Around 37 per cent of software installed on personal computers across the world is still unlicensed, according to a new survey.
The BSA Global Software Survey, which came out earlier this month, found around 84 per cent of all software installed in Bangladesh is also unlicensed.
Bangladesh has the highest rate of software piracy in the Asia Pacific region, it said.
The total commercial value of such unlicensed software in Bangladesh is estimated to be around US$ 226 million, the BSA survey found.
Only six countries around the world have a higher software piracy rate than Bangladesh.
They are Libya, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Iraq and Armenia.
Neighbouring India, on the other hand, has a software piracy rate of 56 per cent- much lower than Bangladesh.
China has a software piracy prevalence of 66 per cent while for the US, it is only 15 per cent, the lowest in the world.
When contacted over the issue, local IT industry insiders cited the lack of awareness as a major reason behind the rampant software piracy in the country.
"The usual perception in our country is that software is supposed to come as free with the personal computers," said Syed Almas Kabir, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), the trade group.
"But the consumers need to understand that software is not a free product. It has a commercial value," he added.
Industry experts noted that the uses of unlicensed software usually had a more profound negative impact on the local software sector than the global industry.
"Software piracy is a killer for the local IT industry," Mr Kabir said.
"It is actually easier for the global software companies to make up for the losses incurred from unlicensed usage."
"However, it is much more harmful for the local companies if their software gets pirated," he added.
Piracy has downsides as well.
"Organisations now face a one-in-three chance of encountering malware when they obtain or install an unlicensed software package or buy a computer with unlicensed software on it," the study said.
Each malware attack can cost a company $ 2.4 million on an average and can take up to 50 days to resolve, estimated the study.
"To the extent that the infection leads to company downtime, or lost business data, it can also seriously affect the company's brand and reputation,” the study said.
The BSA survey also found that the cost for dealing with malware that is associated with unlicensed software is growing too.
"It can now cost a company more than $10,000 per infected computer, and cost companies worldwide nearly $359 billion a year," the BSA said.
mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com