Why Software Escrow Is Like An Unseemly Dream Scenario

Now picture the worst nightmare for a risk manager: an upgrade to the book, and none of them work together anymore. Yes backups exist... but the critical source code is not escrowed for DR!
Working for RBS Born Liars This tale from the world of finance is a depressing one. Because of a failed system update, over 6.5 million clients were blocked for an entire week in the process ATMs were knocked out, digital banking was blocked and bosses could not pay their staff. The bank's reputation and financial bottom line took a significant hit.

The Price of Falling Short on Risk Management
The problems escalated when regulators found the bank had failed to keep business-critical software up-to-date, resulting in hefty a £56 million fine from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. The case highlighted the increasing need for companies to adopt best practices in risk management, especially with regards technology dependency.

Software Dependencies and Risk Mitigation in South Africa
Third-party software is ingrained into the operations of South African businesses - key products sway in its use. Since information technology has become so essential in determining good governance and business resilience, there is also a need for risk mitigation measures targeting this.

A WISE BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN Releasing software code in escrow to neutral 3rd parties has become a wise business practice for companies, developers and end-users alike. Software escrow is regarded by Gartner as a key consideration in business continuity. Safeguards mission-critical applications by providing verified source code backup that can be used to restore a failed state
The South African Business Question

South African directors and officers may realise they rely on such technology firms for a significant % of annual revenue, but could instead now appreciate this has eroded the value in their own licensed IPconsult (or otherwise) internally to ascertain how much turnover is transacted through 3rd party owned platforms? In the case of certain companies this could easily be worth billions of Rands, which obviously makes it all more crucial that active software escrow is used to manage risk.

Case Study: A South African Risk Management Tool for Software Escrow

Software escrow is when you deposit, certify and secure the Developer edition of your company software to an independent third party neutral between developer/ owner sides. This guarantees an always-on, ready-to-use failover backup.
Through software escrow, South African organisations can manage their technology risks and safeguard operational continuity during times of uncertainty.