A Risk/Reward Analysis Of Escrow Validation
Published on 12/01/2022
What steps do you take to protect your business critical applications?
As this article demonstrates, when a business critical system fails or is interrupted, organisations can face financial losses, customer dissatisfaction and reduction in productivity. However, many businesses still fail to ensure they have taken suitable precautions to protect their business critical systems.
Performing Validation Testing on your Software Escrow deposit ensures that the source code and supporting material required to accurately redeploy your system are present and accurate. In this article, we will focus on how a relatively insignificant investment in your software applications can help you avoid substantial outlays in the event your application or system is no longer supported.
A report by software testing company Tricentis presents some interesting findings with regards to the level of impact software failures can cause. The report analysed 606 software failures across 314 businesses and found that these failures affected 3.6 billion people, causing $1.7 trillion in financial loss and a cumulative 268 years of downtime.
This report illustrates the importance of protecting your key software applications to defend against the significant financial consequences associated with Software failure. To help mitigate this risk, SES recommends investing in Software Escrow protection with Software Validation Testing which will enable you to take appropriate steps to protect your business critical applications.
Software Validation testing involves your software developer rebuilding your application in their own environment. The process involves an SES testing consultant witnessing the full rebuild of the application and documenting the entire process. The independent report compiled by the SES testing consultant, coupled with the audio/visual recording of the build then enables you or a third party of your choosing to accurately redeploy your software application in the event of a release.
In addition, for applications that are revenue generating, business-critical, bespoke or highly customised, SES would always recommend performing Remote Code Validation Testing with the Simulated Release as it is the only form of Validation Testing which provides complete assurance that the Escrow deposit can be swiftly and accurately redeployed whilst minimising downtime in the event of a release.
As consumers, we regularly purchase insurance policies to protect the things that matter to us such as our houses, cars and our lives. Therefore, it makes sense to insure our critical applications, protecting against the threat of no longer having access to them.
Typically, Software Validation is a very small investment to protect your applications which are revenue generating, business critical, bespoke or highly customised, especially when compared against the cost of procuring suitable replacements in your time of need. If you would like to discuss your Software Escrow and Validation requirements in more detail, please get in touch.
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