AppId is over the quota
The web has created a world of business partnerships that are unique in the history of business. This is particularly true in a situation where sites are incredibly reliant on the third party programs they use, a reliance that can become an anchor if the third party has problems.
Let's consider a very common situation on the web. I have a product I sell in the brick n' mortar world. I obviously want to take it online, but don't really have a clue on how to do so. I shop around and find a company that will build a custom site for me with a custom database, shopping cart and tie in to my inventory. It is the perfect one-stop platform for what I want to do.
I sign up with the company. A few months later, I have my site up and everything is running perfectly. The online effort is a hit and the next two years go great. I am gearing up for the online Christmas shopping season one November when suddenly I get a notice that the platform company has lost a lawsuit for $2 million and is going bankrupt.
Oh, no.
Besides the inconvenience, there is a rather obvious problem. I need to move my site, but how can I do it? The platform company did all the programming and has all the code. I don't. Even worse, the fact they are in bankruptcy now means I am going to have to petition the court for the code, which I might or might not get since the creditor will also be trying to get it. Even if I do get it, the process is going to take months if not years and I have the Christmas shopping period just around the corner! What a disaster.
The way to deal with these situations is to enter into source code agreements at the outset of the relationship. These agreements are highly negotiable, but the basic idea is the programmer puts the code into an escrow account. If something happens that prevents them from continuing to perform, I can pull the code out of escrow to keep my sites running.
If you've had programming done on your site, you must demand this be done. If not, you are inviting a disaster when something inevitably happens down the line and you don't have access to the code.
Richard A. Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - providing source code agreements for clients.
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