News
Microsoft Opens Bosnia Office
- By The Associated Press
- February 28, 2006
Microsoft announced Tuesday the opening of an office in Bosnia in order to promote its software on the Bosnian market.
By opening a local office, Microsoft is showing its determination to help the development of the local economy by providing modern technology that will allow Bosnia's economy to become competitive, said Goran Radman, Microsoft's representative for Southeast Europe.
Microsoft software is widely used in Bosnia but 70 percent of the software is from pirated copies, whereby the European average is less than 30 percent, he said.
In the next three years Microsoft plans to invest $4 million (U.S.) into a better partnership with Bosnian public and commercial institutions. The company will also work on promoting the use of personal computers and the fight against the software black market.
Until last year, when Microsoft issued a new version of its software, pirated copies could be bought on the street in Sarajevo for $3, within weeks. Since police raids have significantly reduced the black copy market, Microsoft software of any kind is difficult to find in Bosnia.