With so many pawnbrokers making the decision to change software vendors in 2016 as a result of several unfortunate circumstances, we feel it is important to provide these types of resources. When you’re entering into a SaaS agreement for the first time, you may have some questions or concerns. That’s normal. According to CIO Review, “The best means of protecting yourself is to carefully read and understand the terms of the contracts with your data vendors. Often these provisions can be negotiated–for example, you can require that your data to be anonymized when it’s used by the vendor.”

Here are some things you’ll want to know before entering a contract: 

• Is your data going to be shared with a third-party?
• Who owns your data? Ask them flat out who owns the data and get it in writing. 
• Can you export your data?
  • If you export your data, in what formats are available?
• Ensure you have access to all of your data and define what “all” your data means.
  • You should have access to everything you’ve had a hand in entering.

Have them walk you through the process of how you will be onboarded and how your existing data will be imported into your new software system for you to use. 

You’ll also want to protect yourself by requesting the following: 

• An uptime guarantee of at least 99.9% for every month
• Compensation for failing to meet uptime guarantees

If you’re unable to export your data yourself, make sure you request it from your vendor before your contract runs out, otherwise it can be a lot harder to get access to. 

Any reputable vendor should never:

1. Tell you another vendor is responsible for extracting your data from them (this could indicate some major security breaches and loopholes) 
2. Ask you to pay an additional fee for your data

What to do if your data is being held hostage:

1. Consult an attorney 
2. Use the power of social media

You know you are doing something right as a company when all of your main competitors are offering up to 95% discounts to either try to compete head-to-head with you or take away your customers. When we see this happen with PawnMaster, it validates our competitors’ products don’t stand up against the value we deliver. I have never been prouder of what Data Age/PawnMaster has accomplished in creating so much value for its community.  We are only scratching the surface. We have so much more in the works – stay tuned! 2017 will be a year of great movement.