Stay on top of what’s new, what’s changing and what’s next with our IT Sourcing insights.
In February 2023, IBM announced changes to its Passport Advantage Agreement terms that increase customers’ software license compliance burden and risk. In this bulletin, we share what customers can do the mitigate the impact of these changes.
Most enterprises pay more than they should for Microsoft 365. But the rate of overspend has recently reached alarm-worthy levels. This checklist helps IT procurement practitioners identify and remediate overspending on their rapidly changing M365 estates.
array(3) {
["smartspend-bulletin"]=>
string(20) "Smartspend Bulletins"
["webinars"]=>
string(8) "Webinars"
["white-paper"]=>
string(12) "White Papers"
}
In February 2023, IBM announced changes to its Passport Advantage Agreement terms that increase customers’ software license compliance burden and risk. In this bulletin, we share what customers can do the mitigate the impact of these changes.
What separates the world’s elite IT buyers from their peers? How are some enterprises able to cut IT vendor pricing by 20, 30 or 50 percent when others fail? One difference is intel. Enterprises need access to four types of information to optimize their IT vendor negotiations to their highest potential.
In 2024, nearly 90 Microsoft offerings will reach end of support or servicing, move to Extended Support, or be retired. In this bulletin, we review the list of products affected and some factors Microsoft enterprise customers should consider as they prepare.
Most enterprises pay more than they should for Microsoft 365. But the rate of overspend has recently reached alarm-worthy levels. This checklist helps IT procurement practitioners identify and remediate overspending on their rapidly changing M365 estates.
Today, most enterprise customers engage with AWS under a Private Pricing Addendum (PPA), or Private Pricing Term Agreement. In this bulletin, we discuss the different components of a PPA and the different levers enterprises can use to maximize savings.
In this bulletin, we explore the pros and cons of SAP’s newest solution – RISE with SAP – and what SAP enterprise customers need to know to determine if it’s a fit for their business.
Software license audits are on the rise. Without careful navigation and proper risk mitigation controls, these unbudgeted events can be disastrously stressful and expensive. In this Procurement Foundry panel discussion, we discuss what’s driving this increase, which software estates are most susceptible to vendor audits (and why), and what IT procurement practitioners can do to mitigate and remediate compliance risk. Join IT procurement practitioners and experts from GoTo, Firelands, Ocean Spray Cranberries and NPI as they share in-the-trenches perspectives and insights on how enterprises can stay ahead of software audits.
Join Jeff Muscarella, EVP of IT and Telecom at NPI, as he shares the three most effective ways procurement practitioners can keep IT costs in check as they balance economic uncertainty alongside IT-fueled business imperatives. In this 30-minute workshop, he discusses how IT procurement can deliver material reductions to software, cloud and telecom spend without negatively impacting operations.
Inflation is escalating – what are you doing within your business mitigate and manage the increases both from suppliers and internally within the business? In this panel discussion, Jeff Muscarella, EVP of IT and Telecom at NPI, joins senior procurement executives from Boeing, HUB International, EIPM and Koerber to discuss how companies can ensure they’re paying a fair price with their suppliers in the current economic climate, how to push back on price increases, and how to negotiate a win/win deal. Other topics explored include: examining contracts/contract language, source diversification, onshore/nearshore/offshore mix, and more.
Software license audit activity has steadily increased over the last decade. But there are troubling indicators that IT vendors will be targeting customers more heavily in the coming months. What’s behind this shift? What can companies do now to prepare?
When it comes to optimizing large software estates like Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce, what is IT procurement’s role? How can practitioners optimize licensing and cost across these complex, mega areas of spend? NPI and Procurement Foundry join IT procurement executives from American Airlines and ADM to discuss where practitioners can make a meaningful impact, tactics and best practices they can deploy, and in-the-trenches insights into common challenges and opportunities.
What can you do to improve the outcome (and cost) of your Software Renewal agreements? NPI and Procurement Foundry join IT procurement executives from Walmart and Transamerica to discuss advice, challenges and best practices for knocking software renewal negotiations out of the park.
For on-premise IT, vendors have long been the “auditors” for software license compliance. In the cloud, 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.
New pricing changes from Microsoft will mean higher costs for many commercial Office 365 and Microsoft 365 offerings. This bulletin discusses these changes as well as what customers can do to minimize or neutralize the impact on their Microsoft spend.
In 2022, companies will move more of their IT ecosystem to the cloud. NPI and Procurement Foundry join IT procurement executives from Walmart, MassMutual and Allegis Group to discuss important considerations, challenges and opportunities for cloud spend management. Topics include: How can IT buyers can get more value out of their cloud spend? What are best practices for negotiating and managing spend on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform and others? And how can customers leverage their existing spend footprints with vendors to secure best-in-class pricing and terms?
