Safeguarding Academic Continuity Across South Africa’s Universities
From Learning management to student information systems, ESCROWSURE’s verified software escrow solutions ensure uninterrupted access and iIrrefutable proof of ownership in the software products with an offsite copy of source code and technical documentation.
Industry Overview
South African universities rely heavily on LMS platforms, research repositories, student administration systems, and collaboration tools to operate. Both public and private institutions face rising digital continuity risks. Software escrow safeguards these critical systems, enabling uninterrupted academic delivery, data access, and compliance with governance standards when vendors fail or systems are disrupted.
Risks
South African universities face mounting digital risks as they deepen reliance on third-party software across academic and administrative functions. When these systems fail, the impact extends beyond IT teams, disrupting teaching, research, compliance, and institutional funding.
LMS Outages During Exams
Outages on platforms like Moodle or Blackboard during midterms or finals can disrupt assessments, delay grading, and trigger appeals or compliance issues.
Loss of Research Data from Vendor Failure
Vendor insolvency or service withdrawal can result in the permanent loss of high-value research datasets, compromising publication pipelines, funding obligations, and institutional IP.
Unsupported Student Admin Systems
Many universities rely on legacy or customised ERP systems. If a vendor discontinues support, critical operations such as registration, timetable management, or transcript generation may be frozen, impacting student throughput and compliance reporting.
Cyber Breaches Affecting Internal Systems
A breach exposing internal built systems can put the university at risk, especially if such systems are held at ransome or uptime is affected. This will damage institutional credibility and may trigger regulatory sanctions or lawsuits.
How Software Escrow Projects Work
Software escrow protects academic continuity by securely holding the developers source code and technical materials with a trusted third party. If the vendor fails or the developer withdraws support, universities gain access to keep outsourced or internally built systems running. This ensures uninterrupted operations, preserves institutional autonomy, and avoids disruptions to teaching, research, examinations, and compliance processes.
Common Use Cases
Higher education depends on software for learning, research, and admin. Escrow ensures uninterrupted access to critical systems when vendors fail, protecting academic delivery, compliance, and institutional continuity.
LMS Continuity During Exams
Ensures uninterrupted access to learning management systems like Moodle or Blackboard during peak assessment periods, avoiding exam disruptions and student appeals due to vendor failure or service outages.
Research Data System Protection
Safeguards custom-built or vendor-hosted research platforms by providing access to source code and technical assets if the provider becomes insolvent, protecting institutional IP and compliance with grant obligations.
Student Admin System Continuity
Prevents operational paralysis if vendors withdraw support for critical student administration systems, enabling universities to maintain enrolment, grading, financial aid, and graduation processes without external reliance.
Digital Library and E-Learning Access
Maintains seamless access to digital library systems and online learning platforms during vendor transitions or contract disputes, ensuring academic resources remain available to staff and students without service interruption.
Benefits
As universities deepen reliance on third-party software for teaching, research, and administration, the risks of vendor failure, service disruption, or loss of support grow. Software escrow offers a proactive safeguard, enabling institutions to maintain continuity and access critical systems when things go wrong.
Minimised Academic Disruption
Keeps core systems like LMS and student admin platforms running during vendor failure, preventing interruptions to teaching, assessments, and daily academic operations.
Safeguarded Critical IP
Ensures universities retain access to critical systems and outsource copy of intellectual property if a vendor is acquired, insolvent, or ceases support.
Compliance Assurance
Supports institutional compliance with POPIA, IT governance standards, and audit obligations by ensuring business continuity and control over critical digital infrastructure.
Long-Term Platform Stability
Provides operational independence from vendors by securing source code and technical assets, enabling ongoing use and maintenance of essential systems regardless of vendor status.
Regulatory & Compliance
South Africa’s POPIA mandates strict protection of student and staff data, while the Higher Education Act and university governance frameworks require continuity, accountability, and risk mitigation. ESCROWSURE aligns with these obligations by securing source code and technical assets, enabling universities to maintain critical systems, protect personal data, and ensure compliance with regulatory and institutional governance requirements in the event of vendor failure.
University of Johannesburg leads with software escrow
In 2023, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) adopted Moodle as its learning management system, hosted on AWS using Terraform automation through a third-party provider. When the provider entered business rescue in early 2024, UJ faced serious operational and legal risks due to limited internal cloud expertise in AWS.
ESCROWSURE implemented a tripartite software escrow agreement covering Terraform scripts, AWS configurations, and deployment data. During verification, ESCROWSURE identified missing documentation that would have rendered the escrow ineffective in a disaster scenario. After securing and validating the full deposit, UJ implemented further risk mitigation by taking over the AWS contract, engaging a Moodle specialist, and safely terminating the vendor. The verified escrow provided legal and operational assurance, allowing UJ to maintain business continuity. The university has since expanded software escrow to other critical systems, led by a security-focused CIO.
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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 and why do universities need it?
Software escrow is a legal arrangement where a neutral third party securely stores a vendor’s source code and technical materials. Universities need it to ensure access to mission-critical systems like LMSs, student admin platforms, and research tools in case the vendor fails or stops supporting the software.
How does software escrow support digital transformation in higher education?
Software escrow gives universities the confidence to adopt new technologies by mitigating vendor-related risks. It ensures operational continuity and system access irrespective of Vendor size, reducing hesitation around innovation and long-term system investment.
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.
Can software escrow ensure LMS continuity during vendor failure?
Yes. If an LMS vendor is acquired or shuts down, software escrow provides access to the source code and deployment materials. This allows the university to continue using or migrating the LMS without interrupting teaching, assessments, or student engagement.
Is software escrow required for Higher Education Act compliance?
While not explicitly mandated, software escrow supports compliance with the Higher Education Act’s governance and risk management provisions. It helps universities maintain operational continuity, protect institutional data, and meet accountability requirements for digital infrastructure.