History Of Software Industry Global Perspective

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The term software represents a group or a collection of instructions that tell the hardware or what we know as the computer regarding what it needs to do. The theory of software was first proposed in 1935 by Alan Turing. Hence it is referred to as computer programs that are stored in the storage of computer devices. It is also different from computer hardware in a sense that it represents the intangible aspect of computer usage . In a very broad aspect software scan the divided into various subcategories. First comes the system software which represents a very basic platform whose main aim is to provide interaction between the user and the hardware. It acts as a translator between the computer user and the computer hardware. Next we have programming softwares, which are another software helping in creating other softwares. Finally we have application software which performs the task required by the computer user. Several examples in our day to day life can be cited as Microsoft office, media players, Internet browsers etc. License is one of the important components while designing a software. A license can be explained as a right to usage given to a person by the maker of the software.

In the early century, there were very few commercial computer vendors. Some of them where UNIVAC, IBM etc. The expansion in the computer software industry started to occur around the 60s when mass production of computer hardware started to take place. With the introduction of low price microcomputers, there was a surge of adoption of computer technology by various companies and universities around the world. With the introduction of personal computers or PC in the 1970s the software industry witnessed an exponential growth. An idea of bringing computer to every office and home gave way to a whole new industry scenario for software developers. Applications like games, utilities, operating system witnessed a global market emerging in front of them. A personal computer allows a user to operate the hardware without any help from a computer operator which was indispensable a couple of years ago. This gave a freedom to the users to own and use a computer at home or office without having very high computer literacy. This also built up pressure on software developers to develop various softwares aimed at this new breed of computer users.

4.2 SOFTWARE INDUSTRY – INDIAN CONTEXT

Coming to the Indian scenario of IT, the Indian IT industry started to gain peace in the late of the century. Despite of the global meltdown which occurred in the year 2008 – 2009, the IT industry of India still showed a growth of around 5.5% compared to the global IT industry which showed a negative growth. The Indian IT industry is expected to reach an estimated size of around 120 – 180 billion US dollars. This industry houses around 1 million people and gives another 2.5 million an indirect employment. Various favourable government policies, increase in local as well as global demand, a healthy combination of external environment has helped this industry to have a successful growth in the past. The software industry in India can be depicted on a timescale starting from late 1970s when TCS came into existence and with it came the era of software exports from India. However things were going at a very slow pace. The Indian IT industry started to show signs of accelerated growth only in the 1990 to 2000. This was a time where various MNCs started entering India after the LPG reform was undertaken by the Indian government. With the increasing competition companies started to invest more on research and an era of Indian software industry came into existence. However in the following research we will be dealing primarily on softwares which are created for home users rather than going into details about software industry is which are primarily focused on creating customised softwares for industrial and commercial use.

This brings us to the core of this research project. Piracy. With the increase in consumption of various softwares by individuals in order to achieve various goals, a new threat had evolved for the software market known as digital software piracy. Piracy is nothing but an unauthorised access to the software which violates the license provided by the software manufacturer. This could be better understood by an example. Suppose a person A buys a specific program for a certain sum of money. Many buys the software, he is granted the right to use that software by the software manufacturer. But when A share is that software with his friend B, he is violating the license agreement he had with the software manufacturer. Hence where the hat to buy a software by paying a certain sum of money, he actually received it free of cost. This means that the software manufacturer only got half of the revenues he should have received. This is a loss for the software manufacturer as a substantial amount of time, resources and knowledge goes into creating a good software. With this introduction to piracy let us come to one of the articles which was published by the Business Software Association on May 2011. The article talks about piracy in the Indian subcontinent. According to the article governments face an urgent need to tackle the problem of software piracy so that they can harness the economic benefits that come with the sales of genuine or legal softwares. This also highlights the importance of respecting intellectual property rights for software manufacturers. According to the article India had an average rate of piracy of 64% in 2010. At an average the piracy rate in Asia has been around 60%. Hence we observe that India is above the average piracy rate in the Asia. The article highlights the fact that India has observed a gradual reduction in the piracy rates. But it has been quite slow. The increase in the country’s PC market size has reduced the rate of piracy and increased the market for legitimate softwares. Bundling of software products such as antivirus, office suite etc. with the purchase of a computer hardware has been attributed as one of the features which has helped reduce software piracy in India. The article further discusses that the faster the rate of piracy drops in the country, the faster the government and companies will be able to extract benefits from the market. The article also highlighted the fact that in 2010 India accounted for more than 50% of the number of PCs being shipped to the country. However for the total paid software license credited to India was only 20% of the global number. How the difference between hardware and software is being met? The answer to this is obviously piracy of softwares.

