Control over what and who you're paying for IT
A typical company pays five or ten IT vendors - hosting, network management, software licenses, support. Each contract was negotiated by someone different, at a different time, and today nobody's sure whether the terms still make sense. I run an independent review and sit at the negotiating table on your behalf.
Where the problem comes from
The longer a company operates, the more IT vendors it accumulates around itself. Hosting, network infrastructure, software licenses, external support, security tools - each contract was signed by someone different, at a different stage of the company, from a different negotiating position.
The result is a tangle of contracts that auto-renew without anyone ever reviewing them again. You're paying terms negotiated years ago, back when the company was smaller, had less negotiating leverage, or the market looked completely different.
Where it shows up the most
The most common findings when reviewing vendor contracts:
- Above-market pricing. Terms negotiated a while ago that today's market no longer offers - and nobody's gone back to renegotiate.
- SLAs nobody checks. The contract guarantees a response time or uptime, but nobody's measuring whether it's actually met.
- Silent auto-renewal. The contract rolls over for another year before anyone notices it was about to expire.
- Unclear accountability. During an outage, it's unclear which vendor is responsible for what, and resolution drags on.
- Vendor lock-in. No real leverage to negotiate, because switching elsewhere would be too painful.
Vendors aren't the enemy - but in negotiations, they're a professional facing off against a company that only deals with this once every few years. I level that out by doing this role for you on an ongoing basis.
How I approach it
Contract inventory
I map out what vendor contracts you have, what they guarantee, when they expire, and what the termination terms are.
Market comparison
I compare your terms against what's standard in the market today - on price, SLAs, and contractual flexibility.
Negotiation strategy
I prepare the materials and approach for negotiating with each vendor, or take part directly as your representative.
Ongoing management
I set up a tracker for deadlines and responsibilities, so no contract silently auto-renews on unfavorable terms again.
What you get
- Better terms on pricing, SLAs, and contract flexibility, backed by market comparison.
- A single view of who you pay and for what - in one place, not scattered across emails and folders.
- Lower risk of a contract slipping through and auto-renewing on bad terms.
- An independent read on whether your current vendor is still the best choice.
When it makes sense
- Nobody at the company knows exactly how many IT vendors you have or what you pay each one for.
- A major contract is coming up for renewal and you want to negotiate from strength, not under a deadline.
- You suspect you're paying above what's typical in the market.
- You're dealing with recurring issues with a vendor and want an independent read on whether to continue or switch.
Frequently asked questions
Will you negotiate directly with our vendors?
Depends on what works for you - either I prepare the materials and strategy and you lead the negotiation, or I take part directly as your independent representative. It's decided case by case.
Aren't you worried this will damage our vendor relationships?
The goal isn't conflict, it's well-informed negotiation - backed by market comparisons and knowledge of what's standard for similar contracts. That leads to better terms, not a broken relationship.
We have dozens of contracts. Do they all need reviewing at once?
No, I usually start with the highest-value contracts, or the ones coming up for renewal soon that need to be renegotiated. The rest gets handled in stages.
What if we find out our current vendor isn't a good deal - do you help find a replacement?
Yes, if switching makes sense, I help run the selection process and manage the transition so it happens without a service gap.
Not sure exactly how much you pay each vendor?
Thirty minutes, no strings attached. I'll show you where it makes sense to start and what you could gain first.
Book a free consultation →