Running pirated software is a move synonymous with increasing the risk of system failures, as far as mid-market companies are concerned. According to a study conducted by The Harrison Group and commissioned by Microsoft, companies that opt for unlicensed software expose their business to data loss and prolonged downtime, in addition to system failures.

According to Director, Product Marketing & Product Management Genuine Windows, Alex Kochis, there is an intimate connection between the unlicensed software used in mid-market companies and the IT issues they come across.

“Companies less committed to using genuine software are much more likely to have system failures, leading to lost critical data and employee downtime. The biggest difference between companies that are committed to using genuine software and those that aren't relates to loss of sensitive data and critical system failures that impact more employees and customers. In addition to the larger likelihood of system failures, companies using unlicensed software also experience system failures more often,” Kochis revealed.

Compared with businesses running licensed software, the companies using unlicensed products experience on average no less than 81% more critical system failures, resulting in 24+ hours of downtime. In the same context, unlicensed software is associated with 63% more events involving data loss, 42% more scenarios of system failures lasting under 23 hours, but also some 21% minor crashes.

“Companies using unlicensed software were 73% more likely to have loss/damage of sensitive/valuable data and 43% more likely to have critical system failures lasting 24 hours or more than those using fully licensed software. Companies using unlicensed software were 28% more likely to lose a customer’s personal information and 24% more likely to have a significant system failure with at least one group down for 4-23 hours than those using fully licensed software,” reads an excerpt of the “Impact of unlicensed software on mid-market companies” whitepaper.