The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the UK's anti-piracy body which took action against 294 firms in the UK during 2008, announced that it has claimed £400,000 on behalf of its members.

Despite this figure, the total cost for UK firms was recorded at £1.9 million after taking into account costs such as £1.47 million on software for compliance purposes to ensure they did not repeat offend.

Commenting on the statistics, director of compliance marketing for the BSA Julian Swan said: "Aside from the financial consequences, using unlicensed software carries a number of operational risks, such as vulnerability to viruses which cause downtime, security threats and data loss, as well as damage to reputation if caught."

He added that on the other hand, companies using legal software are given benefits such as vendor support, upgrades and services, allowing businesses to run both efficiently and securely.

The BSA represents companies in over 80 countries worldwide and has dedicated staff in 11 offices globally, including London, Munich and Beijing.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).