Enterprises have many options for contracting with Microsoft. In this guide, we explore commonly-used direct and indirect contractual vehicles for purchasing Microsoft’s enterprise solutions, what different agreements do and do not cover, and who sets pricing for each option.
Enterprises have been slow to migrate to SAP S/4HANA, but that’s changing. NPI provides tips on how to unlock savings and eliminate overspending risk as customers strategize and operationalize their conversion roadmaps.
NPI and Procurement Foundry join executives from Gap, Inc. and Intuit to discuss the complex category of telecom sourcing and cost management. Hear real-world insights on how the telecom landscape is changing relative to cloud services, what internal best practices companies are using to centralize and manage telecom spend, and tips for more effective control of telecom costs.
Digital transformation is a reality, and for most companies, the stakes are high: leverage a broad mix of digital technologies to grow and transform the business, or risk obsolescence. This reality is reframing the way companies think about all aspects of IT, including sourcing. In the digital transformation era, optimized IT sourcing practices can deliver more value to the business than ever before.
One challenge enterprise IT buyers face is SaaS spend governance, and that’s evidenced by an increasing rate of wasteful spend on large SaaS estates. In this white paper, we explore what makes the SaaS licensing model so difficult to govern, how to optimize SaaS licensing. the value SaaS license optimization delivers to the business, and how to prioritize which SaaS estates to optimize (and how often).
How can IT procurement teams optimize pricing and terms during every purchase and renewal event? Join us at Procurement Foundry’s Dollars & Sense conference as we provide an informative exploration of IT vendors’ sales playbooks and how buyers can respond to ensure they only buy what they need, when they need it and at the best price.
Join IT procurement experts from Ericsson, Boeing and NPI at Procurement Foundry’s Dollars & Sense conference as they discuss why pricing analysis and negotiation intel is an important step in the strategic sourcing process.
There are 2 things IT procurement practitioners need to do to optimize their EA for savings and flexibility. Join NPI at Procurement Foundry’s Dollars & Sense conference to learn more.
NPI and Procurement Foundry join executives from ViacomCBS, Pacific Life and Liberty Mutual to discuss the current state of ITAM in the enterprise. In this discussion, we get “in the trenches” perspectives on a variety of topics and questions, including the definition of ITAM, intersections of ITAM and procurement, how cloud is changing the ITAM landscape, and more.
There are many ways IT buyers can reduce IT overspend – but none more effective than IT price benchmark analysis. What makes this tactic so effective? Why are more enterprises including it as part of their IT purchasing (and renewal) process?
Ineffective governance of cloud assets is producing toxic IT spend – as much as 30% of cloud fees are estimated to fall into this category. Jim Hussey, SaaS Optimization and SAM Support Service Practice Lead at NPI, joins Procurement Foundry's Mike Cadieux to discuss the challenges behind SaaS asset management, culprits for overspending and how to optimize large SaaS software estates for savings.
The pandemic has reshaped expectations of how IT sourcing pros can enable business resiliency, continuity and agility in times of unexpected change. What can companies do now to de-risk IT spend and secure protections that minimize the cost of disruption and transformational change?
SAP’s annual self-declaration requirement is one way the vendor sniffs out non-compliance among enterprise customers. What can companies do before providing self-declaration information to SAP to minimize compliance and cost risk exposure?
IBM has a long history of game-changing divestitures – the most recent being its decision to spin off its IT services business so it can focus on a trillion-dollar hybrid cloud opportunity. There are steps enterprise customers can take now to prepare for buy-side implications.
In a bid to boost Azure revenues, Microsoft has issued changes to terms of service that limit how a customer can remotely host and access M365 and Windows using rival cloud providers. These changes have the potential to materially increase enterprise license counts and spend.
As companies accelerate transformation initiatives that will increase resiliency and efficiency, IaaS spending on Microsoft Azure is growing. How can Microsoft’s enterprise customers better manage Azure costs and get more value out of their investment?
NPI is working with Facebook to help the company accelerate the IT purchasing cycle, eliminate overspending and increase buy-side confidence. In this short video, Facebook Strategic Sourcing Manager Raj Patel discusses how the partnership has helped the company achieved 22x ROI and identify savings opportunities on 75% of deals reviewed.
Amid current volatility, today’s IT sourcing pros need to be able to deliver immediate reductions in risk and cost with minimal business disruption while also preparing the business for the next unknown. NPI CEO Jon Winsett and Facebook Strategic Sourcing Manager Raj Patel discuss 5 ways IT sourcing can achieve this objective.
Volatility is reshaping the role and priorities of enterprise IT sourcing, and challenging IT sourcing professionals to rethink how they can support enterprise resiliency. Learn how and why as NPI CEO Jon Winsett and Facebook Strategic Sourcing Manager Raj Patel discuss.
NPI finds Verizon Wireless enterprise customers often overpay by 15 to 30 percent (or more). But negotiating better pricing, incentives and terms is no easy task. In this bulletin, we share how customers can negotiate stronger savings and eliminate material overspending.
