- Legal review before publication. The page names Iron Mountain, NCC Group, TDR Capital and Escode, sets out an ownership history and compares Codekeeper with Escode. Legal must review all of it.
- The meta title keeps "Codekeeper vs Iron Mountain" (the search term and production URL) and adds "where its escrow went", so the title is accurate: Iron Mountain doesn't run the service any more.
- The table compares Codekeeper with Escode, the current operator, using only facts from Escode's own website and the 2026 sale announcements. Iron Mountain gets no column because it doesn't run the service.
- The hero shows the history as a timeline (no references inside the image; the dated steps below carry them).
- Cut from production: "For nearly 25 years, Iron Mountain was one of the biggest names in software escrow" (no source), "no longer offers escrow in any form" (the page says only what the filing and the services page show), Iron Mountain's certifications and "99.999% uptime guarantee" (not relevant), Escode's "£1,600 per year" (not on Escode's pricing FAQ today), and the old Codekeeper line-up (from $139, $249 setup, Validated / Verified / Certified, add-ons such as Assured Recovery).
- Keep the Escode page consistent: sources 6 and 7 (NCC Group's announcement and TDR Capital's release) confirm the 29 May 2026 sale, so Codekeeper vs Escode can name the owner too. Facts file: import2/comparisons/iron-mountain.facts.md.
Iron Mountain's software escrow: where it went, and what to look for now.
Iron Mountain sold its technology escrow business in 2021, and it is now part of Escode. If your agreement started there, the question that matters is the same as ever: will your software come back, and can you prove it?
Details checked against Iron Mountain's and Escode's own websites, filings and press releases on 7 Oct 2026.
Trusted by 3,500+ teams, from regulated enterprises to fast-growing software vendors
The short answer
Iron Mountain sold its escrow business. Escode runs it today.
If you're choosing a software escrow provider now, compare what happens when you need the software back, and the evidence you hold before then.
When Iron Mountain may suit you
For your own records, tapes and backups: Iron Mountain lists records management, offsite tape vaulting, and Iron Cloud data backup, disaster recovery and cyber recovery.8 Its technology escrow business was sold in 2021.2
When Codekeeper suits you
You want proof the deposit builds before you need it, the option of a recovery we run for you, or a hosted service kept paid and switched on for an agreed period while we recover. Prices are published per application.
The question to ask any provider
“Show me that this deposit rebuilds without the vendor, and give me evidence I can file.” Ask it of every provider on your shortlist, us included.
What happened
Where the escrow business went.
Acquisitions are common in software escrow, and none of this says anything about the quality of the service. It does make it worth checking where your agreement stands today.
May 2021: the sale is agreed
Iron Mountain announces it will sell its Intellectual Property Management business to NCC Group, a publicly listed software escrow and cyber security company based in the UK.1
If your agreement started with Iron Mountain
Four things worth checking, whoever your provider is:
- Which company your agreement names as the escrow agent today, and any notices you've received
- When the deposit was last updated, and how
- What verification has been run, and what evidence you hold
- How a release is requested, and which law governs the agreement
- Codekeeper cells use MESSAGING §6 only, as on the other comparison pages.
- Flagged ⚑: "50+ integrations", "synced daily" and "in over 150 countries" are production claims still open in to-confirm.md. "3,500+ teams" is production's figure too (MESSAGING §6, used unflagged on the home page); confirm it with the others.
- Fact-check, 7 Oct: the Codekeeper column, and the Codekeeper cells in the hero summary, are now word for word the same on all nineteen comparison pages: Resilience recovery shown as best effort, Continuity as "paid and switched on for an agreed period", four rebuilds a year, a Tested Exit Report, and setup of $499 per arrangement ($999 for Continuity). Change them on every page or none.
- 16 Oct: Continuity Pro added on every comparison page; base Continuity no longer includes Agentic Verification, so the verification cells name Continuity Pro.
- Escode cells quote Escode's pages. "Where they operate" comes from TDR Capital's release (Manchester headquarters; operations in the US, the Netherlands and Australia). Escode's own pages give different customer and country counts (14,000+ in 135+ countries on the home page, 35 countries in its About page metadata, 9,000+ customers in TDR's release), so none are used.
- Keeping a hosted service switched on isn't described on the Escode pages we read, so it says "Not stated on their website".
- The button under the table goes to writer D's full Codekeeper vs Escode page.
- Legal review of every row before publication.
Side by side
Codekeeper and Escode, row by row.
Iron Mountain no longer runs the escrow business, so the comparison is with Escode, which runs it today. Escode details come from Escode's own website and the 2026 sale announcements, checked on 7 Oct 2026.
“Not stated on their website” means we couldn't find it on Escode's site on 7 Oct 2026. It doesn't mean Escode doesn't offer it: ask them. Rebuilds run on supported technology stacks. Escrow means the deposit is released to you and you run the recovery. Resilience costs more because we do the recovery. Continuity costs more again because we also keep the live environment switched on.
