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A new Irish company is to be launched that looks to take on the management of other companies' internal hardware and software inventories.
CountMe-In, which has been set-up by Colm O'Rourke, a former senior IT and systems administrator for Bank of Ireland, is to be launched on Monday. According to O'Rourke, the company's offering will allow businesses to better manage their IT needs, as well as comply with new software licensing legislation.
"For instance, you often visit offices and find six or seven PCs piled up in a corner. With our inventory system, companies can look at their current hardware levels and figure out how best to utilise them," said O'Rourke. He added that these databases are also needed by companies for audit and insurance purposes as well as for monitoring when system upgrades were needed.
O'Rourke told ElectricNews.net that this was particularly relevant during the current downturn. "IT budgets have definitely tightened and our database inventories can be used to ensure that the right equipment and the right amount of hardware is purchased," he commented.
In terms of software inventories, O'Rourke said that they would be increasingly important as awareness grows about the penalties for companies involved in software piracy. "Company directors can be fined up to IEP100,000 or put in jail for up to five years for having pirated or unlicensed software in their businesses so it is vital that they ensure their software is compliant," he remarked.
Irish businesses have a reputation for being some of the worst offenders when it comes to software piracy. According to the Business Software Alliance, 51 percent of all software used in the Republic of Ireland is illegal, a practice which costs the software industry here more than USD70 million per annum.
Following these findings, the BSA in Ireland has taken a much tougher stance on businesses not being compliant and in August it issued summons against six Dublin companies for alleged software piracy. And previous to that, it took action against a Dublin-based architect's firm, O'Brien & Kaye, which had to pay a substantial fine following a raid on its premises.
"Up until now, the range of software a company has on its machines has been mainly overlooked, but the new legislation and the penalties involved are forcing companies to focus on this issue," commented O'Rourke.
A spokesperson for the BSA in Ireland said although it does not endorse any third-party products, it welcomes every effort that is made on an industry-wide basis that increases the awareness of the dangers of software piracy amongst company directors and software users.
The spokesperson added that it advises companies to take an inventory of their software assets, but would see the inventory as only one step to ensure a company remains compliant. Other steps it recommended included drawing up a statement of company policy towards software use, checking licence terms, and continual software management.
CountMe-In has three employees and a number of contractors on its books. The company, which O'Rourke said was "fully funded," hopes to increase this number over the next six months.
As of Monday 26 November, CountMe-In will be on the Web at http://www.countme-in.com.
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