SaaS Escrow Solutions for Australian Companies

Our unique solutions hosted in Australia,  provide continuity for AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and other cloud hosted software, when the software vendor is unwilling or unable to provide service. 

 

What is SaaS Escrow?

SaaS applications empower businesses with enhanced efficiency, flexibility, and cost savings. However, these advantages come with inherent risks—most notably, the SaaS vendor retaining control over data storage and management.

The most effective way to safeguard your company’s critical data and operations is by implementing a SaaS Escrow solution. At The Escrow Company, our team of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud engineers specializes in delivering cost-effective, innovative, and tailored escrow solutions designed to meet individual client needs.

With a pragmatic mindset and a proven ability to think beyond conventional approaches, we craft SaaS escrow continuity strategies that ensure resilience and long-term security. All SaaS Escrow solutions and related data is hosted within Australia to comply with local Australian regulations.

Our SaaS Continuity Escrow Solutions Include:

Software Escrow for SaaS

Secure deposit of the cloud assets required to independently build and deploy the SaaS application with optional verification.

SaaS Access Continuity

Secure access to the cloud production environment in the event of a software vendor failure.

Saas Recovery
Escrow

Secondary cloud environment hosted by The Escrow Company. In the event of a release, the environment can be recovered and utilized by the beneficiary.

Managed Saas Continuity Escrow

Providing 90 days of live continuity hosted by The Escrow Company in the event of a software vendor failure.

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Solution 1

Software Escrow for SaaS

The Software Escrow for SaaS service ensures the deposit of all essential cloud assets required for the recovery and deployment of the SaaS environment, including components necessary to build and deploy the application and its underlying infrastructure.

How It Works:

This solution typically involves an automated deposit of the following assets from the SaaS vendor:

  • Source code from the developer’s git repos
  • Deployment scripts (Infrastructure as Code) such as Terraform or CloudFormation
  • Containers
  • Virtual Machine images
  • Database backups
Software Escrow
What happens following an escrow release event?
 

In the event of an escrow release trigger, the Deposit Materials are released to the Beneficiary.

Verification Options:

To offer additional recovery assurance, the Beneficiary may opt for The Escrow Company to conduct any of the following verification tests:

1. Cloud Deployment Verification:

This test ensures that all necessary information, files, and source materials, including deployment scripts required to build the software, have been deposited into escrow. The Escrow Company consultant observes the Depositor performing a compilation/deployment and documents the process, verifying completeness and usability.

2. Cloud Deployment Verification with Code Quality Audit:

In addition to the deployment process covered in a Cloud Deployment Verification, this review covers the evaluation of the quality of the source code deposited under the escrow agreement. This process ensures the code is modifiable and that variables, function, and other elements are clearly and explicitly defined. Designed to provide assurance that a third-party developer could maintain the source code if needed.

Solution 2

SaaS Access Continuity

Verified access credentials to the SaaS production environment

The SaaS Access Continuity service is a cost-effective solution best suited to a single-tenanted environment that provides the Beneficiary with the required access credentials and documentation to the cloud production environment.

How does it work?

Under the SaaS Access Continuity service, the SaaS vendor is required to deposit and update the access credentials on a quarterly basis or more frequently if required. These credentials may include administrator usernames, passwords, MFA and keys to allow full access to the cloud hosting provider’s console and all the live instances and databases.

Source code and deployment scripts may be included as an optional add-on to provide an additional layer of protection.

What happens in an escrow release event?
 

In the event of an escrow release trigger, the administrator access credentials to the production environment will be released to the Beneficiary.

Included Verification 

The Escrow Company regularly tests the credentials on a quarterly basis to ensure that access can still be gained. This continuity service provides assurance that either the beneficiary or The Escrow Company can step in and pay future cloud vendor bills to allow for continuity of service of the existing production environment.

saas access
Solution 3

SaaS Recovery Escrow

Secondary Cloud Environment Hosted by The Escrow Company

This service provides a secondary cloud environment, initially built and deployed by the depositor. The cloud environment is stored by The Escrow Company for the duration of the agreement. In the event of a release, the environment can be scaled up by The Escrow Company and transferred to the beneficiary for continued use. 

How It Works:

This solution typically involves the automated deposit of the following assets from the SaaS vendor:

  • Source code from the developer repos
  • Deployment scripts (Infrastructure as Code) such as Terraform or CloudFormation
  • Containers
  • Virtual Machine images
  • Databases (including up to daily backups)

The depositor is required to deploy the solution to an environment hosted and managed by The Escrow Company. 

Post-deployment, the cloud instances are scaled down by The Escrow Company until needed.

Escrow Release Event:

In the event of an escrow release trigger, The Escrow Company will scale up resources, transfer the active cloud environment and deposit materials to the beneficiary, and facilitate a handover workshop, eliminating the need for the beneficiary to rebuild their own system following issues with a critical supplier.

Included Verification:

The Escrow Company collaborates with the depositor on a regular basis to validate the build and deployment processes, then scales down the system before recovering it for beneficiary testing. The service also includes knowledge-sharing workshops between The Escrow Company and the depositor to ensure documentation remains current.

Solution 4

Managed SaaS Continuity Escrow

Ensuring Live Continuity Hosted by The Escrow Company

The Managed SaaS Continuity Escrow solution establishes a redundant operating environment for the SaaS application, swiftly deployable in the event of a release situation.

How It Works:

This solution typically involves the automated deposit of the following assets from the SaaS vendor:

  • Source code from the developer repos
  • Deployment scripts (Infrastructure as Code) such as Terraform or CloudFormation
  • Containers
  • Virtual Machine images
  • Databases (including up to daily backups)

Post-implementation, the cloud instances are maintained in a dormant state, accompanied by a daily backup of the database.

Escrow Release Event:

In the event of an escrow release trigger, The Escrow Company provides either direct transfer of cloud account access credentials and Deposit Materials to the Beneficiary, or The Escrow Company will manage the live SaaS service for an agreed period (typically 90 days).

Included Verification:

To ensure the usability of the latest deposit materials, The Escrow Company conducts semi-annual testing of the deployment process to a functional system. Throughout this testing, the Beneficiary has the opportunity for acceptance testing of the escrow environment, providing additional assurance.

Looking to implement a secure software escrow solution?

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