Cloud computing, subscription-based service to curb piracy

Gurvinder Singh

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 25

Software piracy, particularly design-software piracy is common. It causes financial losses to software companies. The emerging change with subscription-based service from companies and cloud-computing is changing the way manufacturing companies including MSMEs use this software.

“Earlier, software companies used to give CDs to users and medium/small-scale companies which did not find it useful to buy them used pirated software. But with software companies lowering the cost of software and providing it through time-bound subscription methods, the problem of software piracy will decline,” says Varun Gadhok from Autodesk, who was in the city for a dealer meet last evening.

“The new high-end product-design software Fusion 360 from Autodesk, for example, will cost Rs 15,000 a year, while design softwares generally cost in lakhs. Moreover, piracy will not be possible as more companies are now providing the software on cloud online, with no need for installation of the software on computers,” he said.

With increasing awareness, users also know that they don’t get the needed support and several features in pirated software. “Subscription to Fusion 360, for instance, not only helps in complete designing and machining the products, it also offers features such as collaboration and sharing of files with clients and manufacturers in real time,” Gadhok said.

“It helps in collaboration, as teams can work together in different locations online to design a product and also show updated design to clients and manufacturers. This saves time, so any modification in the design can be done quickly. Through such collaborative work, within days of launch of this software in India, more than 2,000 innovative product designs including drones and prosthetic hands have been created, that too by students, to whom the subscription to the software is free,” he said.