CHAPTER V

DATA ANALYSIS

AND

INTERPRETATION

5.1 INTRODUCTION

For the purpose of the study a sample of 101 respondents were taken with different age groups and specifically two different income background i.e. one with non-income background such as students and another group of respondents with an income background. The reason for the study was aimed in finding out the various factors which might have an effect on the behaviour supporting software piracy and hence in the process come up with ways on how this information can have an implication on the software industry especially of India.

DATA ANALYSIS

GENDER

Analysis and interpretation: The analysis of gender having an effect on the behaviour of software piracy has not been conducted in this study given the fact that various previous researches conducted in the similar field has proved the notion that males are more inclined towards the behaviour of software piracy than females.

PROFESSION:

Analysis and interpretation:

In the following research 57% of the respondents comprised of students. The percentage of student respondents was kept higher as students are the major user of computers and computer softwares in the current scenario. The survey also included 43% of other respondents which comprised both of IT as well as non-IT background.

The variation in the respondents was also maintained in order to understand the effect of income in the decision of obtaining pirated software versus purchasing genuine softwares. Since the students do not have any personal income when compared to the working professionals, theoretically they should be more prone to software piracy when compared working professionals who receive monthly salaries.

PERSONAL INCOME:

Analysis and interpretation:

The following chart depicts the distribution of income between the samples. According to the data 54% of the respondents did not earn a monthly salary. These were typically the student respondents. Rest of the respondents which comprised of 47% of the respondents earned a monthly salary ranging from below Rs. 20,000 to some of the respondents who earned above Rs. 60,000. The idea behind understanding this division was to find the relationship between income and use of pirated softwares.

PROFICIENCY OF COMPUTER SKILLS

Analysis and interpretation:

The following pie chart represents the distribution of computer skills among the respondents of the survey. The aim of this data is to understand that whether any co-relation exists been the knowledge of computer software and the behaviour which encourages software piracy. In the given survey 25% and 36% of the respondents felt under the category of highly proficient to somewhat proficient respectively. The rest of the Sample which was 39% of the total Sample was relatively new to computer softwares and did not have much idea of how things work.

AWARENESS BETWEEN LEGITIMATE AND PIRATED SOFTWARE

Analysis and interpretation:

When asked about whether the respondents were aware of the difference between pirated and original software, 89% of the respondents agreed that they were aware of the difference between both of them. A very small percent that is 11% of the respondents showed negligence towards the difference between original and pirated softwares. Hence we can safely imply that majority of the population is fairly aware of the difference between an original software and an illegal version of the software available in the market.

AWARENESS ABOUT THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF USING PIRATED SOFTWARES

Analysis and interpretation:

The above by chart represents the respondents awareness towards the legal aspects of software piracy. Legal aspects are certain laws that states the illegal nature of software piracy and the various legal punishments that can be enforced on a person found guilty. According to the survey 69% of the respondents were aware of the legal aspects in a broad sense. However a large 31% of the respondents had absolutely no idea about any legal aspects bound with softwares. Hence we can clearly observe that there is a definite lack of information amongst the population. People need to be made aware of the difference and the implications of using pirated software.

USE OF PIRATED SOFTWARE

Analysis and interpretation:

According to the above chart which depends the respondents use of pirated softwares defects that a large 83% of the respondents had or were using pirated softwares. This percentage was higher than the record percentage of 63% in the year 2011 by the Business Software Association survey. This number is at par with some of the highest rated countries in terms of software piracy like Venezuela and Indonesia having 88% and 86% rate of software piracy respectively.

HOW OFTEN DID/DO YOU ACQUIRE PIRATED SOFTWARES

Analysis and interpretation:

The above figure shows the distribution of the rate at which the respondents acquired pirated softwares. This ranged from almost all the time to rarely. According to the data nearly 17% and 33% search for pirated softwares all the time and most of the time respectively. This signifies that almost 50% of the respondents are actively searching for pirated softwares over the Internet or other sources. This is quite a huge number and leads to a huge demand for such softwares in the market. Also 17% said that occasionally search pirated softwares as per their requirements. Hence we can observe that there exists a huge demand for the illegitimate softwares in the market. This leads to the need and motivation for the software crackers to provide these people with pirated softwares. This frequency can be directly related to the increase in the availability of pirated softwares in the market.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SOFTWARES USED (PIRATED) IN DAY TO DAY LIFE

Analysis and interpretation:

The above chart shows various different application softwares which is favoured or in more demand in the pirated market. The list of application range from day to day use applications like multimedia players and office suites to more big and complicated softwares like games and multimedia editors. According to the survey the most pirated application software in the market are the various multimedia games available. Next in the line are office suites, multimedia players and antiviruses. A particular individual has more than one pirated software in the system at a time.

