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RisCorp, in
conjunction with Technology Negotiation Partners, has developed an escrow
validation service offering with the view of ensuring that software vendors
comply with escrow contract obligations.
Validation testing is critical for any organisation that has placed
business-critical applications in escrow. When a software vendor deposits
the source code and documentation with an escrow agent there is limited
assurance without validation that the media is readable, the source code is
complete or there is sufficient process documentation for reproducing
development and test environments or rebuilding the application.
The escrow validation process provides a number of benefits for
organisations.
- The
escrow validation provides a high degree of confidence that the
application can be maintained for the required life of the product,
whether this is by the vendor or by another partner following of a
trigger event.
- There
is a greater understanding of what is required to maintain the
application if the situation arises. The products, tools and skills
required to maintain the application are documented in the deposit
report.
- Regular
inspection of the escrow deposit and updates provide incentive for the
vendor to improve the quality of the code and documentation.
Without
escrow validation , there can be only limited confidence that the
application can be successfully maintained in the event of an escrow
contract trigger event occurring. Our experience in this area demonstrates
that escrow deposits without validation place organisations at significant
risk in the event of liquidation or poor performance of key software
vendors
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