Ensure Business Continuity with SA's No. 1 Software Escrow Provider
Protecting business continuity since 2004
ESCROWSURE is South Africa’s leading software escrow provider, secure your customised software IP with expert support to protect your business from third-party and internal developer software risks.
Proudly providing bespoke escrow services to our valued clients world-wide since 2004
Why do I need
software escrow?
When a software vendor fails without an escrow agreement in place, your business faces immediate risks: operational shutdowns, breach of client contracts, revenue losses, and lasting reputational harm. Escrow mitigates these threats by securing access to critical software and data, ensuring business continuity, protecting IT leadership, and maintaining trust with clients during moments of vendor instability or failure.
Supplier Insolvency
If your vendor goes under, you could instantly lose access to the software your operations rely on.
Unplanned Business Interruption
Unexpected supplier failure or downtime can halt critical systems, disrupt services, and delay delivery to your clients.
Breach of License Obligations
Revenue Loss
Reputational Harm
IT Management Jobs on the Line
Direct Transact
“ESCROWSURE provides our clients peace of mind and mitigate risk.”
Direct Transact
Chief Information Security Officer
Flexinova
“The personnel is very friendly and extremely helpful.”
Flexinova
General Manager
Agile Business Solutions
“very easy to get onboarded”
Agile Business Solutions
COO
Tollink
“We are very happy with the level of service and professionalism that the ESCROWSURE team provides and have provided our clients with assurance that their customized solutions are securely stored and professionally verified.”
TOLLINK ZA
SHEQ Manager
Nexi
“Nexi Payments S.p.A. (previously SIA S.p.A) have been a depositor of source code software with ESCROWSURE for the past 11 years and have been extremely satisfied with the level of service and professionalism they have demonstrated.
They have consistently provided timely and accurate management of our source code deposits, ensuring that our valuable intellectual property is always protected and secure. Their team is responsive and easy to work with, and they have always met our needs.”
Nexi Payments
Head of Central Institutions Sales
Jenetric
“With ESCROWSURE, I enjoy peace of mind that the intellectual property and technical documentation is securely vaulted and professionally tested.
ESCROWSURE has played a significant role in our risk management protocols: vaulting our business-critical IP with a professional escrow service is a vital measure in the process of risk management.”
Jenetric
CEO
TotalEnergies
“Overall, I highly recommend ESCROWSURE’s software escrow service to any organization that values the security and reliability of its 3rd party software assets. Their expertise and commitment to excellence are second to none, and we have been extremely satisfied with their service over the years.”
TotalEnergies
Competency Center Manager
Genasys Technologies
“We have been depositing our source code and technical documentation with ESCROWSURE for the many years and have consistently been impressed with the level of service by the
team.”
Genasys Technologies UK Ltd
CEO
Fidelity Services Group
“Their work has been a major factor for IT Risk success, as we hold eight of our business-critical application in escrow with them. We have never had a problem with Escrow uploads as the instructions were clear, concise and communication was always on time and professional.”
GM Managed Services
Fidelity Services Group (Pty)
Ellipsys Systems
“We have found the team from ESCROWSURE extremely professional, competent and efficient and have also recommended ESCROWSURE to clients looking for an escrow agent.”
Ellipsys Systems (Pty) Ltd
Operational Director
What is software escrow?
Software escrow is a legal arrangement where the source code and other important materials of an application are deposited with a neutral and independent escrow agent subject to a legal agreement between the software end user, vendor, and ESCROWSURE.
The objective of an escrow arrangement is to provide comfort to the end user that if the software vendor is unable or unwilling to support the software, the code, and other critical materials can be released to them ensuring the end user’s ability to update and maintain the software, thereby protecting their business continuity.
We believe every business deserves the best possible protection against unplanned business interruptions caused by third party software.
The benefits of software escrow with ESCROWSURE
Protect Business Continuity
Keep operations running even if your software vendor fails. ESCROWSURE ensures uninterrupted access to critical systems.
Avoid Business Interruptions
Mitigate Supplier Dependency
Satisfies Governance and Compliance
Manage Supplier Relationships
Safeguard Investment in Software
How does software
escrow work?
The 8 stages of software escrow
with ESCROWSURE:
1.
Consult
In a free consultation our Software Escrow Specialist will work with you to assess your exposure to 3rd party software risk and design a bespoke escrow solution tailored to your unique and specific requirements.
