Price Benchmarking & Negotiation

EXECUTIVE BRIEF

Gain the upper hand with exclusive vendor negotiation intelligence.

Executive Brief

Price Benchmarking & Negotiation

Complex and inconsistent pricing across IT vendors, along with constant changes to licensing and delivery, make contract negotiations a painful process. Many organizations are ill equipped with tools, processes, and negotiation tactics to optimize their agreements, resulting in increased fees. Turn your next negotiation into an opportunity to optimize costs and reduce risks with Info-Tech’s Price Benchmarking & Negotiation Service. Info-Tech extracts intelligence from our robust knowledgebase of over 2,500 + IT vendor agreements, totaling more than $1 billion over the last three years.

This service will provide IT leadership with expert advice and tools to help you:

• Achieve an independent and objective assessment of pricing offered by IT vendors.
• Understand what is possible for IT vendors in the marketplace.
• Manage current and future costs.
• Reduce operating expenses.
• Improve your price negotiation skills.

Use price benchmarking and negotiation intelligence to secure a market-competitive price on IT enterprise vendor contracts that have a value above $1 million. This service is included in the membership for all Info-Tech’s Counselor Members and is available to Leadership and Advisory Members for a success-based fee.

Analyst Perspective

Price Benchmarking & Negotiation

“Vendor contract optimization derives the most value from your enterprise-level software, hardware, and IT service agreements and audits. It is the process of analyzing your IT investments to save money, maximize performance, and reduce risk. By analyzing your contracts, you will be able to identify significant cost savings and develop a customized approach that retains your desired scope at a market-competitive price through Info-Tech’s Price Benchmarking & Negotiation Service. If you’re paying for enterprise-level information technology, significant savings are hiding in plain sight. Take a second look at your enterprise technology investments with the experts at Info-Tech so that we can review your proposals to secure maximum value with minimal markup.”

Scott Mullan

Vice President, Vendor Contract & Cost Optimization

Info-Tech Research Group

This advisory service will apply to…

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

Achieving an objective assessment of vendor pricing in your IT contracts. Limited knowledge on:

• Current price benchmarking on the vendor
• Pricing and negotiation intelligence
• How to secure a market-competitive price
• Vendor pricing tiers, models, and negotiation tactics
• Vendor data points

Common Obstacles

Most organizations don’t have a full understanding of vendor pricing models, strategies, tactics, and motivations in contract negotiations. There could be:

• Limited pricing intelligence
• Lack of awareness of vendor tactics and motivations during contract negotiations
• Lack of executive relationships between both organizations

Info-Tech’s Approach

Info-Tech has a three-phase approach to extract maximum value from your vendor:

• Review proposal against current peer benchmarking data
• Renegotiate the proposal if significant savings are attainable
• Resolution of the proposal into a best-in-circumstance agreement

Info-Tech Insight

A detailed scope assessment factoring objective industry criteria and our relevant real-world experience allows us to identify inflated costs and help you start a constructive dialogue with vendors. We stay abreast of the industry’s ever-evolving complexities, helping you enter every negotiation with knowledge and confidence.

Your challenge

IT vendor contract pricing is complex and wildly inconsistent.

Organizations need to . . .

• Reduce Pricing Complexity

With Peer Benchmarking Data

• Realize Significant Savings

on High-Value Contracts

• Receive an Objective Assessment of Vendor Pricing

With Comparable Market Analysis

• Negotiate More Effectively

With Exclusive Negotiation Intelligence

• Secure a Market-Competitive Price

Through Extensive Data Points on Vendors

When it comes to enterprise-scale IT projects, securing a fair and favorable deal is often challenging. Disparate prices and low transparency make cost optimization difficult, even under the best circumstances. Info-Tech’s Price Benchmarking & Negotiation Service is designed to help organizations who need to derive the most value possible from your enterprise-level software, hardware, and IT service agreements and audits.

Common obstacles

Finding pricing intelligence can be challenging.

Many organizations lack the full understanding of how a vendor works or operates their business.

Whether it’s for a new contract or a renewal, it’s difficult to track a vendor’s goals, objectives, and tactics during a negotiation. Pricing tiers and models change, products are updated, and new features are introduced. There may not be an established executive relationship between both organizations. Motivations during the negotiation period may not be clear. Companies have limited pricing intelligence for similar deals in their market space. These all contribute to the challenge of getting the best deal. Fortunately, Info-Tech offers price benchmarking & negotiation advice on the IT vendors that make up 80% of your spend.

