Why do I need escrow?

There are a variety of reasons why escrow may be useful to you.

From a developer's perspective we find that it offers small developers the marketing advantage of being able to assure the Customer that should they select the developer then they are covered in case various agreed trigger events occur.

The appointment of a professional escrow agent such as us is important in creating the right impression in this regard.

Each time a deposit is made by a developer all Customers who may be entitled to that deposit are provided with an appropriate report by us by email.

Alternatively, the developer could simply supply the source code (and their income stream) directly to the Customer and avoid the need for escrow.

From a Customer's perspective the reasons for escrow are even more compelling.

Software is critical to many business operations.

Continuity and business planning is an important part of keeping those processes and systems running.

It is interesting to note that many careers are either progressing or failing based on the status of various IT projects.

For instance it may well be a career limiting move to have to explain why a completely new system (and potentially new hardware) has to be purchased to make a small maintenance change should the developer become insolvent and or cease trading.

Furthermore, many life threatening faults or matters in which there may need to be a Royal Commission or similar enquiry may be assisted by having a historical record of the relevant source code to establish why the software failed when no other record is available.

You can find more information about the advantages of escrow here.