Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
Asset preservation is a critical component of your Business Continuity Plan.
By placing your company's intellectual property, succession plans, source code, data or other proprietary materials with Guard-IT, you can be sure that you (or your customers or other beneficiaries, if appropriate) can have ready access to these critical assets in the event of a business interruption or cessation. Today's businesses rely more than ever on information technology (IT) and intellectual property (IP), and Guard-IT is a valuable resource in any company's Business Continuity Planning toolkit.
Your "Trustee in Waiting"
Our escrow service agreement acts two-fold. It's like a "pre-nup" and a will, simultaneously. Like a pre-nup, all of the contingencies are defined and agreed to before a crisis occurs. If or when that happens, the Guard-IT agreement acts like a will, directing us like a Trustee to distribute the materials accordingly. With Guard-IT, you can manage your enterprise with a whole new level of peace and security.
Actual Cases:
#1 - Software Development
CEO of client company called Guard-IT in a panic, asking whether his Guard-IT agreement was still active, and what materials were on deposit. Guard-IT confirmed the account and deposits, to which the Client responded “ALL of our systems and backups have completely failed and we have nothing. I’m about to fire my entire staff, because we are going out of business without a copy of our own source code!”
Results: With a simple e-mail request for documentation purposes, Guard-IT immediately sent an overnight package to the Client, containing the only remaining copy of the Client’s source code.
Est. value: Entire enterprise, value unknown
#2 - Energy Services
Client initiated Guard-IT agreement with design firm to protect its investment in the design firm’s materials. A couple of years after the agreement was established, the parties ended up in litigation, resulting in a court judgment in favor of the Client.
Results: The court order named the Client as the new owner of the materials, thus authorizing the Client to take possession of them. Client avoided re-engineering various products, saving his company millions of dollars.
Est. value: > $3,000,000
#3 - Aircraft Services
Client’s software development team was comprised of only a couple of individuals who were not U.S. citizens. Client contacted Guard-IT, suspecting that a release condition had occurred since he had lost all contact with the developers and could not reach them by phone, e-mail or courier/postal delivery for several weeks. Exceeding the protocol in the services agreement, Guard-IT made repeated attempts to reach the developers over an additional month’s time with no response. The creators of the Client’s software had virtually disappeared, and left no contact information for the Client.
Results: After every means to locate the developers was exhausted, it was determined that the individuals were no longer in the U.S. and Guard-IT released the materials to the Client. Est. value: $15,000
These are just a few real cases where we have assisted our clients in maintaining their business continuity. E-mail us to learn how Guard-IT can help with your Business Continuity Plan.