Although the topic seems to hold me and certain other bloggers with a morbid kind of fascination, it has been my experience that raids by the Business Software Alliance receive very little attention in most management circles. It could be that most CIOs believe that they are well-covered with regard to licensing and have little to worry about, but it seems to me that it could also be that licensing has become so complex that many CIOs simply prefer to disregard the intricacies and shy away from the full preparation that such a visit demands.

If you are in that category, or if you are simply in the market for some additional advice on what happens if you get that knock on the door despite all your preparations, then this Baseline article provides an excellent step-by-step list of things to do, or not do, when you receive a BSA audit letter.

Although there aren't any records that I would rely on to chart the frequency or success of such audits, the fact that Microsoft is attributing a fair chunk of their 2007 revenue forecast bump to a reduction in software piracy seems likely to encourage additional aggressive anti-piracy measures in the future. The place where they will look for bang for their enforcement buck isn't going to be in people's basements where their 13 year old kids are busting a copy of Vista at a time; it will be where the deep pockets of corporate America can contribute measurably to their bottom line with additional "contributions."