DO YOU THINK SOFTWARES ARE OVERPRICED?

Analysis and interpretation:

The above question aimed at understanding the perception of respondents towards pricing of softwares. For long softwares have been accused of insensitive pricing which is mostly illogical and inappropriate. According to the data 31% of the respondents believe that all softwares where priced higher. A great majority of 59% respondents believe that few of the softwares available in the market are overpriced however few softwares have now started to price according to the Indian scenario and hence have become quite affordable. An example in this context was found in the FGD as antiviruses. Interestingly none of the respondents believed that softwares where cheap.

REACTION TOWARDS A GOOD PRICE DEAL ON SOFTWARES

Analysis and interpretation:

A typical Indian customer is always fascinated by a good price deal. The above question aimed at finding whether a good price deal was good enough to lure a typical Indian customer to purchase genuine software. According to the survey majority of 44% of the respondents said that they would certainly purchase a software if they receive a good price deal. A 26% of respondents also showed interest towards the idea of purchasing a software with a good pricetag attached. Only a minimum 18% showed resilience to buying genuine softwares even if it were affordable. The idea behind it was that it was illogical to spend money on a software when it could be obtained free of cost by piracy.

FREQUENCY OF USAGE OF THE DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE

Analysis and interpretation:

The following data of the frequency of use of pirated software shows that majority of the users of pirated software are occasional users. This implies that the respondents use the pirated softwares only few times in a fortnight. This data does not signify any important information alone but it can be used to provide answers for software companies in order to provide genuine softwares at an affordable price.

NUMBER OF FEATURES USED IN A SOFTWARE

Analysis and interpretation:

The following graph shows a depiction of the average number of features used in a particular software. Normally softwares have a variety of features which are built into the software. However a particular user does not use the entire range of functions of the software and is restricted towards the functions that are more relevant to him. Here we find that majority of the users use around 40 to 60% of the functionality is provided in any particular software. This has wide implications in the marketing aspect of various application softwares. Various companies have now moved away from bundled software packages to individual packages which the users can download according to their usage and hence end up paying less and only for the features he or she is going to use.

AVAILABILITY OF PIRATED SOFTWARE

Analysis and interpretation:

The following chart that takes the availability of pirated softwares in the current scenario. The draft clearly depends that a majority of the respondents believe that in the current scenario acquiring pirated software has become much easier. This has helped the pirated software industry to flourish and reach to the masses in a faster and easier way. This has created a scenario where is softwares because of their easy availability are becoming much of a challenge against their genuine counterparts. Various illegal markets has therefore flourished in all the cities where people can easily acquire pirated softwares.

ACCELERATED PIRACY BECAUSE OF INTERNET

Analysis and interpretation:

Internet has helped to connect the world in a way that has revolutionised communication and information sharing between people. It is now possible to exchange digital contents around the globe in a matter of minutes. The question here arises is whether Internet can also be blamed for the rapid increase of software piracy around the world. According to the respondents majority believe that Internet has actually caused an acceleration in the process of software piracy. A software now available in United States can be pirated and shared with the user sitting in India in a matter of minutes. The software does not even require available within a country or region. It is nearly impossible to stop such transfers of a legal softwares and contents through Internet. Hence it can be accepted that Internet has intentionally or unintentionally acted as a catalyst in prospering digital piracy

EFFECT OF SOCIETY AND SELF-FEELING ON PIRACY

Analysis and interpretation:

The above question tends to find the social aspect in the context of using illegal or pirated softwares. Traditionally our society believes that piracy is another form of stealing and is socially not acceptable. It is viewed as an antisocial phenomena which is not encouraged by society and hence people who are actively participating in such activities show signs of embarrassment when exposed to such social aspects.

