Building IT 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 benefits.
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 time to negotiate your initial deal or your upcoming renewal.
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…
5 dirty little secrets of your system integrator
Ever wonder why companies still go over budget? Here are a few of the ways consultants pass that risk onto their customers.
Exploring the ‘unknown unknowns’ in IT-enabled digital transformation estimates
Recognizing and acknowledging your own blind-spots can be tough to swallow, but wouldn’t you rather understand your blind-spots before you start your journey rather than when you reach the precipice of a failure?
When is it time to say goodbye to Accenture, Deloitte, IBM or KPMG?
You have probably invested a great deal of time and effort selecting your SI and more than likely written them a few sizable checks. So how do you end the relationship once it's clearly become one-sided?
How to negotiate the right deal with Microsoft
Tips for companies undergoing digital transformation looking to adopt or renew one of Microsoft’s key offerings.
SAP and Oracle audits – US constitutional principles do not apply
While businesses are not required to have separate committees to draft, enforce and adjudicate company policy, we expect some form of these principles to apply, even in the private sector.
IT outsourcing agreements: 3 details many negotiations forget
Whether you are establishing an outsourcing relationship for the first time, preparing for a sourcing event, or getting ready for a painful renewal discussion with your incumbent service provider, there is no circumstance where an outsourcing agreement should be executed without each one of these items first being addressed.
Don’t let your IT-enabled transformation program go ‘Into Thin Air’
While reading “Into Thin Air”, I started drawing some parallels between climbing Mount Everest and deploying a major ERP system. The software you buy is the path that you choose to climb the mountain, and the System Integrator (SI) is your commercial guide. You put your trust in the SI to prepare you for the journey and make a significant investment of both your time and resources to complete the trip, just like those that trusted their lives to the mountain guides in 1996.
6 ways to train your internal team to maximize the value of consultants
Companies today typically staff major programs with internal talent who spend a majority of their time engaged in the day-to-day operations of the company. Their participation in projects is typically infrequent and usually part-time. Contrast this with the consulting business model.
7 negotiation tactics that are futile in cloud renewals
The most common negotiation tactics often don’t work if used during cloud renewals.
Common (and avoidable) divestiture headaches
Nearly 9 out of 10 companies plan to divest assets in the next two years, but effectively executing a divestiture from an IT perspective can be a complex and challenging process. These are a few of the common software headaches companies run into when divesting parts of their business and why properly addressing these issues in your software or cloud agreement well before a divestiture is of utmost importance.
5 mistakes to avoid when developing a SOW with Accenture, Deloitte, and IBM
Here are five of more than 30 risk points to address in the construction of an MSOW. You should consider all program risk points prior to signing off, rather than waiting until after the signing of the MSOW to conduct the first risk assessment.
Is your SAP SI partner evaluation missing the mark?
The selection of the partner who will usher in your digital transformation is just as important as the software you choose. Common errors in selecting your consultant can mean long delays, business mismatches, higher costs or worse.
The high cost of anxiety in negotiations
Follow steps to reduce anxiety and improve confidence at the negotiating table, corporate IT leaders can make the biggest impact.
Implementing SAP S4/HANA digital core – Don’t be a prisoner to unnecessary costs
Program managers must regularly check the health of four different kinds of relationships to increase their chances of developing a successful program. Otherwise, they'll face their own version of the 'Prisoner's Dilemma.'
SaaS cloud subscriptions: When “on-demand” really isn’t
When considering a software vendor’s cloud offering, it's critical to think as much about how they structure the subscription agreement.
SaaS matters: key caveats for SaaS contracting
Enterprises must ensure their cloud subscription agreements and relationships with SaaS vendors are structured in a way that allow them to leverage the considerable advantages of this 21st-century cloud delivery model.
8 questions to evaluate the resiliency of a digital transformation program
How to help your program team bounce back from challenges they'll encounter along the way.
Oracle fiscal year-end checklist
Oracle appreciates companies that are well prepared, organized and have a clear vision.
Vow to master your RFPs in 2018
9 techniques to improve your RFP preparation and RFP execution processes.
6 New Year’s resolutions to enhance the ‘strategic’ in strategic procurement
A half-dozen sure-fire ways to improve the value you provide to your organization.
Holiday greetings: some assembly required
The business equivalent of that phrase is even worse to hear during an ERP implementation…
H-1B visa changes – IT service providers hedging their bets
Will their customers feel the impact?
The role of the CIO: a playbook for managing an SAP relationship
Is there a single trait that can influence an executive’s ability to successfully navigate and optimize the negotiations and on-going relationships that support strategic initiatives?
The top 10 internal issues impacting vendor relations
These considerations can serve as a starting point to enable you to improve future negotiations and partner relationships.Can a program status report be too sexy?
The creation and interpretation of program status reports is an excellent way to enforce rigor, and identify where lapses in rigor may contribute to program execution or business performance risk.
3 small mistakes IT vendors make during a sourcing event that are detrimental to their success
If IT vendors can help alleviate the frustrations voiced by buy-side companies, they may find themselves more successful during a sourcing event.
Is strategic planning the key to IT cost optimization?
How a Fortune 500 company saved millions using this win-win negotiation tactic.
Costs count but talent wins
3 vendor talent management strategies that improve outcomes and lower costs.
3 keys to negotiating successful cloud agreements
It is almost impossible to avoid the cloud in any sized organization, but negotiating with your software provider means several key considerations need to be addressed to ensure you execute a best-in-class cloud agreement.
Defeating the SAP project optimism Death Star
Studies have shown roughly 65% of large IT-enabled projects go over budget, and there is evidence to support that 25% of these projects will end up going 50% over plan. What went wrong?
Does your ERP provider run your business?
Your ERP provider can inadvertently run your business, instead of your business processes shaping your ERP system.
Top 10 excuses to not implement best practices and 5 things to do about it
Leading best practices for implementation have been identified and improved upon. However, the fundamental essential elements have basically remained constant over the past 30 years regardless of the technology or the industry. Yet countless examples still exist where companies fail in dramatic fashion upon deployment.rn
Software audits continue to rise
With software audits on the rise, especially from major ERP suppliers, this article summarizes steps to take to mitigate your risks.
Stay out of security breach headlines: 3 things that must be addressed in your cloud agreement
If done correctly and with the proper level of insight, there are ways to mitigate the risks associated with such breaches.Building the confidence to go-live
Anyone who has been responsible for a major ERP go-live can attest to the following scenario: when it's time to go-live, there will be a tsunami of pressure that starts to build from the business against going live. This article explains several scenarios and offers the seven things you can do to reduce the anxiety associated with making the go-live call.-
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Insight + AWS
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Insight + AWS
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