| Constructing
Escrow Agreements with Your Customers |
Escrow
agreements afford the midsize enterprise some protection
against critical partners experiencing a disaster,
bankruptcy or going out of business, and help them
to continue running and supporting mission-critical
packaged software. Therefore, Gartner recommends that
software vendors offer escrow accounts as part of
their software license contracts specifying:
• |
An
agreed-on location that the midsize enterprise
could access should certain events occur. |
• |
The specific circumstances under which the customer
would gain access to the code. |
• |
The timeframe required before gaining that access. |
• |
The rights that would be available to the midsize
enterprise once the source code is in hand. |
Approximately
70 percent of escrow agreements are three-party agreements
in which an independent agent holds the code and is
authorized to release it to an enterprise if any such
events occur.
Questions?
Ask the experts at Gartner. E-mail midmarket@gartner.com
now for answers.
Reference
Research
Note
Midsize Enterprise Summit Business Continuity
Questions
Publication Date: February 6, 2003
Authors: D. Scott and F. DeSalvo
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