About BSA & Members

About BSA

Software and computers are indispensable tools of everyday life. They promote growth and progress in many ways from improving health care and making it more affordable, to saving energy, improving student achievement, knitting together our diverse population, and driving the overall strength and vitality of our economy.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is the voice of the world's software industry and its hardware partners on a wide range of business and policy affairs. BSA’s mission is to promote conditions in which the information technology (IT) industry can thrive and contribute to the prosperity, security, and quality of life of all people.

BSA is the largest and most international IT industry group, with policy, legal and/or educational programs in 80 countries. While several of BSA’s initiatives are global in scope, most of its policy, legal, and educational efforts are led and conducted at the national level, with a growing emphasis on emerging economies. 

BSA’s member companies are some of the most innovative companies in the world, investing billions of dollars a year in local economies and delivering software solutions trusted by billions of people to help them be more productive, connected, and secure.

»View All BSA Members

Public Policy 

BSA’s public policy programs are based on five broad principles of economic leadership:

• Inspire creativity and innovation through comprehensive and enforceable intellectual property policies, including copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
  
• Foster an online marketplace where citizens and businesses use information tools with confidence, by making certain that laws effectively prohibit and punish cyber crimes.
  
• Ensure that our nation produces and attracts the best and brightest workforce through forward-looking education and immigration policies.
  
• Improve export opportunities for technology companies by eliminating trade barriers and discouraging the adoption of discriminatory public procurement practices.
  
• Promote research, development, and investment in next-generation technologies to spur economic growth and innovation across the economy.

BSA promotes these principles and specific policy objectives through direct communications with policymakers and influencers, as well as public education and collaboration with interested parties.

Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs

The theft and illegal use of software and other forms of intellectual property (IP) is a serious global problem. Software piracy strains technology companies’ ability to innovate and create jobs, harms local IT services firms, saps government tax revenues, and increases the risk of cyber crime and security problems.

BSA works to expand legal software markets on a global scale, with special attention to the world’s top emerging markets. BSA does this through a combination of tactics:  

• Investigations and enforcement:  BSA solicits and receives thousands of reports of alleged software piracy each year from end users, resellers, law enforcement, member companies, and affiliate associations. BSA investigates these tips and ― when necessary and appropriate ― files civil lawsuits to stop software piracy. BSA refers particularly egregious cases to national law enforcement authorities for criminal prosecution. 
  
• Fighting Internet-based piracy:  BSA uses the latest technology to track the distribution of pirated software on the Internet via online auction sites, peer-to-peer sites, and other Internet channels. Each year, BSA issues thousands of requests to Internet service providers and Website managers to remove pirated software from their sites.
  
• Software asset management (SAM):  BSA provides tools and resources to help organizations manage software in a way that reduces compliance risks and maximizes return on investment.  BSA SAM Advantage is a long-term effort to help companies move more easily toward lasting adoption of the global SAM standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
  
• Education:  One of the most effective ways that BSA prevents software piracy and the associated risks to society is by raising awareness of the negative impacts, which it does through the news media, school, and direct outreach to affected communities.