Building IT Relationships
5 steps to assess offshore support risk (and 5 steps to address critical needs)
To ensure continuity of critical operations, all businesses should take these practical steps to engage, assess, and partner with offshore service providers.
A CIO's checklist for executing the COVID pivot
Simultaneously adjusting to new realities and developing forward-looking plans is near-impossible. This checklist will help you focus your efforts.
Effective IT cost optimization starts with internal alignment
Take the time to understand the priorities and objectives of business stakeholders and avoid the natural tendency to apply immediate pressure to vendor partners.
5 tips for executing a successful ERP go-live
Few experiences in the business world compare to managing an ERP go-live. Here's how to set yourself up for success.
5 tips for navigating supplier relationships in an economic downturn
Don't let cost-cutting derail your digital transformation; take these steps to strengthen supplier relationships.
The two things customers want from cloud vendors
Cloud vendors could go a long way toward building trust with their customers and differentiating themselves in the market with two key changes in their approach.
4 lessons from the Hertz vs. Accenture IT disaster
A tremendous amount of information and specific insight can be gleaned by analyzing projects gone wrong. Here are four lessons IT leaders can apply to any outsourcing agreement.
Building elasticity in outsourced managed services
Plan for the future by building both cost and service management elasticity into your outsourced managed service agreements up front.
High performing multi-vendor transformation teams – How to make it work
There can be a significant pay-off for clients who enable a multi-vendor model to support their transformational programs. However, companies need to be prepared to put forward the effort required to enable the capturing of program...
Precedents matter in cloud negotiations
You might know what a great deal looks like, but that’s only half the battle. Achieving that great deal requires persuasiveness.
Inside Microsoft and Google Cloud’s battle for the enterprise
The competitive landscape is heating up. As Google Cloud aggressively approaches enterprises to get a foot in the door, Microsoft is going to great lengths to keep them out.
Feeling handcuffed by your current IT vendor? Here’s how to increase your renegotiation leverage
With the average size of renegotiated contracts ranging from $20-40 million and renegotiation frequency increasing, customer negotiating teams can no longer hand the perceived switching cost advantage over to the vendors.
Digital transformation – don’t leave talent development crumbs on the table
When it comes to digital transformation, if you don’t recognize next generation talent development opportunities at the very beginning, the overall benefits derived from the program will be much less.
What cloud vendors really want from their customers
Knowing what matters most to your current cloud vendors, those you are considering and those you ultimately add to your portfolio of cloud products and solutions in the future, will help you assess what leverage you have when it comes...
Proven levers to reduce hardware and software maintenance
7 short-term actions you can take now to produce meaningful in-year reductions to your budget.
System integrator risk mitigation processes often have the opposite effect
Relying on your SI to tell you how to mitigate risks is a flawed strategy that often does not have a happy ending.
Fear of premature escalation (FPE): Diagnose and treat this silent ERP program killer
Recognizing the early warning signs and taking appropriate action can reduce the overall impact of this affliction, which can be deadly for an ERP project.
Don’t become a digital transformation horror story: Implement solid risk management
The only way to eliminate risk entirely is to do nothing at all, which of course brings its own risks to the business.
Sole sourcing negotiations: SI tactics and CIO countermeasures
How CIO’s can ensure they maintain control of their sole source negotiations.
How to amplify the value of your system integrator
A few ways to increase the value of your SI. If only these engagements came with a user manual…
