What to Look for in Next-Generation ITO Deals

Dave Brown, Principal, Advisory Services When you established your IT outsourcing agreement, you probably did the deal and put it in a drawer, so it may have been a few years since you’ve thought about IT contracts. But now that your contract is coming up for renewal, how can you make the most of the [...]

Developing an End Strategy for Your Outsourcing Contract

Nico Boot, Executive Director Europe and Asia Pacific Most organisations make the mistake of drawing up new contracts based on negative experiences in the past. A better way to determine the appropriate option when a contract comes to an end is to carry out the final annual review of the sourcing strategy, look ahead at [...]

Preparing for the Worst: Contracting with the Most Difficult Service Providers

Stan Lepeak, Managing Director, Global Research EquaTerra recently released the results of the 2010 global Legal Pulse survey. In it EquaTerra polled more than 40 of the top third-party North American and European law firms that support and advise buyers on outsourcing efforts. The Legal Pulse is similar to EquaTerra’s long-standing global service provider/advisor Pulse [...]

EquaTerra 2010 Legal Pulse Survey Results: Outsourcing Contract Complexity Continues to Increase (and This Is Not a Bad Thing….)

Stan Lepeak, Managing Director, Global Research EquaTerra will soon release the results of the 2010 global Legal Pulse survey. The 2009 edition focused on European counsel while this year the study was expanded to incorporate feedback from counsel in North America. EquaTerra polled approximately 70 senior legal counsel in more than 40 of the top [...]

Contract Negotiations: Real Estate and Facilities Management Outsourcing Lessons Learned on a Critical Phase of RE & FM Outsourcing

Doug Burr, Advisor, Real Estate and Facilities Management Practice I recently participated in negotiations for a $400 million total contract value real estate and facilities management (RE & FM) outsourcing deal. On the plane home I had some time to opine about what I learned from this and other negotiations. Here are a few questions [...]

Before You Benchmark: Consider Savings Estimates, Cost Drivers and Timelines

Dave Brown, Managing Director, Financial Architecture Advisory Services Considering undertaking a benchmarking initiative to evaluate how your cost structure stacks up against the market? First, understand if you really need a benchmark. Many executives feel they need a general read on market pricing and see a benchmark as the only mechanism to obtain the data. [...]

Outsourcing Buyer Behaviour Today – An Insight From EquaTerra’s UK Pulse Survey

Lee Ayling, Managing Director, EquaTerra UK Information Technology Advisory In the light of the current economic conditions, we asked the respondents of our 1H 2010 UK Pulse Survey* in which ways buyers are changing their approaches regarding outsourcing and global services sourcing efforts. According to service providers, most buyers are reopening contracts to renegotiate pricing [...]

How to Kill Your Outsourcing Engagement in Nine Steps or Less

Jerry Klawitter, IT Practice Project Director, EquaTerra A client of mine shared with me recently the results of an interview he conducted with a technologist from another firm which had outsourced all of its IT, and then recently insourced it all. After I regained my composure, I realized this was a story the masses needed [...]

Outsourcing Contracting Complexity: Most Challenging Terms and Conditions

Stan Lepeak, Managing Director, EquaTerra Global Research Thomas Hall, Managing Director, EquaTerra Contract Negotiations Advisory On March 5, 2010, EquaTerra released the inaugural edition of its legal Pulse survey, the newest iteration of the Pulse survey research program. The legal Pulse is similar to EquaTerra’s long-standing global service provider/advisor Pulse in that it examines trends [...]

Outsourcing Legal Counsel in the Hall, Who’s the Most Contentious Service Provider of Them All?

Stan Lepeak, Managing Director EquaTerra Global Research On March 5, 2010, EquaTerra released the inaugural edition of its legal Pulse survey, the newest iteration of the Pulse survey research program. EquaTerra polled senior legal counsel in 25 of the top third-party European law firms that support and advise buyers on outsourcing efforts. The legal Pulse [...]