Is Software Escrow A Good Investment?
For those of you who either write your own software or hire someone to write it for you will definitely appreciate this article. Software Escrow is kind of like an insurance policy in case a business deal goes south. When you hire someone to code software for you, there are always questions that must ask and decisions that you must make. One of the main decisions that is most often overlooked is whether or not you get a copy of the source code.
The source code is basically a list of commands that the programmer writes in order to create the software. The source code then is made into an executable file (.exe) in which someone uses to run the file (hence the word "executable"). For example this website that you are looking at contains source code, but when you type in the URL, the code is then executed and displays the end result in your browser. Pretty cool, huh?
So why on earth would you want the source code of something that you hired a programmer to write? It’s simple. If you have a copy of the source code, then you can easily alter what your program does. If you had a copy of The Tech Bros source code, you could alter the way everything appears on the site.
Often, companies will just alter the code for you, because they want to protect their intellectual property. But, what if something happens to the company and they go out of business or go bankrupt? Will it all just disappear? That’s where the Software Escrow comes into play. The programmer will give a copy of the source code to a neutral third party (Software Escrow), and they will not release it unless under certain conditions. There are a lot more circumstances, but I used bankruptcy and going out of business as these common problems.
Software Escrow is not the answer to all of your problems, and you must remember that nothing is 100% fool proof. Something can always happen with the Software Escrow, plus it always ads expenses to your transactions. Like everything else, Software Escrow has its pros and its cons, so be sure to choose wisely if it’s right for you.
In many cases it is a very good investment. Some people look at it as an insurance policy. It’s up to you whether or not you are willing to take that risk.
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