After announcing record revenues in Australia and the sacking of up to 200 staff in recent months, Microsoft has moved to snare a 9% increase in the cost of licencing their software.

The shock move comes as businesses struggle to manage costs and rising interest rates on loans and mortgages as well as manage a workforce who want to work remotely.

Inflation is only 6% in Australia with Microsoft accused of price gouging Australian business.

In a statement sent to ChannelNews, the big US software Company who had profits last year of $132.4 million in Australia on revenues of $6.3 billion claims that from 1st September 2023, Microsoft will increase Australian dollar prices by 9% for both Cloud & On-Premises licenses to align with global pricing.

This covers services such as Microsoft Office, Project Manager or the likes of Dynamics 365 as well as a host of other Microsoft software services.

Microsoft resellers including the likes of Telstra and Brennan IT are telling customers who use Microsoft services that if their licenses are under an annual commitment, current pricing will remain the same throughout this period (regardless of whether you are billed monthly or paid upfront).

The price increase of 9% will be applied at the renewal of the commitment period.

If a license is not under an annual commitment (i.e., month to month with no committed term), the 9% increase will be applied from 1st September 2023.

There are several license types that will be affected, including NCE & Legacy CSP Cloud Services, as well as Open Value, Open Value Subscription and other On-Prem licenses claims Brennan IT.

Microsoft PR has not commented on the move or issued a press release.

Software industry advocate BSA has revealed a settlement of $160,000 with a Sydney and Perth-based manufacturing company over copyright infringement, the biggest settlement the organisation has brought this year.

The offending company, which was not named, allegedly used at least 30 unlicensed copies of a number of CAD, data analytics and productivity software.

BSA spokespeople did not respond to queries when asked which software specifically was infringed. BSA lists a number of member software vendors as CAD, productivity and analytics vendors on its website, including Autodesk, MasterCam, Adobe, Microsoft, Dassault Systemes, Cadence, Bentley Systems, Cad Pacific, Frontline PCB and others.

Originally suspected of using copies of only one BSA member’s software, the manufacturing company was supposedly outed by an informant, discussions with whom allowed BSA to recognise the full scope of infringement.

The informant, who is set to receive a $10,000 reward, said the decision to dob the manufacturing company in came down to “personal morals and ethics”.

“We work in a competitive industry and while we’re all trying to get ahead, it didn’t feel right using infringing copies of software to give the business an unfair competitive advantage,” the informant told BSA under the condition of anonymity.

“The decision to report the business ultimately came down to my personal morals and ethics. I don’t believe it’s right to use software without paying for it.”

According to BSA, the manufacturing firm denied infringing copyright when confronted, but evidence provided by the informant led to the company admitting it was liable after extended negotiations.

“It’s important that people with information on unlicensed software usage come forward and report it,” BSA APAC senior director Tarun Sawney said. “We’re continuously working with BSA members to ensure that organisations are staying vigilant with their software licenses.

“The information we receive from informants is invaluable and plays a critical role in bringing corporate infringers to task. BSA is grateful to the informant for doing the right thing, and have provided the informant with a reward of AU$10,000 for his assistance in this matter.”

BSA said it also settled two other cases earlier this year. One with a Melbourne architecture firm paying $33,936 after one of its employees informed on them. The other, a Melbourne interior design firm which paid $40,00 in damages for 15 copies of unlicensed design and productivity software.

BT is set to launch its first cybersecurity R&D centre outside of the UK with the opening of a new hub in Sydney.

The office will focus on developing security services than can be deployed both locally and across the world, with BT saying this will include areas such as  cyber security, machine learning, data science analytics and visualisation, big data engineering, cloud computing, and data networking, as well as “the full life cycle of software engineering”.

BT says that the facility will help it tap into the rich vein of cybersecurity talent both in Sydney and the surrounding New South Wales (NSW) area, with 172 jobs initially being created over five years, including 38 graduate positions.

The hub will host BT’s cyber security systems integration and services teams. Security solutions developed and supported out of the Sydney hub will be deployed for customers locally and globally. The hub will also host cyber security systems integration and services teams.

“We are thrilled at this exciting new opportunity to tap into local cyber security skills,” said BT Security CEO Mark Hughes. “Never before has cyber security been more important and we see potential for growth in New South Wales, Australia and further afield. The hub will be a cornerstone of our global cyber security capabilities and help us stay ahead in this fast moving space.”

The centre is being supported by the NSW Government-backed organisation Jobs for NSW, which is providing a $1.67 million grant to BT to help with construction and setup.

“This cutting edge operation will help keep Australia’s best cyber security talent here in NSW while nurturing our next generation of specialists to ensure we remain a regional leader in this fast growing industry,” said NSW Minister for Innovation Matt Kean.

“As well as creating 172 jobs, including 38 jobs for skilled graduates over the next five years, BT will also make a $2 million investment in capital infrastructure and a further multi-million dollar investment to employ cyber security specialists at the hub.”

BSA has settled a total of $65,500 with four Australian businesses over the use of pirated Microsoft and Autodesk software.

A Victorian retail outfit was found using pirated copies of Autodesk’s AutoCAD and agreed to pay $35,000 to BSA.

A Western Australian construction company was also using pirated copies of AutoCAD and settled a $10,000 payment to BSA.

A Queensland IT contractor will pay $2500 to BSA for the use of pirated Microsoft Windows software. According to BSA, this contractor was found to have installed pirate copies of Microsoft Windows onto a number of computers which were subsequently sold to customers.

Another Queensland company, a training institute, settled for $18,000 after it was found to have installed unlicensed copies of Microsoft Office on company computers.

Just two weeks ago, Microsoft settled with a Victoria-based reseller for $450,000 after the business was caught selling pirated Microsoft software. Microsoft revealed it would not cease the relationship with the reseller, sparking unhappy comments on CRN’s story from other Microsoft resellers.

In April, online reseller Moonbox Software was ordered to pay nearly $1 million in damages to Microsoft Australia for selling illegal software keys.

In 2016, BSA settled 14 cases over the use of unlicensed software, totalling $589,000 in damages.

Vendors such as Adobe, Apple, CA, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec are members of BSA.

BSA’s director of compliance for Asia-Pacific Gary Gan said: “It’s important that businesses, no matter of location or industry, are vigilant when it comes to their software and ensuring that they are software compliant. Businesses should look to implement an effective software asset management (SAM) system in order to help them manage their software licenses.”

Businesses caught using unlicensed software were required to purchase genuine software licenses for ongoing use, in addition to paying the copyright infringement damages.

BSA continues to offer a $20,000 reward to individuals disclosing accurate information on the use of unlicensed software.