Turning Deal Breakers to Deal Makers: Global Software Escrow Alliance Established

By enabling
licensees of mission critical programs to access the software developers source code under controlled circumstances, an international network of software escrow companies called Synchros helps developers turn a deal breaker into a deal maker. Few organizations will license important software without ironclad assurance that the software bugs will be fixed on a timely basis. Should the developer fail to do this, many companies want to correct the problem themselves by working on the developers source code. But software companies consider source code their crown jewels and jealously guard it. Users never see it, getting instead programs in object code form, a language the computer and no one else can read. Without access to the source," you cannot fix the bug.Enter Synchros, an association of five companies with operations in 11 countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand that provides escrow services to software developers. Escrow works like this: developers deposit source code into a trustaccount controlled by their local Synchros member. The code is released to a licensee if the developer fails to fix the problem and does not object to the release.What makes the Synchros Network novel is its global coverage and standard contract that can be used worldwide. The source code itself does not leave the software developers home country, a decided plus for a group of independent entrepreneurs that fiercely protect their main asset. Synchros members contractually pledge to make the code available to one-another in the event that a release condition is triggered.Said Tom Morehouse, President of SourceFile, a leading U.S. and Canadian escrow agent that founded the network, Weve tapped into a real need. Our customers are software developers who have licensees that want a local escrow agreement through a local escrow company. We solve the problem by keeping the source code here in the U.S. under one global escrow contract, while the other Synchros members take care of a developers licensees on a
local basis. The phones are ringing."Synchros is a network of 5 leading escrow companies with operations in 11 countries. They are SourceFile (U.S. and Canada -- www.sourcefile.com), Escrow Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland -- http://www.escroweurope.com/), Escrow Pacific (Australia -- http://www.escroweurope.com/), The NCC Group (U.K., Germany, Ireland -- http://www.nccglobal.com/) and Computing NZ Ltd. (New Zealand http://www.nzcs.org.nz/escrow.htm). For more information about Synchros, visit www.synchros.org.Currently serving over 2,000 clients in 25 countries, SourceFile is a leading source code escrow agent in the U.S. and Canada. SourceFile's product line includes software escrow solutions, copyright and patent protection services for software developers and electronic discovery services to assist legal investigators discover electronic evidence. Visit us at www.sourcefile.com.Contact information: Tucker Cox, Chief Operating Officer, SourceFile, 404.816.8111, email:
tucker@sourcefile.com.