Kochi, 24th Nov, 2009— As a part of Business Software Alliance‘s (BSA) initiative to support the growth of legal software markets around the world, it has opened its membership to software development houses to join at a country level. Astro-Vision Futuretech Private Ltd, the pioneers in Indian astrology software, has had the honour of being the first company to join as a local member of the BSA in India. Today, it joins hands with the elite group of BSA members, like Microsoft Corporation, Adobe Systems, Autodesk, Symantec etc. to promote the use of genuine software and other related issues.

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce.

BSA‘s member companies are some of the most innovative companies in the world, investing billions of dollars a year in local economies and delivering software solutions trusted by billions of people, to help them be more productive, connected, and secure.

“BSA welcomes growing and innovative Indian firms like Astro-Vision into its membership base, which signals a great trend of high potential software companies in Asia eager to develop, invest and protect their intellectual property. BSA remains committed to offering companies such as Astro-Vision a global platform to enhance their competitiveness, and to continue invest in innovation which is critical for the region‘s IT competitiveness.” said Jeffrey Hardee, BSA Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Pacific.

Commenting on the occasion, Lizum Mishra, Director, BSA India said “As India continues to grow and expand its IT sector from leadership in exporting services to product development, research and development and innovation, Indian companies require an eco-system that enables and protects intellectual property. By welcoming Astro-Vision into BSA‘s membership fold, we hope to demonstrate BSA‘s commitment and value to helping emerging companies in India grow, innovate and enhance their competitive advantage. BSA congratulates Astro-Vision for their leadership in taking this step.”

The Kochi based leading astrological software developers Astro-vision had started its operations in 1984. More than 31 million astrological reports have been generated using these software till date. The company also provides free astrological information through its website on a daily basis.

Astro-vision offers services such as Horoscope, marriage compatibility, gem recommendations, numerology, astrology tips etc. Astro-Vision clients in India and abroad include publications, websites, mobile service providers, computerised astrology centres, astrologers, astrology research centres, researchers and students of astrology.

“Astro-vison‘s software are legally protected by law. With this step we reconfirm our commitment to fight against piracy and promote the use of legal software. All our customers can now use Astro-vision‘s software without the fear of piracy. We can also help our licensees, dealers, distributors and other business partners to identify and eliminate the illegal use of Astro-vision‘s software and take appropriate action against culprits. In a growing software market like India, especially where the awareness of Intellectual Property rights is just catching up, we feel that BSA can play a vital role in addressing the issue of software piracy. It will surely help Indian software product companies like ours to protect its IP rights and ensure growth in the national and international markets. We hope that other software product developers in India will soon join BSA and strengthen its campaign against software piracy.” said Arjun Ravindran, Managing Director, Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt Ltd.

BSA has approximately 50 hotlines around the world for callers to seek information about piracy and to report suspected incidents of software theft. BSA has also undertaken various initiatives which include:
• Education and encouragement of the legal use of legitimate software through international standards such as SAM
• Deliver an effective message of the benefits of genuine software to software user and distributors
• Act against unauthorized use, reproduction and distribution of member company software
• Minimize government interference and barriers to promote the growth of local software markets and enhance trade

About Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt Ltd - www.astrovisiononline.com
The Kochi based leading astrological software developers Astro-vision had started its operations in 1984 and it has distributed more than three crore astrological reports till date. The company provides free astrological information through its website on a daily basis offering services such as Horoscope, marriage compatibility, gem recommendations, numerology, astrology tips etc. Astro-Vision clients in India and abroad include publications, websites, mobile service providers, computerised astrology centres, astrologers, astrology research centres, researchers and students of astrology. Astro-vision was the first company which introduced the concept of computerised astrology and computer based astrology predictions in India. The company has developed some of the best astrology software such as LifeSign (horoscope calculations and predictions with Parihara based on Indian astrology - kundli software), SoulMate (Marriage compatibility software based on Indian astrology), Numerology (personality reports for finding compatible names as per Numerology), StarClock (Muhurta and Panchangam software, including horoscope calculations) and GemFinder (Gem recommendation software based on Indian astrology). This Vedic astrology software (kundali software) is time-tested and accepted by astrologers and the general public alike.

About the Business Software Alliance
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Agilent Technologies, Altium, Apple, Autodesk, AVG Technologies, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, Frontline PCB Solutions - An Orbotech Valor Company, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Mindjet, Minitab, NedGraphics, PTC, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, Scalable Software, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, Tekla and The MathWorks.