The Top 5 Reasons You Need Technology Escrow Right Now by John Boruvka

The case for implementing technology escrow services is as easy as 1, 2, 3-and 4, 5. It starts with keeping your business up and running, no matter what.

When is the best time to decide whether to get on board with a technology escrow service? Right now!

Think about it: Should a homeowner look into flood insurance only once a hurricane is barreling up the coast? Should parents think about saving for college when Junior's sending his application to Yale? If you think of technology escrow as insurance, you'll realize that it's not something you want to put off.

If you're not convinced that your company would benefit from technology escrow services, here are five reasons for reconsidering:

1. Your firm licenses critical software from outside developers. Does your IT department create all of your software from scratch? Probably not. If you rely on third-party software to get your work done, think about what would happen if you lost access to that software. It can happen: The software firm's partners could go bankrupt, or maybe new management doesn't honor old contracts. Don't let outside business decisions beyond your control affect your company's future.

2. You like working with smaller software developers. In the digital realm, amazing products arise from small startups. We know from Internet history that it's often venture-capital-funded bootstrappers pointing the way to the next big thing, not the brands leading the stock-market indices. Working with startups offers rewards, but there are also risks. Technology escrow reduces those risks by ensuring that you'll always have access to needed software. It also makes sure that you'll be able to change the source code, if needed, to keep it up to date.

3. If you're a developer, you'd like to close the deal. Technology escrow isn't just essential for the code licensee; it also offers big benefits for the code licenser. Software clients don't take risk lightly. If they're going to invest in your product, they need assurance that their investment will be protected. Using technology escrow offers them peace of mind so you can finalize the sale.

4. Perhaps you're a little company looking for a big sale. Could your startup create software that revolutionizes an industry? Yes, but only if clients are willing to take a chance on you. Potential partners are risk-shy and often don't want to gamble on a small company without a track record. Technology escrow is there to assure them that their investment won't go down the drain.

5. You want to keep your company secrets safe. Just because a client is licensing your software doesn't mean it should also get your trade secrets. Using technology escrow lets developers safeguard intellectual property while assuring clients they'll get access to that IP if needed. With audit trail protection, you'll know who accessed code and reduce the chance of trade secrets spilling out.

Technology escrow is insurance for the way you do business, and the time to get it is now. Talk to Iron Mountain about the range of services available.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2014/service-lines/technology-escrow/the...
	See more stories from ironmountain

Most recent headlines