2023 year in review – Software Escrow Reflections and Escrow London Accomplishments

As we approach the end of the year, we take a glance at the events that unfolded in the software escrow industry and acknowledge the milestones achieved by our company.

We extend our thanks to all our customers for their continued support throughout the year, and as the holiday season approaches, we wish you all joyous and festive celebrations with your loved ones in the coming weeks. We look forward to working with you in 2024!

Reflecting on 2023 – Software Escrow and SaaS Escrow

We made some predictions at the end of last year regarding software escrow and SaaS escrow for 2023 which have proven pretty accurate. These materialised as follows:

1. Increased Insolvencies: The forecasted increase in insolvencies has indeed transpired, with reports on the demise of D365 Group, and Silicon Valley Bank earlier in the year. The evolving landscape of the IT industry as well as economic uncertainty, has witnessed challenges for certain providers, leading to a rise in insolvencies as predicted and emphasising the importance of businesses making sure they have robust business continuity. Gov UK recently published that in Q3 2023, there was a 34% increase in insolvencies for software development and IT service companies compared to Q3 2022.

2. Continued need for SaaS Continuity Escrow solutions: The growing reliance on SaaS and Cloud providers for IT operations has persisted. In 2023, the SaaS market is already worth about $197 billion, and forecasts indicate it will hit a staggering $232 billion by 2024, aligning with the projection that there would be an ongoing demand for SaaS Continuity Escrow solutions. As more companies entrust their data to third-party providers, the need for contingency plans and safeguards remains essential.

3. Integration of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) by software escrow vendors: The foresight regarding software escrow vendors incorporating Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) into their services has proven useful and accurate. This integration has provided businesses with an additional layer of transparency in software audits, contributing to network security and fostering peace of mind among stakeholders.

Looking towards 2024, our latest blog predicts the following:

• Rising insolvencies globally places an increased necessity for contingency planning with the significance of having software escrow and SaaS escrow set to soar in 2024.
• The evolution of regulatory policies around third-party risk management, targeting financial institutions, such as PRA SS2/21, as well as other updated standards like ISO/IEC 27001:2022 are prompting businesses to enforce the use of software escrow agreements as part of their third-party risk management practices. Additional policies are expected in 2024, resulting in a broader range of SaaS escrow options for regulated firms.
• Industries vital to shipping, logistics and the supply chain are placing an increased importance of software escrow and SaaS escrow. It is predicted that the incorporation of software escrow agreements will be imperative for these industries in 2024.

Our accomplishments in 2023

As a company, we had many celebrations during the year with the team at Escrow London continuing to work hard to ensure these successes. Here are a few of our highlights below:

DeveloperWeek, San Francisco

At the beginning of the year, the team sponsored and exhibited at DeveloperWeek, held in San Francisco bay area on 15-17^th February. Our stand was teeming with event attendees interested in learning about our range of software escrow and innovative SaaS escrow solutions covering standard source code and cloud environments. Our Sales Development Manager for North America, Paul Davis, also had the opportunity to present our case study about leading software company, Synergex, detailing how we helped them transition from a heritage software escrow vendor to an automated multi-beneficiary software escrow solution with many benefits.

Launch of Express Escrow

In April, we launched our new and revamped online self-service offering, Express Escrow. Aimed at developers, Escrow London’s Express Escrow provides a quick and easy way to put in place a secure, robust and legally binding software escrow agreement.

Legal Masterclasses

Also in April, we had the privilege of meeting with 25 lawyers from London-based firm, Mishon de Reya LLP and Taylor Vinters for our Legal Masterclass. During the successful session, we were able to share our knowledge around the latest software escrow developments and give up-to-date considerations around SaaS licence agreements for the attendees and their clients, including advice on how to evaluate today’s challenging legal situations. We have also run many other of these with specialist technology and IP lawyers.

Fintech Week London 2023

In June, we exhibited at Fintech Week London 2023 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The event brought together industry experts, innovators and thought leaders in the fintech space to showcase ground-breaking technologies and discuss the future of finance. At the event, Escrow London showcased its innovative range of software escrow and SaaS continuity escrow solutions, providing risk mitigation, business continuity, trust and confidence to fintech companies and their clients.

Evan Lever also delivered a keynote speech titled “PRA Outsourcing and third-party risk management regulations compliance.” Our Head of Sales, Nathan Hopkins, also made an appearance on The FinTech Times YouTube Channel!

Accreditation Achievements

Also in June, we were thrilled to have been granted an Australian Business Number (ABN) by the Australian government. This achievement greatly enhances our ability to provide trusted services to private and government organisations throughout Australia. The ABN is a unique identifier issued by the Australian Business Register (ABR) to entities conducting business in Australia. This permits Escrow London to continue its operations and ensures a more accessible service offering to local clients. Following this announcement, we were also pleased to announce an additional accreditation from the New South Wales (NSW) Government, allowing us to expand our software escrow and SaaS continuity escrow services and cater to NSW Government IT contracts pre-approved up to $150,000.