However in contrast with the traditional approach towards piracy the newer generation has in fact excepted the existence of piracy in digital format as a normal social behaviour. The chart as we can observe is skewed towards the left where it shows that the respondents do not mind using pirated softwares in front of others and at times also encouraged others to use such softwares over their genuine counterparts. According to the focused group discussion undertaken it was found that the intangible nature of softwares makes it difficult for people to analyse its worth and hence it is mostly interpreted as free or overpriced. Because of this phenomenon most of the people do not want to pay for something that they cannot touch and feel. Also they feel that others who are paying for genuine softwares should in fact start using softwares that can be acquired free of cost irrespective of being legal or not.

5.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Does technical knowhow of computers and softwares or in other words computer proficiency acts as a catalyst for the behaviour supporting software piracy.

HO: Computer proficiency supports the behaviour of software piracy.

Ha: Computer proficiency does not support the behaviour of software piracy.

Theoretical mean: 2.227722772

Significance level (%): 5

Summary statistics:

Variable

Observations

Obs. with missing data

Obs. without missing data

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

3

100

0

100

1.000

5.000

2.220

One-sample t-test / Two-tailed test:

95% confidence interval on the mean:

] 2.034,

2.406 [

Difference

-0.008

t (Observed value)

-0.082

|t| (Critical value)

1.984

DF

99

p-value (Two-tailed)

0.935

alpha

0.05

Test interpretation:

H0: The difference between the means is equal to 0.

Ha: The difference between the means is different from 0.

As the computed p-value is greater than the significance level alpha=0.05, one cannot reject the null hypothesis H0.

The risk to reject the null hypothesis H0 while it is true is 93.46%.

Hence by virtue of the conductor hypothesis we can safely conclude that computer proficiency supports an individual positive behaviour towards software piracy.

Does an affordable software or in other words a good price deal on the purchase of software affects the buying decision of an individual in favour of genuine softwares against pirated counterparts.

HO: Price deals do affect the purchase decision for genuine softwares.

Ha: Price deals do not affect the purchase decisions for genuine softwares.

Theoretical mean: 2.12

Significance level (%): 5

Summary statistics:

Variable

Observations

Obs. with missing data

Obs. without missing data

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. deviation

3

100

0

100

1.000

5.000

2.220

0.938

One-sample t-test / Two-tailed test:

95% confidence interval on the mean:

] 2.034,

2.406 [

Difference

0.100

t (Observed value)

1.066

|t| (Critical value)

1.984

DF

99

p-value (Two-tailed)

0.289

alpha

0.05

Test interpretation:

H0: The difference between the means is equal to 0.

Ha: The difference between the means is different from 0.

As the computed p-value is greater than the significance level alpha=0.05, one cannot reject the null hypothesis H0.

The risk to reject the null hypothesis H0 while it is true is 28.91%.

Hence based on the hypothesis testing done on the given data we can safely conclude that Price deals does affect an individual's purchase decision of genuine softwares over its pirated counterparts.

5.4 NUMBER OF FEATURES USED IN A SOFTWARE VERSUS FREQUENCY OF USE OF A SOFTWARE.

The following pivot table and graphs represents the data overlapped by the number of features used in a software and the frequency of a software.

According to the table most of the users use the pirated softwares only occasionally and at the same time use only about 40% to 60% of the available features. This information might help in overcoming some of the marketing problems that a software company faces.

Number of features used

Frequency of usage

81%-100%

61%-80%

41%-60%

21%-40%

0%-20%

Grand Total

Almost Daily

4

8

4

1

17

Few times in a week

2

5

14

2

23

Ocassionally

4

20

6

2

32

few times in a month

9

7

2

18

Rarely

3

4

4

11

Grand Total

6

17

50

20

8

101

By understanding the fact that the customers only use half of the features available in their products companies could line various hierarchical versions of their softwares so that they do not load the customers with unnecessary features and also at the same time be cost friendly for the customers. Hence the customer would not mind paying a little amount for only the features they use and not uselessly for the entire package of software which is hardly used by them.

