Tracking unlicensed use is essential for capturing revenue opportunities.
This year’s global survey of 501 product leaders highlights growing threats to profitability from every angle. As one Finance Director at a producer of embedded software warned, “Pricing, piracy, competition, and customer expectations” are rocking the foundations of today’s monetization strategies, with unlicensed use continuing to undermine the sustainability of legitimate software sales.
This report in the Revenera Monetization Monitor 2026 Outlook series highlights trends in the prevalence and scope of unlicensed software usage.
Here are just a few of the many key findings inside:
- Piracy continues to be a major threat.
Nearly one-third (31%) of software producers identify piracy as a major cause of revenue leakage – making it the most commonly reported source of lost income. - Lack of awareness is a growing problem.
The number of respondents who don’t know how they’re losing revenue to unlicensed software increased from 5% a year ago to 8% today. Among those who don’t have entitlement management technology in place, this skyrockets to 50% – highlighting a concerning blind spot. - China and Russia continue to record the highest levels of misuse and piracy.
Notably, India has moved ahead of the United States to become the third most affected country, while Germany has seen a sharp rise in cases – climbing from 11th to sixth on the list of noncompliance hotspots. - Closing data gaps can provide insights to drive sales.
Many respondents (30%) let telemetry data go to waste, collecting it but failing to analyze it. Meanwhile, 43% say limited visibility into customer entitlements and usage data is a blocker to ensuring efficient renewals.
Complete the form to access all of the insights, and to see how your business compares.
