Four Steps to Manage Risk and Improve ROI with ird-Party Technology Acquisitions by Frank Bruno

Mission-critical technology is everywhere - you depend on it every day. Failing to protect this technology puts your business at risk.

Gartner estimates that the average enterprise company has 390 mission-critical applications.

This means it's likely that the software developer for one or more of those applications may go out of business or stop supporting their application in the future. This type of disruption could cause considerable losses in revenue and/or productivity for your business. Plus, if you are also implementing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, you face additional challenges since your data is hosted in the cloud, and is therefore also at risk.

In order to manage risk, you first need to determine which technology applications are mission-critical to your business. This is done by reviewing operational dependencies, costs, the time investment required if you had to replace the software, and the track record and stability of your technology vendor. From there, you can determine what level of technology escrow and verification protection is required based on the risks, as well as developing special contingencies for SaaS applications.

Here are four top-level steps to guide you through the process:

Evaluate your licensing risks to determine your organization's specific requirements for technology escrow

Reduce risks with verification testing

Plan for SaaS contingencies

Establish a best practices escrow program that ties into risk management goals

To best manage risk and improve ROI, a contingency plan should be put in place before the deal gets signed, and the software licensee or subscriber should be able to execute the contingency plan independent of the developer or provider.

In summary, before you acquire mission-critical technology from a third-party software vendor, take the time to review the costs and risks and make sure there is a plan in place to protect your company in case that technology is suddenly unavailable.

We'll be hosting a webinar on this topic soon - I hope you'll be able to join us. Here are the details of the session:

Thursday, May 29 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Click here to Register

Attendees will receive a copy of Iron Mountain's Enterprise Escrow Best Practices Report and will also have the opportunity to receive a customized analysis of their current escrow plan with suggestions for risk management strategies for protecting your investments in technology.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2014/service-lines/technology-escrow/fou...
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