Pirated software, the biggest competitor to Microsoft

by Surekha Galagoda and Gamini Warushamana

"We have no competitors in the operating system market and Microsoft Windows is the number one", General Manager Windows Client Group Microsoft Asia Pacific Kenneth Lundin told the Sunday Observer.

Lundin was in Sri Lanka for the launch of Microsoft Windows Vista, the biggest and the most strategic launch in the history of Microsoft. Apple, Linux and open source software are competing with Windows but they are not the biggest challenges; the biggest competitor we have is pirated software, he said.

With 700 million Windows customers worldwide Microsoft is marketing its products in every corner of the world including Sri Lanka.

Though Sri Lanka is not a big market today MS is exploiting all emerging markets in the world. Lundin said that Windows was an enabler to the computer industry as well as the customers and brought the computer technology to the common man.

Today Windows can be installed in any computer assembled in any part of the world and can be used by any person. Vista is easier to use and even enable disabled persons such as blind people to use computers.

Explaining the strict copyrights enforced by MS to prevent the use of pirate copies and its impact on low income clients in poor countries, Lundin said that any country should promote strict copyright laws and original software as this leads to growth and development of a country, be it the first world or the third world.

Everybody should promote genuine Microsoft software as this helps everybody. He said that they are trying to bring down the royalty of the original software.

He said that such a copyright policy would benefit all countries. If a person in Sri Lanka develops software he can get the copyright and it should apply to everybody across the globe. This will help him get recognition as well as other perks.

Microsoft windows Vista, 2007 office system and Exchange server 2007, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship operating system is easy to use, safer, entertaining and provides better connectivity.

He said that with people's lifestyle becoming mobile it is necessary to make things easy, safer, and entertaining and provide better connectivity.

Prior to introducing it to the market we experienced it for five years and saw the results and we even gave customers in different markets to test the product.

Lundin said that even a small child could use Vista and parents can protect them from going to unwanted websites. This is a big leap forward with computer related crimes increasing.

He said that Vista has accessibility features for those whose hearing is impaired, the visually impaired and for those whose speech is impaired. The key advantage of Windows Vista is its compatibility with the Sinhala language. It will open new windows of opportunity for most segments of our population.

In this day and age people are worried about information but not about the source, therefore we have built a solution called power management, which personalises the information an individual requires and gives the specialised information to the person concerned.

He said that immediately after the launch, businesses and the public can begin reaping the benefits of the new products as they mark a new wave of innovation, which will have a profound impact on how people work over the next decade.

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