Software Escrow Predictions for 2023 (Guest blog by Escrow London)

An increase in business insolvencies results in companies seeking software escrow solutions

IT related business insolvencies have swamped the news headlines this year., notably the cloud and datacentre service provider Sungard Availability Services which filed for bankruptcy both in the US and for its Canadian subsidiary, just weeks after its UK division was forced into administration.

As a global software escrow vendor, we are experiencing both an increase in companies triggering their software escrow agreements due to a software/cloud provider insolvency and companies wanting to invest in new software escrow agreements to protect themselves from the potential risks of their service provider going bust.

As economic uncertainty and financial pressures on businesses continue, we expect the number of insolvencies in software and cloud providers to continue to increase in 2023, putting more emphasis on the importance of businesses making sure they have robust business continuity plans in place to protect themselves against data loss.

Increased SaaS and Cloud Uptake calls for more SaaS Continuity Escrow Solutions

Demand for SaaS (Software as a Service) applications are still increasing at a rapid rate, brought on by increased remote working after the covid pandemic and the continued demands for modern working. This increase is also due to more SaaS providers offering UBB (Usage-based Billing), allowing companies to steer away from fixed-price subscription plans to only being charged for what they use. In these uncertain economic times, this really adds value to a business that is trying to cut costs and extend their spending budgets as much as possible, so you can see why this method of modern working will carry on being a popular strategy for businesses in 2023.

Cloud adoption for businesses today will also not slow down. As legacy hardware comes to end of life, companies are shifting the responsibility of managing the day-to-day running of hardware to the main public cloud infrastructure providers – such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.

With more companies turning to SaaS and Cloud providers for their IT operations, more are putting their data in the hands of these third-party providers. They are therefore having to find suitable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy solutions to mitigate against the risks associated with these modern service delivery methods and the growing responsibility of the SaaS/Cloud providers. As a result, there will be a continued need for SaaS Continuity Escrow solutions in 2023. As demand for these types of SaaS Continuity Escrow solutions continue to rise, requests from businesses wanting upfront information on pricing for these solutions has become more apparent.  Software escrow vendors will need to further educate and create awareness of SaaS escrow solutions as well provide transparent pricing on their websites to meet the needs of these businesses now and in the future.

Software Bill of Materials – SBOM– Identify and avoid security risks

Malware and ransomware attacks have by no means disappeared this year with such intrusions occurring every few minutes around the world. Earlier this year, we reported on a serious vulnerability hitting the headlines named Log4Shell, putting organisations around the world at a huge risk.

These were concerning times for many global companies who at the time were not aware the products they were using contained such vulnerabilities. However, a growing number of companies are now seeking help with Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), enabling them to understand exactly what components are part of the software they use, helping them keep a close eye on any dependencies. The importance of SBOM has already been expressed in America with the US government now mandating SBOM’s for government agencies stating that all organisations seeking to conduct business with either the Department of Defence (DoD) or the Department of Energy (DoE) are now required to provide a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for every new and existing software contract.

With an increase in these types of attacks, businesses will have to ensure they continue to safeguard themselves from what could be a catastrophic consequence for their IT environment if not protected and SBOM can help mitigate against these attacks.

2023 and beyond will see software escrow vendors offering SBOM as part of their software audit services, providing businesses with an added layer of transparency needed, keeping their networks secure and aiding peace of mind.