Business Software Alliance (BSA), a global non-profit IT alliance, partnering with auditing firms KPMG and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, launched a certificate for organisations in India which will affirm if a company is using genuine software.

"Being certified with CSS(O) provides a company benefits like optimal software usage and ensuring that the software is licensed besides acting as a competitive differentiator," said BSA General Counsel and Vice President (Anti-Piracy) Jodie Kelley.

The certification named 'Certified in Standards-based Software Asset Management (SAM) for Organisations (CSS(O))'has been developed by BSA in partnership with auditing firms KPMG and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Piracy rate in India is 64 per cent, which means that two out of the three running programmes in the country are pirated, she said, adding that the certification can help in bringing down the piracy cases.

BSA has chosen India as the pilot country and Symphony Services has received the first CSS(O) certification.

"Security is a major concern as a single pirated software can make an organisation vulnerable to malware. Customers ask for ISO certifications like ISO 27001 (for IT security), but it does not cover SAM," Symphony Services Vice President (Managed Services and Global IT) Vijaya Shanker said.

According to the KPMG survey on SAM, released today, 86 per cent of the 800 companies reviewed do not consider managing their software assets, while 34 per cent have little or no control over their software asset life cycle.

Sudhir Singh Dungarpur, a partner in the Risk Consulting group of KPMG said, "In our experience, the liabilities arising from non-compliance can be substantial."

Poor SAM may lead to the usage of pirated software that can introduce bugs into the system. In addition, the company's reputation is put at risk.

Organisations will be required to renew their certification every two years. BSA plans to expand the programme globally in 2012.

"Organisations receive repeated auditing requests from software publishers in a bid to identify any gap in their software compliance. The CSS(O) will also put an end to this," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Senior Director Abhay Gupte added.

On the cost and time of getting a certification, Kelley said they will vary depending upon the size of the company.