5.5 KENDAL’S TOW:

1*5

2*4

3*3

4*2

5*1

Sum

Rank

Proficiency

25

37

31

7

1

381

3rd

Freaquency of search

17

34

17

20

13

325

5th

Price

31

60

7

0

3

419

1st

Price Deals

45

26

12

10

8

393

2nd

Freaquency of use

17

23

32

18

11

320

6th

Number of features

6

17

50

20

8

296

7th

Availability

23

38

21

15

4

364

4th

Social Awareness

9

17

31

26

17

275

8th

Lower Range

101

Medium Range

303

Highest Range

505

According to the results of Kendal’s Tow which is used to analyze the importance of various factors in a survey and categorize them based on the level of importance the come to the following conclusion. We find that according to the responses received in the survey customers find the price of a software as a major factor which is responsible for the decision of either buying a genuine software or going ahead with a pirated version. If the customers find the software is affordable and worthy they will definitely buy this software instead of going ahead and acquiring a pirated software. Very close to price we find that various deals offered by a software company helps in luring customers towards making a purchase of their softwares. Next in the line we find computer proficiency and availability of pirated software is as an important factor which influences the positive behaviour of individuals towards acquiring and using pirated softwares.

5.6 CORRELATION ANALYSIS

i) CORRELATION BETWEEN AVAILABILITY OF PIRATED SOFTWARES AND THE ADVENT OF INTERNET

A correlation test was conducted between the factor of availability of pirated softwares on the software piracy behaviour and the advent of Internet technology. This test would help us analyze whether Internet has affected the availability of pirated softwares in a negative or positive way. A correlation test denotes the level of positive or negative effect one factor has on another factor. Here we try to find the negative or positive effect of Internet on the availability of pirated softwares.

Type of correlation: Pearson

Summary statistics:

Variable

Observations

Obs. with missing data

Obs. without missing data

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. deviation

In the current scenario, how would you rate the availability of pirated software’s

101

0

101

1.000

5.000

2.396

1.114

Has the advent of internet and anonymity over the web accelerated the process of piracy in digital format

101

0

101

1.000

5.000

2.446

1.144

Correlation matrix (Pearson):

Variables

In the current scenario, how would you rate the availability of pirated software’s

Has the advent of internet and anonymity over the web accelerated the process of piracy in digital format

In the current scenario, how would you rate the availability of pirated software’s

1

0.456

Has the advent of internet and anonymity over the web accelerated the process of piracy in digital format

0.456

1

Values in bold are different from 0 with a significance level alpha=0.05

In the following correlation test using Pearson technique we find that there exists a positive correlation between Internet and the availability of pirated softwares. The level of correlation is 0.456 on the scale from -1 to +1.

ii) CORRELATION BETWEEN COMPUTER PROFICIENCY AND USE OF PIRATED SOFTWARES

Type of correlation: Pearson

Summary statistics:

Variable

Observations

Obs. with missing data

Obs. without missing data

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. deviation

How proficient are your computer/software skills in terms of understanding and usage?

101

0

101

1.000

5.000

2.228

0.937

Do you use or have used pirated software?

101

0

101

0.000

1.000

0.832

0.376

Correlation matrix (Pearson):

Variables

How proficient are your computer/software skills in terms of understanding and usage?

Do you use or have used pirated software?

How proficient are your computer/software skills in terms of understanding and usage?

1

-0.316

Do you use or have used pirated software?

-0.316

1

Values in bold are different from 0 with a significance level alpha=0.05

Using the Pearson correlation we observe that in case of the analysis of correlation between computer proficiency and use of why the software, there exists a negative correlation between the two factors. This means that the use of pirated software does not depend on whether an individual has a good knowledge of computer software or not.

CHAPTER VI

FINDING, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

6.1 INTRODUCTION:

In this chapter various findings brought in light by the help of this research on understanding the factors affecting software piracy is recorded. The findings are in direct relationship to the data gathered and analysed by the help of primary data. The chapter then moves to present the conclusion of the research conducted. Finally the chapter ends by providing suggestions for various entities such as software companies and further research possibilities which contained certain management implications.

6.2 FINDINGS:

The main objective of this research was to find and analyse various factors which affect an individual's behaviour towards software piracy in its various forms. It also aims at bringing various implications that these findings might have on the software industry and also ways that can be used by the software industry to minimize software piracy to the best of their ability. Some of the findings of the research can be summarised as below.

According to the research personal income fails to have much effect on individuals when it comes to select between genuine software and its pirated counterpart. The behaviour supporting software piracy was found equally prevalent between people who earned regular salaries as well as in students who did not earn any salary. However the decision of buying genuine software was supported by the idea of eliminating the hassle and acquiring frequent updates by the softwares such as an antivirus.

An important factor which is proficiency in computer skills also failed to prove itself effective differentiator between respondents who used pirated softwares and respondents who used genuine softwares. In contrast to previous research has conducted by various scholars and proficiency was once considered an important factor which decided a person’s inclination towards using pirated software. However with the advent of new technologies which has allowed penetration of computers in every aspects of our day to day life this factor has blurred out in the present scenario. People without much computer know-how also known about pirated softwares and are actively acquiring and using them.

