eBusiness Weekly
Munashe Matambo
Local software company, Geosmatt has raised concern over the high levels of software piracy in Zimbabwe. Geosmatt is the country’s largest legally registered distributor of the latest surveying software — Surpac Surveying Software.
Surpac Surveying Software is a South African product developed by K W Young P/L in South Africa though the owners are Zimbabweans.
The growing extent of piracy on the Surpac Surveying Software has led K W Young and Geosmatt to lose about $1 million in potential income since most Property Surveying, Mining survey projects and other surveying projects done across Zimbabwe are now conducted with this pirated Surpac Surveying Software.
Geosmatt founder and principle consultant, Christopher Mavhima recently presented at the Survey Institute of Zimbabwe Conference in June 2017 in Nyanga and at the Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe Conference in August 2017 raising awareness of growing piracy and how Surpac Surveying Software sales are being affected.
Mavhima is advocating to all Surpac Surveying Software consumers to use current versions of the software instead of the previous ones which have been pirated.
“We have licenses for the current versions and they are protected, we no longer sell the older versions which are cracked and are still on the market,” he said.
The authorised reseller and distributor of Surpac Surveying Software in Zimbabwe told The Herald Business that it is now giving certificates of authenticity to those with genuine software. The company is also appealing for support from the Government through the Ministry of ICT to help solidify protection against software piracy.
“The Government through Ministry of ICT should find ways of protecting the companies in ICT Innovation and Research as the industry is not protected.
It should be known that a software or system is an ICT entrepreneur’s product of which if stolen, the person should be sued the way it’s done if one steals a loaf of bread from a bakery. The industry will not grow in Zimbabwe if the government is not serious on piracy,” the company told the Business Weekly.
Mavhima also added that the latest developments on the software were done end of last year.
