The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has fined two companies in Scotland after they were caught using programs without the required software licence, it has been reported.

Docked over £120,000 for its use of unlicensed technology, Total Repair Solutions of Renfrewshire used software including Microsoft programs that are installed on over 100 of the company's computers.

Fined £24,582 for its use of unlicensed use of Adobe, Symantec and Microsoft products, motor dealership John R Weir complied with the BSA to reach an amicable conclusion, with a spokesman for the company highlighting the importance of having the correct documents in place.

The representative said: "We now understand the importance of ensuring our licenses are up-to-date and the potential threats we were exposed to.

"We have taken major steps to ensure the effective management of our software licenses and would urge other companies to do the same."

The BSA is funded by its members such as HP, Dell and Microsoft and is a non-profit organisation.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).