The research brought in light that majority of the software uses an aware of the difference between a pirated and a genuine copy of software. They are also aware about the legal aspects of using pirated software up to a certain extent. However this information has not held in reducing the occurrence of piracy in digital format.

A major chunk of today's computer users spend a considerable amount of time searching and acquiring pirated softwares from various sources such as grey markets and Internet sources.

Office suites, games, multimedia applications, Internet applications and antiviruses are some of the most used pirated software in today's digital scenario.

A majority of computer software users believe that softwares are often overpriced and expensive. This may be because of the demographic and psychographic differences which could between the consumers and software manufacturers. Usually a software made in the US would be priced according to the US scenario and hence when a person such as from India tries to purchase that software he finds it utterly overpriced.

It was interesting to know that people are still ready to purchase a genuine copy of software rather than a pirated counterpart if they receive a good price deal which is affordable to the customers.

The research also sheds some light on the usage pattern of various softwares. People often use only half of the available features in particular software and end up paying for the entire software package.

It was noted that the availability of unauthorised versions of software had increased in the current scenario. The advent of Internet was also identified as a major contributor which made it possible for people to share pirated softwares over the Internet in a much easier and faster way.

Finally in contrast to traditional belief of social un-acceptance of behaviours like piracy, the modern society has in fact embraced such behaviour and has accepted it with open arms. People no longer feel the need of carrying out such acts of piracy in the presence of darkness. The present generation of young people actively acquire pirated softwares and at the same time evangelise about it to others.

6.3 SUGGESTIONS:

The following suggestions and recommendations can be taken into consideration in light of the various findings and analysis conducted on the topic of software piracy.

In spite of a majority of software uses being aware of the difference between pirated and genuine software, most of the users lack the knowledge about the various legal aspects of using pirated or bootlegged software. Hence it becomes inevitable for the software companies to create an awareness regarding these legal aspects amongst the users so that they can better decide whether to go with a genuine copy of a software or a pirated version.

Since most of the users find softwares to be overpriced, the reason behind the notion can be found in the fact that most of the softwares are priced based on developed countries such as US or Europe. Very few softwares have actually started priced their product based on the country they are trying to market. These softwares have proved to be more successful in generating sales than other softwares. One of the classic examples can be taken in the Indian scenario is of antiviruses. Various antiviruses have started to market their product especially in the Indian context by keeping only the required features in their product and hence making the price more competitive but affordable. Hence a lot of people have moved towards genuine antiviruses over pirated anti-virus.

By understanding the usage pattern of a typical Indian software user software companies can better place their product in the market. According to the research finding a typical user uses only 50% of the total features provided in the software. Also the frequency of usage of such software ranges from few times in a month to daily usage. Companies can actually provide their software package in parts which can be purchased individually. This will allow the users to purchase only those parts which they actually required and would be using in a frequent basis. This will help the softwares to get cheaper and hence affordable by an average user.

By understanding the frequency of usage of various softwares, software companies can decide on having a standalone application or a cloud application. For users who frequently use a software, a standalone application can be better option which can be purchased once for a certain period of time. However for users who use the software less frequently, a pay per use model can be adopted by the software companies which would allow the users to use the software for a couple of days by paying a minimum fee. This would save the user from buying the software even when it is of limited use.

6.4 CONCLUSION:

Software piracy has posed itself as one of the biggest threats in the software market in the current scenario. However like any other hurdle the software industry is trying its best to overcome the hurdle of piracy. From software companies to entertainment companies all are facing the sting of piracy. The study has helped to understand various factors and how they influence the behaviour of piracy on software uses. However this information can be reverse engineered to find various solutions to the problem of piracy. By understanding what drives people towards piracy one can find solution to this problem. But it is sometimes easier said than done. Various software companies are struggling to remain alive in the market where they have to compete not only with their rival software companies but with their very own softwares in the pirated market.

Human Psychology has always been a fascinating domain of study. But still it remains one of the unsolved mysteries which surround us. Piracy as a human behaviour has proved itself a puzzle which is complicated to solve. Software companies are trying various marketing methods to evade the problem of piracy. In this light, they require more of search on such issues which would help deepen our understanding about the scenario and also present us with various solution and options to help improve the current scenario.