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 Mr. Ford founded Guard-IT Corporation shortly after an attorney friend called with a desperate need for a source code escrow agent. Recognizing the need and value, and foreseeing rapid growth for the niche service, Ford launched Guard-IT as a mere website in March 1999. The web quickly became Guard-IT's own sales force, spawning inquiries from around the world. Today most of Guard-IT's business comes from web inquiries, repeat business from existing clients and client referrals. Ford's vision and mission remains to help parties develop and maintain customized escrow agreements quickly and easily without rigid terms or expensive fees. Ford developed a first-ever Online Client Services area for software escrow, which allows clients to setup agreements, submit secure escrow deposits, enroll beneficiaries and make online payments 24/7. Prior to Guard-IT, Ford spent more than 15 years developing legal information systems in the news industry. While at the Austin American-Statesman in the 1990s, he transformed the Austin Daily Record newspaper into one of the earliest online databases, and later developed the first-ever online access to the Statesman's news archives. Ford graduated magna cum laude with a journalism degree from Southwest Texas State University and is the former program director and president of Austin's Technology Advisors Group. TEL: (512) 282-1995, E: jford@guard-it.com |