Source code escrow is a great service, and one that ALL developers who do client contract work should look into. I've been creating bespoke software for business clients for nearly 30 years now as a one man business, and I have a clause in all my development contracts that stipulates should I pass on or my business ceases to exist, that full source code is released to my clients so they can engage another programmer to maintain those projects.<p>However, I do think the current pricing is quite high when given the expected timeframes that this sort of service can have. For example, I have one client where I have had their software in escrow with a local lawyer now for over 20 years! I believe my lawyer only charged me < $500 for the drafting of the contract way back then, and I've never seen a bill from him in 2 decades now for the CD of code that he has in his safe somewhere.<p>Mind you, that CD would be totally out of date now, with the incremental changes that I have made to the system over the years, and I have no real guarantee that the CD <i>is</i> in fact still in a safe somewhere as I have not spoken to my lawyer about this in some years.<p>That's why I think that this Codekeeper service is a good thing, as it always ensures your latest code is available. But the drawback are:<p>1. Is this service still going to be around in 10+ years?
2. The cost per month is still quite high. Given my project I mentioned above, it would have cost me $11760 to date to have my source code in escrow. If I am going to be around for another 10 years, then that is going to cost me another ~$6000.<p>I could conceivably pass those costs on to my customers, but then that is another thing I have to track and ensure they are billed etc.