Quantifying Software Piracy Loss Using "Time to Crack" methodology
V.i. Labs has developed a method called Time to Crack that provides a benchmark
for comparing the revenue performance of major product releases before and after
taking anti-piracy measures. To establish a revenue benchmark, take the following
steps:
- Starting with the date that a major new software product is launched, determine
the amount of time it takes for a new crack to appear on the Web. Cracks can be
in the form of license key generators or patches that remove license enforcement
functions. These cracks are traditionally made available on Warez web portals or
peer-to-peer services.
- Once a crack is discovered, document the creation date and cracking methodology
used. Create a metric that will overlay the Time to Crack point against the revenue
forecast within the specific emerging market. Determine if the license growth trend
within the region of interest changes remarkably at the point when the crack is
made available on the Web. This would indicate a loss in license revenue.
- Prior to the next major software release, invest in anti-piracy technologies and
procedures that best handle the cracks discovered in previous releases.
- Once a new product is released, measure the amount of time it takes for a new crack
to appear on the Web. Compare this data point to your original revenue forecast
(before implementing piracy measures) to see the actual revenue gained. Specifically,
analyze penetration within high risks segments such as SMBs. With this approach,
you’ll have a more granular measurement of the success of anti-piracy measures on
a per software application basis.