Press Releases
Iron Mountain protects both SaaS applications and data with new Escrow Service
Small and medium software as a service providers can use SaaSProtect to build customer trust
April 23, 2007 - Iron Mountain Digital, the technology unit of Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) and founder of the technology escrow industry, has announced the general availability of SaaSProtect Escrow Service™ to safeguard Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, the data that runs those applications, and the associated customer data.
SaaSProtect Escrow Service protects the subscribers of SaaS applications in the event of problems with the SaaS provider, significant outages, or other service interruptions. It also gives SaaS providers a way to build trust with their customers. Iron Mountain is the first company to combine automated data backup and rapid recovery with technology escrow for a complete SaaS protection solution.
Iron Mountain’s SaaSProtect Escrow Service is designed to help mitigate risks associated with entering into a relationship with small-to-medium sized SaaS providers. According to Gartner, the market for SaaS applications will grow from $6.3 billion in 2006 to $19.3 billion by 2011, with most of those dollars going to new entrants, rather than established software vendors.
In the SaaS delivery model, software applications run by an outside provider are accessed over the Internet, cutting IT infrastructure and management costs and facilitating quicker deployment. SaaS deployments also introduce new risks. According to Forrester Research, “application implementation, technology, and operational risks may be mitigated through the use of a SaaS solution. However, vendor, application, and business continuity risks may be increased.” SaaS subscribers can use Iron Mountain’s SaaSProtect Escrow Service as part of a “best practice” business continuity strategy.
In the SaaS environment, SaaS subscribers don’t have actual software that they run in production, so issues like vendor bankruptcy are one concern, but there is also a real threat from extended service outages. With SaaSProtect Escrow Service, applications are protected with both source code and object code deposits. This provides all the components necessary to recreate the live production environment for the application – either on the customer’s premise or at a fail-over site – and to restore service to end-users.
In addition, customer data, which typically resides with the SaaS provider, is protected through Iron Mountain’s LiveVault® online data backup and recovery solution within the SaaS application. Backups are performed automatically and continuously over the Internet, and data is moved off-site to a remote and secure Iron Mountain data center, without manual IT intervention. Iron Mountain’s SaaSProtect Escrow Service is the first complete escrow protection strategy that incorporates the application source code and maintenance materials, object code, and live customer data backup.
Executive director of The Common Application, Inc., Rob Killion, is implementing Iron Mountain’s SaaSProtect Escrow Service for the next version of the Common Application Online®, a non-profit site that lets students apply to nearly 300 colleges and universities using one common application over the web. Killion states, “The primary benefit is the security that we get. We know that if catastrophe strikes – either catastrophe in terms of a business relationship going bad or a natural or personal catastrophe – there is a ‘plan B’ that we can avail ourselves of quickly and securely with Iron Mountain, and that’s something we haven’t had before.”
About Iron Mountain Digital
Iron Mountain Digital is the world's leading provider of data backup/recovery and archiving software and services. The technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated offers a comprehensive suite of data protection and e-records management software and services to thousands of companies around the world, directly and through a world-wide network of channel partners. Iron Mountain Digital is based in Southborough, Mass. with European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information, visit www.ironmountaindigital.co.uk
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) helps organisations around the world reduce the costs and risks associated with information protection and storage. The company offers comprehensive records management and data protection solutions, along with the expertise and experience to address complex information challenges such as rising storage costs, litigation, regulatory compliance and disaster recovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain is a trusted partner to more than 90,000 corporate clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ironmountain.com.