2.
Agreement
Based on your requirements we will prepare a draft agreement for your legal review. Our legal team will facilitate contracting meetings between you and your Vendor concerning terms of the Escrow agreement.
3.
Deposit
Once the agreement is in place, the software Vendor will deposit an encrypted copy of the latest version of the source code and technical documentation of the application with ESCROWSURE. In the event the application is hosted in the cloud, additional measures are taken including a description of the production environment, secure access for maintenance and updates, as well as hosting details.
4.
Test to Verify
Why test? An escrow deposit is only of value where tested and verified to be of use irrespective of the status of your Vendor.
Our testing services provide the opportunity for you to choose between 3 levels of testing – based on the risk analysis.
Our software testing service secures both on-prem and cloud hosted solutions.
5.
Report
The report documents the level of testing executed as well as the status of the deposited material. All reports will be posted to our Escrow Admin Portal (EAP) live and accessible to the Parties 24/7.
6.
Secure & Vault
After the testing is complete, the material is re-encrypted and vaulted. Our state-of-the-art vaulting services are governed by our ISO 9001:2015; ISO/IEC 27001:2022; ISO/IEC 27017:2015 and ISO/IEC 27018:2019 certifications.
7.
Customer Portal-
Manage
The Escrow Admin Portal (EAP) is a customer interface that provides secure access to vital documentation related to the escrow arrangement. This includes test reports, good governance certificates and details of the escrow legal agreement. EAP provides a convenient and secure way for users to manage their software escrow arrangements.
8.
Release
In the event of a release condition, ESCROWSURE will release the most recently deposited copy of source code and related materials to the End User for the protection of your business continuity.
Is your software on-prem or cloud hosted?
On-prem software
On-prem software is installed and runs on a company’s own hardware infrastructure, and is hosted internally. In contrast to cloud hosted software which is stored on the hosting provider’s servers, and accessed through a web browser.
Cloud hosted software
Cloud hosted software also known as SaaS is accessed over the internet. This software is not installed on the hardware located on the premises of the end user, rather it is hosted by remote servers, maintained and updated by the service provider and available to users via web browsers, mobile apps and API’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the agreement customizable? How much customization do you allow?
Yes, absolutely. We believe that each escrow environment is unique and requires a customized approach. ESCROWSURE’s in-house legal counsel will craft a bespoke escrow agreement tailoring the provisions to meet the needs of your specific requirements.
What is software escrow?
Software escrow is a legal agreement that protects access to critical software assets. It involves a third-party agent (like ESCROWSURE) holding the source code and documentation. The materials are released to the user only if predefined trigger events occur (e.g., vendor insolvency). This ensures business continuity even if the software supplier can no longer support the product. It’s a vital risk management and compliance tool for businesses relying on third-party software.
What are software escrow agreements?
Software escrow agreements are legal contracts between a software vendor, the end-user (licensee), and a neutral third-party escrow agent (like ESCROWSURE). These agreements require the vendor to deposit vital materials—such as source code, technical documentation, and build instructions—with the escrow agent. The purpose is to ensure that, if the vendor is unable or unwilling to support the software (due to insolvency, breach, or other predefined events), the end-user can gain access to those materials to maintain business continuity. Software escrow agreements are a proactive risk mitigation strategy that balance IP protection for the vendor with operational assurance for the user.
Why do we need escrow for SaaS applications?
With SaaS applications, software is not accessed on a server located on the end users premises, but instead, is hosted remotely in the cloud by a hosting services provider usually paid for by the software vendor. This introduces an additional layer of risk as it adds to the supply chain dependencies.
In addition, the data generated by the application is hosted in the cloud too. This means that if the software Vendor were to stop answering the phone, both application and data could be beyond the reach of the end user immediately.
Some end users believe that a migration to a cloud service eliminates the need for an escrow arrangement.
But this is not true.
If anything, the need for escrow is greater for SaaS applications, because of the additional layer of risk which puts both the software and the data at risk if the worst should happen.
What is business continuity management?
What are source code escrow agreements?
Set Up Your Free Consultation
Ready to safeguard your business continuity against third party software risk?
Software escrow with ESCROWSURE
- Protects business continuity
- Avoids unplanned business interruptions
- Mitigates supplier dependency
- Satisfies governance and compliance
- Manages supplier relationship
- Safeguards investment in software