Today’s IT sourcing pros must deliver reductions in risk and cost – as well as prepare for the next unknown. NPI CEO Jon Winsett and Facebook Strategic Sourcing Manager Raj Patel discuss how to overcome these challenges in today’s business climate.
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.
One often overlooked area of IT overspending is mainframe software, particularly with IBM. Thousands of companies still rely on legacy mainframe applications to conduct business and there is widespread complacency in how this spend is managed. That’s led many IBM customers to overpay for their ongoing software costs. Bringing transparency to this element of IT spend can deliver significant savings – frequently in the ballpark of seven figures.
The enterprise Salesforce 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 Salesforce negotiation table - but only for 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.
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.
Changes in the current business climate combined with Microsoft’s mission to move enterprises to the cloud is altering how it does business with its largest customers. Companies that plan to renew their Enterprise Agreements, or purchase the vendor’s 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 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.
Enterprise wireless spending continues to be unwieldy and difficult to manage. NPI estimates 80 percent of enterprises overpay by nearly 40 percent for wireless services. This bulletin explores factors that are driving up spend and what companies can do to rein in wireless costs.
Einstein Healthcare needed to reduce costs on its Microsoft EA and Server and Cloud Enrollment renewal. But cost reduction was at odds with the need for more functionality. With NPI’s guidance, they were able to meet these competing objectives and enter into a three-year EA with business terms that exceeded Einstein’s expectations.
Download PDFHow does a world-class sourcing team perform even better? It’s a challenge that one of the largest energy conglomerates successfully overcame with the help of NPI. With more than $12 million in annual telecom spending, the company has always been meticulous about the way it sources, negotiates and manages carrier and provider relationships. Armed with NPI’s program, pricing and contracting advice, the company further reduced telecom costs by $1.6 million a year.
Download PDFSkyrocketing telecom costs drove this large community bank’s IT sourcing team to take action. With NPI’s assistance, the bank found cost leakages in a host of areas (MPLS, T1/PRI and MIS) and identified savings ranging from 7 to 77 percent on MPLS, T1 (PRI) and MIS services.
Download PDFThe sourcing team within a large healthcare network suspected they were overpaying for WAN services. That hunch turned into sizeable savings. With NPI’s price benchmark analysis, contract optimization advice, negotiation intel and network grooming guidance, this large healthcare network was able to cut telecom costs by $15M.
Download PDFA world-class healthcare system enlisted NPI to analyze upcoming IT and telecom purchases to be sure pricing was best in class. Backed by NPI’s price benchmark analysis and negotiation intel, the provider was able cut annual IT spend year-over-year, normalize maintenance costs and achieve a 21% cost reduction on a large contact center upgrade.
Download PDFWhen the market took a turn for the worse, this major lending provider needed to find ways to reduce its IT costs without sacrificing performance. NPI helped the company re-engineer key vendor agreements for $3M in savings, greater flexibility and higher performance.
Download PDFTo counter rising Microsoft costs, this healthcare solutions provider turned to NPI for license and cost optimization assistance in advance of a complex EA renewal. The partnership paid off – to the tune of $9 million over the EA term with flexibility to move to Microsoft’s cloud services.
Download PDFThe oil and gas industry is no stranger to volatility. For one company, this volatility (combined with planned M&A activity) made them rethink how to approach two large Microsoft renewals. Guided by NPI, the company saved $17M and achieved the licensing flexibility they would need to support M&A events.
Download PDFWith a large software renewal looming and plans for a data center migration, this large state government needed confidence that their license fees were fair and greater flexibility in contract terms. With NPI’s help, they saved $7M+ on their renewal.
Download PDFWith nearly $20 billion in assets, one of the country’s largest insurance providers needed to rein in rising IT and telecom costs. They added NPI’s price benchmark analysis into the procurement process and 65% of transactions reviewed revealed opportunity for material savings.
Download PDFWith an aggressive expansion plan underway, the CIO of a national retailer turned to NPI to boost the power of its world-class IT sourcing team. The result? More than $8M in savings and more business value for every IT budget dollar.
Download PDFWith more than 5M customers, U.S. Cellular is a growing alternative to the wireless industry’s larger national providers. When the carrier decided to invest in two major software upgrades, they turned to NPI to help define a sound selection strategy, ensure fair market pricing and optimize contract terms.
Download PDFWith a mission to cut IT and telecom costs, construction materials giant LafargeHolcim’s IT sourcing team needed an edge. The company brought in NPI to ensure it was receiving a fair price and best-in-class terms with IT and telecom vendors. The result? Multi-million dollar savings across multiple telecom, hardware and software agreements.
Download PDFOne of the largest supermarket chains in the U.S. has a passion for serious cost-cutting – especially when it comes to IT. Their secret weapon? NPI, which has saved the grocer more than $6M, including 30% reductions in software maintenance fees.
Download PDF