased to 66 percent in 2017 from 69 percent in 2015, representing commercial value of $714 million (22.84 billion baht). That means software installed on 66 out of 100 PCs in Thailand was unlicensed.

“The fact that Thailand’s rate of unlicensed software fell by 3 points is a positive sign – but Thailand remains significantly behind competitors in Asia Pacific where the average rate of unlicensed software use is 57 percent. The present rate of unlicensed software in Thailand indicates that Thailand’s software compliance and its environment of IT security risk management still need significant improvement,” said Varunee Ratchatapattanakul, Thailand Country Manager, BSA I The Software Alliance.