“Cheap” escrow agent: Who wants blisters?
Posted by Christine DeFazio on Tue, Oct 05, 2010
It’s no secret the economy is still doing poorly and we are all looking for a bargain wherever we can. Personally, I comparison shop for everything and I’d be crazy not to. As a self proclaimed “shopping guru” I know that cheap doesn’t always mean better. Often times what you save in price, you sacrifice in quality. I get so excited about cheap tickets to a Braves game, but when I’m in the nosebleeds, I feel so disconnected from the action. And who doesn’t love finding trendy shoes at a great price? Why do we purchase with hesitancy? Because we know by the end of the day our feet will hurt badly and we’re most likely going to have at least one blister.
Don’t let your software escrow provider give you a blister! Cost of a service is a touchy subject. You want to get your money’s worth by receiving the best customer service and highest quality overall software escrow experience but choosing a software escrow agent is challenging. It’s like shopping for that perfect television; you know there is the high-end, mammoth 62inch LED/LCD, the 42 inch LCD and the little guy, the 20 inch no frills television. What to choose and how? We want two things: high quality and low cost, so which TV meets your needs?
Software escrow is the same in that you need to shop around to find the vendor that meets your needs. Prior to shopping you need to do your research, set a budget, set expectations and goals, and ask around for referrals. When shopping for software escrow, focus most importantly on quality. Whether you’re the Developer or End-User, you will have a long-term relationship with this vendor and you want to feel comfortable knowing they will always support your needs and consistently monitor your intellectual property and its safety as well as your business continuity.
Just a few questions to add to your shopping list:
- How is the customer service/account specialist department?
- What is the turnaround for answering questions regarding agreement customizations, billing, account updates?
- How flexible are their agreements?
- Are their “hidden” fees to make changes/updates to your agreement?
- How pleased are their current clients?
- Where do they store your proprietary information? Does it meet your expectations?
The above questions really drill down to the quality of the services, the support team, storage facilities and lastly fees. Growing up I can recall my grandmother always saying, “you get what you pay for,” and that was some of the best advice I’ve been given. Most expensive doesn’t necessarily mean most efficient, just as cheap doesn’t always mean practical. Though realistically, we as a shopper, spender, and future customer always need to be cost conscious, what really counts is quality of service.