Microsoft is shaking up licensing terms once again. Beginning October 1, 2019, customers that deploy Microsoft’s software on dedicated hosts at certain cloud providers (including AWs, google and others) will pay more. This bulletin discusses these changes and what they could mean for enterprise customers.
Many companies overspend on IBM mainframe software – often by seven figures or more. This bulletin covers tips on how to bring transparency to this element of IT spend and achieve significant savings.
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More than 100 Microsoft products will reach end of support in 2020, with dozens of others moving to Extended Support. This bulletin reviews the list of products that will be sunset and discusses the factors that Microsoft enterprise customers should consider as they prepare for these events.
Microsoft is shaking up licensing terms once again. Beginning October 1, 2019, customers that deploy Microsoft’s software on dedicated hosts at certain cloud providers (including AWs, google and others) will pay more. This bulletin discusses these changes and what they could mean for enterprise customers.
Many companies overspend on IBM mainframe software – often by seven figures or more. This bulletin covers tips on how to bring transparency to this element of IT spend and achieve significant savings.
In November 2019, AWS announced an overhaul of its pricing model with the introduction of Savings Plans. This bulletin discusses the change, its implications on cost management, and the considerations AWS customers should take into account before moving away from RIs.
The enterprise Salesforce.com purchase is evolving. While savings for new purchases and renewals have been historically difficult to achieve, things are changing. As market competition grows, the vendor is exhibiting more flexibility at the negotiation table – but only for IT buyers that know which levers to pull.
Microsoft audits are costly, confusing and almost always result in non-compliance claims. So how do you fend off or improve the outcome of an audit with Microsoft? It starts with a clear understanding of how Microsoft’s auditing process works – and where the deck is stacked against you.
Given AWS’s history of pricing and sourcing transparency, is it possible to achieve material savings on enterprise-scale AWS purchases? Contrary to popular opinion, the answer is yes. But only if you know which best practices and levers to apply throughout the lifetime of your AWS agreement.
Contrary to what some believe, vendor lock-in doesn’t go away as companies migrate to a cloud first IT ecosystem. In fact, this threat may worsen as enterprises face a new set of vendor lock-in characteristics and indicators – and vendors seek ways to harden cloud revenues.
Not every portion of every company’s Microsoft estate requires software assurance. But how do you know if this option is best for your business? Joshua Osborne – an expert in Microsoft licensing and cost optimization – discusses different factors to consider when evaluating whether to drop software assurance.
What is a Microsoft Licensing Statement? What does it tell you (and not tell you!) about your Microsoft license entitlements? Join Dan Brewster, NPI’s Microsoft Client Services Director, as he discusses the critical importance of this document, how to interpret it, and how to use it to optimize Microsoft costs.
What are the best practices for keeping up with the changing IT buying landscape? What do the best-of-the-best IT and sourcing teams do differently? Join Spend Matters Chief Research Officer, Pierre Mitchell, and NPI COO, Kim Addington, as they answer these questions (and more) about the new realities of IT sourcing and how to tackle them.
Software license audits are on the rise. Knowing your audit risk (and how to stay ahead of it) is key to avoiding hefty compliance penalties and fees. Join Mike Beals, leader of NPI’s Audit Defense Practice, and Dan Brewster, a Microsoft licensing and audit expert, as they discuss the top myths and pitfalls to avoid during a software license audit.
Microsoft’s focus on becoming a cloud–first business is altering how it does business with its largest customers. Companies that plan to renew their Enterprise Agreements, or purchase the vendor’s cloud or on–premise offerings for the first time, can leverage the forces driving Microsoft’s behavior at the negotiation table.
Whether you’re already a Microsoft Office 365 customer or expect to be one soon, optimizing licensing and cost is challenging. To minimize tcO and maximize usage rights, companies need to take preparatory steps in the months leading up to every purchase or renewal.
Volume purchasing programs may make it easier to buy a vendor’s offerings—but they also make it easier to overspend. IBM’s Passport Advantage program is no exception. NPI estimates a large percentage of enterprise customers overpay on IBM Passport Advantage purchases and renewals. Here are four ways to avoid that outcome.
For on-premise IT, vendors have been the “auditors”—policing customers to assure license compliance. In the cloud, vendor audits are no longer a necessity. Responsibility—and the purpose—for audits have shifted 180 degrees. Without regular self–audits of cloud usage and without detailed usage data from vendors, many companies may find themselves overbuying and overspending.
Despite pressures to reduce healthcare delivery costs, IT overspending within hospitals is rampant. NPI explores how the profound transformations happening across the industry are contributing to this issue, and provides examples of vertical-industry IT vendors with which overspending can easily happen.
Digital transformation is a reality, and for most companies, the stakes are high. This white paper discusses the critical role that IT Sourcing excellence plays in driving the success and profitability of these initiatives.
It’s a complicated time to be an Oracle customer. As the vendor pressures enterprises to move to its cloud offerings, many are still navigating complex purchases and renewals for on-premise solutions. This SmartSpend Bulletin covers five ways companies can optimize and reduce costs across their Oracle estate.
For many enterprises, telecom is a notoriously difficult spend category to manage. Where can companies find material savings? Which cost control tactics yield the biggest impact? This SmartSpend Bulletin digs into these questions.
As companies become increasingly comfortable with cloud environments, the cloud purchase itself presents new risks and challenges. This white paper explores myriad pricing and contractual challenges that can lead to overspending and suboptimal service during the cloud sourcing event.
Most legacy IT vendors are under a mandate to move customers to the cloud. The opportunity to get a great deal is strong – but so is the opportunity to get railroaded into business terms that aren’t optimized. In this SmartSpend Bulletin, learn the questions you need to ask to fully understand the cost implications – and savings opportunities – of getting on board with an incumbent’s cloud journey.
Will hospitals continue to overpay for IT purchases? For those taking a business-as-usual approach to IT sourcing, it’s extremely likely. Right now, the healthcare IT marketplace is especially dynamic and conditions are ripe for transactional overspending. Learn more about what’s driving this epidemic in healthcare, as well as common areas of overspend, in this SmartSpend Bulletin.
Are you ready to be audited by your enterprise software vendors? If not, it’s time to prepare. The frequency of vendor audits is skyrocketing. Fortunately, there are steps enterprises can take before and during an audit to ease compliance concerns and minimize unexpected license fees and penalties. Learn more in this SmartSpend Bulletin.
Enterprise wireless spending will reach record highs in 2017. NPI estimates that 80 percent of enterprises overspend by an astounding 38 percent for wireless services – and the problem is only getting worse. This SmartSpend Bulletins covers factors that drive wireless overspend and what companies can do today to reverse the trend.
As more companies look for ways to streamline IT financial management and IT/business alignment, a new approach has emerged: Technology Business Management (TBM). In this white paper, learn how TBM is intersecting with, benefitting and driving IT sourcing excellence.