With BSA Certification, Mexico's Economic Ministry Demonstrates Global Leadership In Managing Software Assets

Ministry Is First Government Body to Earn BSA's Certification in Standards-Based SAM for Organizations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BSA | The Software Alliance today announced that the Ministry of Economy in Mexico has become the first government body in the world to earn BSA's Certification in Standards-Based Software Asset Management for Organizations, a program known as CSS(O).

The credential demonstrates the Mexican government's commitment to promoting legal software use by implementing internationally recognized best practices for maintaining compliance with software licenses.

"We launched the CSS(O) program a year ago in India and are excited to mark another milestone for the program today," said Jodie Kelley, BSA's General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Anti-Piracy. "The Ministry of Economy understands that strong intellectual property protection drives economic growth. By adopting world-class software asset management practices, the Ministry is setting an example for government agencies and private enterprises throughout Mexico and the rest of the world. We hope other governments take note and follow suit."

As the first and only enterprise-level certification for software asset management to be based on a standard set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), BSA's CSS(O) program affirms that an organization is compliant with all of its license agreements and that its management controls and procedures reflect the ISO standard. This helps reduce the legal and security risks associated with operating unlicensed software. It also increases operational efficiencies by ensuring workers have the best and most up-to-date software tools to do their jobs, and it can reduce costs by ensuring an organization is neither under-licensed nor over-licensed.

Secretary of Economy Bruno Ferrari expressed gratitude and satisfaction with the CSS(O) certification. He explained that the decision to adopt internationally recognized best practices for software asset management reflects the Mexican government's policies upholding respect for intellectual property. He stressed that the government must lead by example in assuring no piracy is occurring in its operations.

After a review conducted by one of the world's leading accounting firms, BSA also awarded certifications to several individual agencies within the Ministry of Economy, including the Federal Competition Commission, Federal Commission for Regulatory Improvement, Federal Attorney's Office of the Consumer, and ProMexico.

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