Cloud Industry Forum and techUK

After joining industry associations, Cloud Industry Forum and techUK back in May, we have been able to share our software escrow and SaaS escrow expertise through engaging webinars and spotlight interviews, as well as sharing our though-leadership articles with like-minded members.

Webinars and interviews have included:

• In February, we attended our first Cloud Industry Forum members meeting, with our Head of Sales, Nathan Hopkins discussing he’s thoughts around 2023 market predictions for Software and SaaS escrow.
• In May, Nathan presented at Cloud Industry Forum’s 41st episode of Digital Transformation in Action entitled “Managing Data in the Cloud.”
• This month, Evan Lever, our CEO & Founder, joined David Terrar, CEO of Cloud Industry Forum, as a guest speaker at their Tech Wave Forum. Evan provided great detail on Escrow London, delving into SaaS escrow and why it should be used, as well as discussing the current cloud software landscape.
• Also this month, Nathan Hopkins sat down with techuk during their Cloud Week 2023, discussing everything SaaS escrow and how businesses can safeguard their critical cloud assets if anything were to happen to their SaaS vendor.

Expansion of our Team

We also welcomed a new member to our team, Ahmed Albertus who joins us from NCC Group as a Cloud Software Verification Consultant. Ahmed brings with him a wealth of experience from his previous role, working and verifying multiple cloud platforms and software integrations. His commitment to excellence extends to crafting robust verification processes, ensuring that reliability and security is top priority.

AWS Partnership Investment

As a specialist escrow vendor and the go to provider for SaaS and cloud-based software escrow requirements, this partnership is vital to Escrow London’s future growth, development and maturity. It demonstrates to our clients that we have the necessary knowledge and understanding of key processes related to account management and escrow provisions. This is something we are continuing to invest in, with both technical and sales training as well as formal partnership status and relevant activities.

We regularly obtain feedback affirming our demonstrated confidence in specific AWS processes to support continuity needs. Although we have the necessary knowledge and competence, we aim to be the go to escrow vendor for all Amazon sellers globally, who want to assist their clients with continuity requirements when investing in technology hosted on their platform. We also aim to be a strategic advisor for scale up technology companies looking to support their clients third-party risk management requirements and we have taken strides forward with this through our partnership procedures but expect big things to come. Escrow London are to further invest in this partnership.

Winners

It’s been a great year for the company. We have successfully onboarded many happy new clients with our guidance on the best fit escrow solution and simple setup processes. We’ve successfully won contracts in key industries such as retail, banking, logistics and many other new and emerging markets such as Electric Vehicles. This demonstrates the versatility of escrow provisions across markets, all with needs to appropriately mitigate against 3^rd party supplier risks, protect critical software and data as well as implement tested continuity measures in the event of supplier failure.

YouTube Videos

As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering engaging and informative content, we have been creating engaging YouTube videos all around Software Escrow and SaaS escrow. These videos provide an invaluable resource for understanding more about what software and SaaS escrow is providing users with insight into topics such as: What is Software Escrow?, How does SaaS Escrow work? and What are the benefits of a software escrow agreement. We plan to produce more videos in 2024, so please ensure you visit and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

2024 – The year ahead for Escrow London

Manifest Vegas 2024

As a sponsor and exhibitor, we’re thrilled to be able to showcase our latest innovations, connect with industry leaders and engage in meaningful conversations with attendees at next year’s Manifest Vegas on  5-7^th February 2024. Manifest brings together the most comprehensive ecosystem of those innovating and transforming end-to-end supply chain and logistics. Platforms in this space are often mission critical and require the support of escrow provisions to ensure continuity of service.

Please keep an eye out on our LinkedIn page in the new year for discounted rates to the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

Cloud Industry Forum Webinar

On 16^th January, our CEO & Founder, Evan Lever will be participating in CIF’s 48^th episode of Digital Transformation in Action, titled “Driving Cloud Change in 2024: Trends to know.” Joined by other CIF members, Evan will give insight into software escrow and SaaS escrow trends and predictions for the cloud landscape in 2024. For further information on this, please keep an eye out on our LinkedIn page.

Upcoming Case Studies

We are excited to share that we have some compelling new customer project case studies in the pipeline. Stay tuned for future updates, as these studies will spotlight the critical role of software escrow and SaaS escrow in specific industries, showcasing firsthand experiences and highlighting the importance of safeguarding digital assets. These real-world examples will provide valuable insights into how businesses across various sectors can benefit from software escrow and SaaS escrow solutions. Watch this space for more revelations on how our solutions make a tangible impact in diverse business landscapes.

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About Escrow London

Escrow London is a global software and SaaS escrow company with offices in London, UK, Atlanta, USA and Sydney, Australia.

We have invested considerable resources into innovation to reinvent software escrow for a SaaS world. Escrow London provides a range of SaaS Continuity escrow solutions suitable for AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud hosted SaaS applications. We support a wide range of clients includes major law firms, banks, central banks, insurance companies, technology companies and government organisations.

To find out more about Escrow London and our Software Escrow and SaaS Escrow solutions, visit our YouTube channel.