Before you acquire mission-critical technology from a third-party software vendor, take a few minutes to review the costs and risks. What will happen to your company if your technology is unavailable?
Learn strategies on how you can manage your risk with a technology escrow program.
In this report, you will learn:
Mission-critical technology is everywhere; you depend on it every day. Failing to protect this technology puts your business at risk.
There’s a good chance that a disruption of the third- party software or technology your company uses could have a catastrophic impact on your business. If your vendor went out of business or otherwise stopped supporting your technology, your company could suffer considerable losses in revenue and/or productivity. With the additional complexities of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), you face additional challenges since your data is also at risk.
Here Are Four Steps To Guide You Through The Process:
Iron Mountain Technology Escrow Services enable a risk mitigation option when you negotiate a license for software or other mission-critical technology. When a software escrow contract is established, the proprietary development information for that software is placed within a secure escrow account held by Iron Mountain. If the developer defaults on their obligations to the user at any point in the future, the escrow materials may be released to the user, enabling them to recreate or maintain their mission-critical technology.
When you acquire software or other technology, escrow and verification services should be an integral part of the licensing discussion from the start. Once an escrow agreement is established, it should be integrated into your risk management plan and reviewed on a regular basis. By safeguarding your technology assets, you are protecting your investment.
Iron Mountain’s Technology Escrow Services give you the ability to continue to use your technology even if your vendor is no longer able or willing to provide support or access. A technology escrow agreement also gives you leverage in discussions with your vendor if there are support issues.
Mission-critical applications need to be considered in your risk profile.
WHAT'S YOUR RISK?
Many factors contribute to your risk. Operational dependencies on the product, investment of time into this solution, an assessment of the technology developer, and cost should all be determined when calculating your risk factor.
Consider all the costs and risks of licensing the vendor’s technology to determine the risk to your company in the event the developer is no longer able or willing to support the product. You need to determine your operational risk if the technology is unavailable. As your risk increases, your need for escrow protection and verification also increases.
How do you stack up?
WILL YOUR TECHNOLOGY WORK WHEN IT IS NEEDED?
Over 76 percent of all deposits sent in to Iron Mountain for analysis were determined to be incomplete. As a result, these deposits required additional input from the developer in order to be compiled. A thorough verification of the escrow materials provides assurance that, in the event of a deposit release, you would be able to more quickly and effectively read, recreate, and maintain the developer’s software or technology in-house.
These extra precautions maximize the payoff from investments in escrow deposits — and protect the total investment in software assets. For escrow accounts to have maximum value, it takes more than simply depositing a set of source code files. That’s why, on average, over 50 percent of all qualified escrow agreements are now verified.
NCC Group Software Resilience has acquired Iron Mountain’s Intellectual Property Management (IPM) business. For more information on the acquisition, please visit our dedicated information hub, or contact Iron Mountain IPM.