What to look for now
Proof beats promises.
Having the code is the start. Having it back is the goal. Every Codekeeper protection comes with evidence you can file, and the higher you go, the more it proves.
Software Resilience Certificate
The deposit is held, and an automated check confirms what's in it, with a vault report.
Proves: it's there.
Recoverability Certificate
AI agents rebuild the deposit in the Codekeeper AI Verification Lab, with no help from the vendor, in hours. You also get the run report, an SBOM and an Exit workbook.
Proves: it builds. Agentic Verification
Tested Exit Report
Our specialists rebuild by hand in a clean room and test the business functions you nominate, without the original developers.
Proves: you could exit and keep working. Exit Exercise
Agreement started with Iron Mountain?
Ask us how switching works. Bring your current agreement and its notice terms, and we'll plan the move with you and your counterparties.
Sample evidence pack
See what your auditor would receive.
An anonymised set of outputs from a real Agentic Verification run, so you can judge the evidence before you talk to us.
- Recoverability Certificate
- Run report
- SBOM and Exit workbook excerpts
Questions
Had an Iron Mountain escrow agreement?
Does Iron Mountain still offer software escrow?
Iron Mountain sold its technology escrow services business on 7 June 2021,2 and its services page lists no escrow service today.8 For records, tape vaulting, backup and cyber recovery, Iron Mountain lists a range of services.8
Who runs our former Iron Mountain escrow agreement now?
Escode says Iron Mountain's software escrow business is now part of Escode.5 Escode has been owned by funds managed by TDR Capital since 29 May 2026, and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with operations in the US, the Netherlands and Australia.6, 7 Check which company and which law your agreement names today, and any notices you've received, and ask Escode to confirm the details.
Can we move our agreement to Codekeeper?
Yes. Tell us about the agreement you have today, who's party to it and its notice terms. We'll plan the move with you and your counterparties. Ask us how switching works
How do the prices compare?
Escode provides customised quotations.12 Codekeeper's Escrow for software applications starts at $199 per application per month, with $499 setup per arrangement, and Escrow Pro, from $449, adds Agentic Verification. Compare what's included: how deposits stay current, and what proof you hold before you need it. See pricing
How does verification differ?
Escode offers build verification levels, from a rebuild in the software owner's environment to an independent rebuild in a clean environment it creates.11 Codekeeper's Agentic Verification is included in Escrow Pro, Resilience Pro and Continuity Pro: AI agents rebuild the deposit in the Codekeeper AI Verification Lab, with no help from the vendor, in hours, and four rebuilds a year are included. Each successful rebuild issues a Recoverability Certificate. For a human-run test of the business functions you rely on, add an Exit Exercise.
Sources
Where these details come from.
- Iron Mountain, press release: “Iron Mountain to Divest Intellectual Property Management Business”, Business Wire, May 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210512006114/en
- Iron Mountain, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2021, Note 4 (SEC EDGAR). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020569/000102056921000209/R13.htm
- NCC Group, “NCC Group completes acquisition of Iron Mountain's Intellectual Property Management (IPM) business”, 8 June 2021. https://www.nccgroup.com/newsroom/ncc-group-completes-acquisition-of-iron-mountain-s-intellectual-property-management-ipm-business/
- NCC Group, “NCC Group launches Escode”, 13 March 2024. https://www.nccgroup.com/newsroom/ncc-group-launches-escode/
- Escode, About Escode. https://www.escode.com/about-escode/
- NCC Group, “NCC Group completes sale of Escode”, 29 May 2026, which names the buyer as “investment funds managed by TDR Capital”. https://www.nccgroup.com/newsroom/ncc-group-completes-sale-of-escode/. The plc announcement of the same date: https://www.nccgroup.com/media/pwleuwjy/ncc_group_escode_completion_290526.pdf
- TDR Capital, “TDR Capital completes acquisition of Escode from NCC Group plc”, 29 May 2026. https://www.tdrcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/202060529-Escode-Completion-Press-Release.pdf
- Iron Mountain, Services. https://www.ironmountain.com/services
- Escode, home page. https://www.escode.com/
- Escode, Products. https://www.escode.com/products/
- Escode, Testing and verification. https://www.escode.com/software-escrow/testing-and-verification/
- Escode, FAQ: Pricing, agreements and billing. https://www.escode.com/frequently-asked-questions/pricing-agreements-billing/
- Escode, Software escrow. https://www.escode.com/software-escrow/
Checked on 7 Oct 2026.
Based on information publicly available on 7 Oct 2026. Trademarks belong to their owners. If something has changed, tell us and we'll correct it.
See where your agreement stands today.
Bring the agreement you have. We'll show you what each Codekeeper protection covers, side by side.