In modern times, your business may be becoming more reliant on software products to assist with the day to day running of your business processes. You may utilize a number of bespoke built internal programs, such as project and time management systems, CMS, or customized reporting software.
You want to have the reassurance that should the worst happen, you will be able to recover this program. This is where software escrow companies come into play. A software escrow is essentially the service that helps protect both the developer and the customer by involving a neutral third party, who safely stores a copy of the source code and any other materials.
What are the benefits of having a software escrow agent?
Peace of mind
One of the main benefits of using a software escrow agent is that you’ll have peace of mind as it is impossible to know what the future holds. The agency that developed your software for you could go bust. If this were to occur, you’d potentially risk losing the source code for your bespoke software which would mean that you could lose access to it down the line. By utilizing the best software escrow services you will have safe and secure backups, which means that the impact on your business is minimized.
Allows flexibility in software
If you are looking to build a new website for your business and want it to have lots of advanced features, you may need to look into having a completely bespoke CMS as the likes of Episerver and WordPress do not offer the functionality you desire. When getting one of these created you may need to speak to an external developer in order to build the CMS. When completed, it is recommended that you create a backup of the source code for the website. This can be done by using an escrow service, which will store the source code safely and would give you access to it when the mutual conditions agreed with the developer are met.
Stored in one place
There can be different materials that are used to build your business’ bespoke software including the source code, data, and documents. Without the use of a software escrow agent, these will likely be stored in a number of different places, which makes taking backups and recovering the software extremely complicated. By utilizing an escrow agency, you eliminate all of these issues as the materials are all stored in one place and can easily be recovered.
The software can be updated
Using the services of an escrow agent can help give the developer the legal right and ability to continue with the evolution of the software, as they will be able to maintain and update the functionalities of the software over time. This can also reduce the chance of any damage or interruption to their company.
This post highlights just four of the benefits that working with a software escrow agent has. An escrow agent provides you with valuable services that are much better to have than not as they offer you peace of mind.