The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law as a result of a series of corporate financial scandals; and many regulatory bodies recommend - and in some cases require - that companies develop specific plans for how they would continue business if they experienced an event that had significant, negative financial consequences. As part of this Act, organizations must establish a plan of action in the event a software vendor fails and discontinues the support and maintenance of its systems. By subscribing to FIS' new source code escrow service, institutions are assured that the source code for the software they license would be available in the event FIS was unable to conduct its normal and ordinary course of business.

"At FIS, it is our pledge to support and maintain the technology we provide," said Lenny Smith, director of division operations for the company's Integrated Financial Solutions division. "As regulators direct financial institutions to conduct vendor risk due diligence analysis and make preparations for potential vendor failures and subsequent discontinuation of software support, we want to ensure this is an easy process for our clients. The new escrow service provides one-stop shopping for source escrow for licensed customers in one account for the bulk of the Integrated Financial Solutions division's critical applications."

To offer the service, FIS has entered into an agreement with Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) , which will serve as a neutral, third-party provider of intellectual property management services. Iron Mountain, the largest and most trusted provider of technology escrow services, maintains current source code for a broad array of FIS' software products, including The HORIZON Banking System, BancPac, BancLine, and more than a dozen other core, ancillary and electronic funds transfer products. The code is stored in steel and concrete vaults, protected by state-of-the-art fire extinguishing and security systems, and kept at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. Each time FIS releases new versions of its software, the source code is also provided to Iron Mountain so the source code repository is maintained and updated. At any time, subscribers may visit Iron Mountain's Escrow Management Center website to view the latest versions in storage. In the unlikely event FIS is no longer able to conduct its normal and ordinary course of business, subscribers would contact Iron Mountain and request that the source be released to them.

"FIS provides a host of services designed to help our clients manage their businesses," said Smith. "One way we can do that is to help them navigate the ever-increasing challenges of regulatory compliance. The introduction of our new source code escrow service will help simplify their ability to meet vendor management oversight responsibilities."