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Public Sector Software Escrow Agreements

G-Cloud is a government initiative designed to make it easier for government departments and public sector organisations to access cloud technology and services.

Proud to support over 150 public sector organisations across the UK

G-Cloud is a government initiative designed to make it easier for government departments and public sector organisations to access cloud technology and services. Through G-Cloud, public sector organisations have access to a digital marketplace of cloud vendors that have been assessed and approved to provide their services to the government and the public sector.

SES is a highly accredited Crown Commercial Supplier in the Digital Marketplace and is already delivering services to a range of Government and Public Sector clients under the framework to support and drive better value for the Public Sector.

As the UK's Trusted Advisor and Leading Authority on SaaS Escrow Services. We provide solutions to protect the continuity of Cloud Applications in Amazon web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure and maintain copies of Cloud Application Source Code, Data and Virtual Images and Provide re-deployment capabilities of Cloud Application and Data.

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We’re G-Cloud 12 approved

Our Cloud Escrow solutions are Government approved through the G-Cloud 12 framework, enabling public sector organisations to purchase our Software Escrow and SaaS Escrow solutions with speed, ease and confidence. 

With more than 15 years of experience providing industry-leading Software Escrow solutions to public sector organisations, SES is perfectly positioned to understand your challenges and build solutions that meet your specific requirements.

Contact us today for further information or a free quotation.

Software Escrow tailored to your business

At SES we have broken our core Software Escrow services into four distinct service levels to make it easier for our customers to choose the right protection for their business. All of our Escrow Agreements can be used to protect both on-premise and hosted software applications, are secured to ISO: 27001 standards and include the highest liability indemnity insurance available (£5 million).

Already have an Escrow Agreement in place with another supplier? Our Free Transfer Offer enables you to transfer your existing Escrow portfolio to SES at no additional cost. There are no setup fees and SES will manage the entire process on your behalf.

Level 1 - Basic


Includes contract fees and two deposits of code annually with Basic Deposit Reporting on each deposit.
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Software Escrow Agreement iA contractual agreement between an End User, a Software Developer and SES to ensure the continuity of a licensed software application.
Basic Deposit Reporting iA standard validation test applied to all Software Escrow deposits to ensure the code held in Escrow is accessible and virus free.

Level 2 - Code Validation


An annual, consultant-led validation process to ensure the application can be rebuilt from the source material held in Escrow.
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Software Escrow Agreement iA contractual agreement between an End User, a Software Developer and SES to ensure the continuity of a licensed software application.
Basic Deposit Reporting iA standard validation test applied to all Software Escrow deposits to ensure the code held in Escrow is accessible and virus free.
Code Validation Testing iInvolves an SES testing consultant witnessing a full rebuild of the application in the developer’s environment and documenting the entire process. The independent report and audio-visual recording enables an ASP to accurately redeploy the application in the event of a release.
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Level 3 - Code & Deployment Validation

Bespoke validation processes are undertaken based on the requirements of the software user.
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Software Escrow Agreement iA contractual agreement between an End User, a Software Developer and SES to ensure the continuity of a licensed software application.
Basic Deposit Reporting iA standard validation test applied to all Software Escrow deposits to ensure the code held in Escrow is accessible and virus free.
Code Validation Testing iInvolves an SES testing consultant witnessing a full rebuild of the application in the developer’s environment and documenting the entire process. The independent report and audio-visual recording enables an ASP to accurately redeploy the application in the event of a release.
Simulated Release Event iThe simulated release event demonstrates the build documentation captured as part of the Code Validation Testing is sufficient for an ASP to accurately redeploy the application upon release.

Level 4 - Continuity 365


Complete and rapid accessibility to hosted applications in the event that the supplier is no longer available.
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Software Escrow Agreement iA contractual agreement between an End User, a Software Developer and SES to ensure the continuity of a licensed software application.
Code Validation Testing iInvolves an SES testing consultant witnessing a full rebuild of the application in the developer’s environment and documenting the entire process. The independent report and audio-visual recording enables an ASP to accurately redeploy the application in the event of a release.
Interim Release Provision iFor standard Escrow, the release process varies typically between 14 to 30 days (across the Escrow industry), and additionally the recovery time can be a matter of days or weeks. While waiting for this process to complete there is a real danger to the software user of increased operational downtime. SES's LCP provides a real-time Interim Release that bridges the gap between initiating the release process and its completion.
Backup & restore for apps, data & VMs iBy ensuring critical assets are backed up regularly using advanced scheduling and targeting, you can guarantee that you and your customer’s information is protected effectively.
Live Licensee Continuity Planning iWe will help you plan your disaster recovery response and work to implement a bespoke strategy which will be continually assessed and improved after each recovery exercise.

Our expertise. Your questions answered

Why do I need a Software Escrow Agreement?

For End Users of business-critical applications, a Software Escrow Agreement protects you against the developer of your business-critical applications no longer being able to support their applications.

For Software Developers, an Escrow Agreement helps build credibility and trust that you have your clients interests at heart. 
 

How does a Software Escrow Agreement work?

In its simplest form, an Escrow Agreement is a tri-party agreement between an End User, a Software Developer and a third party Software Escrow Agent. The Developer licenses the application to the End User as usual but also deposits a copy of the source code for the application and any other material required to accurately redeploy the application into Escrow which can then be released to the End User if a release event contained within the Escrow Agreement is triggered. 

How much does a Software Escrow Agreement cost?

The answer to this is entirely dependent on the level of protection you need. SES offers a range of Software Escrow Agreements depending on how many clients will be added to the agreement (for Software Developers), how many business-critical applications the agreement will be used to cover (for End Users) and whether the application/s in question is installed on-premise or delivered through a SaaS model. 

Contact us

If you would like further information, discuss your requirements, get a free no obligation quotation or just a friendly chat on how we could possibly help please fill in the details below and one of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
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