Our experts handle the major IT vendors

By reviewing over $1B in contracts annually with over 2,000+ agreements in their knowledgebase in the last three years, Info- Tech can help you achieve the best-in-circumstance deal.

Info-Tech’s methodology to optimize your IT enterprise contracts

We analyze your contracts, identify significant cost savings, and develop a customized approach that retains your desired scope at a market-competitive price point. Our simple, three-step process includes:

Step 1 Review

An objective examination of your vendors’ proposal terms in detail.

Book your call with your Executive Advisor and send in your pricing proposal with 48 hours’ notice in advance of the call.

During this phase, your analyst will:

• Review the client’s vendor proposal by line item against our 2,000+ agreement knowledgebase.
• Provide a detailed scope assessment, factoring objective industry criteria and relevant real-world experience.
• Set discount ranges based on similar size and complexity in your market space.
• Review vendor’s earning report.

Send in Your Pricing Proposal

Vendor Insights Call

Ongoing Negotiation Assistance

Optimize costs and reduce the risks associated with high-value, long-term IT commitments.

Step 2 Renegotiation

Creating more value in the process.

After the review of the initial proposal, our analysts will establish a negotiation strategy based upon vendor tactics.

Your analyst will:

• Provide ongoing negotiation support.
• Further establish counteroffer communications and strategy during the renegotiation phase.
• Review vendor responses, communications, and counteroffers.
• Provide advice and guidance on inquiries and communications to vendor.
• Draft responses to vendor.
• Increase leverage based upon vendor interactions, counteroffers, and discounting.

By working behind the scenes, we never communicate to the vendor directly and maintain the highest level of confidentiality during and after negotiations take place. We are available as a partner and resource at any time, leaving you in full control of your partnerships and outcomes.

Step 3 Resolution

Get the best-in-circumstance deal.

During this final phase, our client and vendor agree to commercial price and terms with final sign-off.

Activities include the following:

• Complete a final review of line items, discounting, and concessions in order to reduce operating expenses.
• Perform a business review of the Terms & Conditions to identify and avoid provisions that make it hard for you to hold the vendor accountable.
• Understand how and where your contracts allocate and manage risk between you and the vendor.
• Leverage your technology agreement to its fullest potential by managing current and future costs.

Confirm the savings and improved business terms to measure the value that Info-Tech delivers through our Measured Value Survey.

Insights

Optimize costs and reduce the risks associated with high-value, long-term IT commitments.

Insight 1: Savings are hiding in plain sight on your agreement. Do not blindly assume that the price is the final price and the vendor is not willing to negotiate.

Insight 2: Gain the upper hand with exclusive negotiation intelligence on more than 40+ vendors.

Insight 3: Expert negotiation support is available until the contract is signed. We work with you behind the scenes during the negotiation process.

Insight 4: Understanding your vendor’s pricing model and strategy will give you valuable insight during negotiations.

Insight 5: Secure a competitive price with peer benchmarking. With over $1B worth of contracts reviewed annually, be assured that we have the latest in pricing intelligence.

“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

– Warren Buffet

Let us save you money on your next IT vendor contract

Add to the tally of $100M+ we’ve saved clients already.

How it works, and what you get

An achievable target price for your negotiation, backed by real benchmarking data.

Analysis of vendor communications and recommended next steps.

A step-by-step negotiation strategy to maximize your negotiation intelligence.

Ongoing advisory assistance throughout the procurement process.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

This service is available on all contracts over $1M to the following members:

All Counselor Members*

*subject to annual contract value thresholds

All Leadership and Advisory Members*

*subject to a 15% success-based fee on realized savings

Use Info-Tech benchmarking data and our extensive contract negotiation experience to reduce risks and save significantly on the following vendors.

Advisory service process

Let us save you money on your next IT vendor contracts.

Send In Your Pricing Proposal: 48 Hours’ Notice in Advance of Call

Vendor Insights Call: Target Price Benchmarks, Negotiation Strategy

Ongoing Negotiation Assistance: Analysis of Vendor Interactions, Guidance on Responses to Vendors

Info-Tech Insight:

If you’re paying for enterprise-level IT, significant savings are hiding in plain sight.

Measure the value of this advisory service

Add to the tally of $100M+ we’ve saved clients already.

Guided Implementation (GI)

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help guide you through the negotiation process with the vendor. A typical GI is between 4 to 6 calls and emails over the course of 1 week to 3 months.