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CAUCUS Blog

Are availability and response time enough?

Are availability and response time enough?
Cloud service deals are primarily Service Level deals where the Customer acquires no hardware nor any permanent software rights. Failure to identify key Service Levels and failure to pr­ovide for Remedies for missed Service Levels can plunge the Customer into operational and financial disaster. In IT projects, Availability and Response Time alone may not be...
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How to outfox da fox!

How to outfox da fox!
Software Licensors watch for every opportunity to sell more SW licenses and MX. Mergers, acquisitions, and/or divestitures are often opportunities for SW Licensors to force the SALE of HUGE amounts of SW Licenses and MX. Creativity in SW Licensing by the Customer can result in great future savings during transactions involving M&A or other major...
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Vendor signatures – secret weapons of a customer!

Vendor signatures – secret weapons of a customer!
SW Vendors will be relentless in asserting claims against their Licensees. Only those Licensees who have prepared in advance can successfully defend themselves. One of the most powerful weapons to protect against a SW Vendor claim is the acknowledging and consenting SIGNATURE of the Vendor. Vendors can be relentless in the enforcement of their rights against...
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MAD – get ready or suffer!

MAD – get ready or suffer!
Mergers, Acquisitions, or Divestitures happen in the Software and Cloud Service worlds all the time. Customer contract wording forbidding a Vendor to be affected by a Merger, Acquisition or Divestiture will likely not be enforceable and will be of little help to the Customer. Even if there’s a Merger, Acquisition or Divestiture, a Customer can...
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RFP magic – it can work for you!

RFP magic – it can work for you!
It is very common for internal stakeholders to be biased in favor of a specific Bidder and closed to other alternatives. It is possible to eliminate or reduce such bias by carefully designing and controlling the RFP process to produce objective and UNBIASED results. The responsibility to produce objective and unbiased outcomes must be primarily...
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International – a world of unexpected possibilities!

International – a world of unexpected possibilities!
International contract negotiations include problems similar to domestic negotiations, like what governing law should apply. In looking for solutions, there are many more unknowns and more possibilities in the international arena. Greater success will come from being creative and not assuming the solutions to international contract negotiation problems are the same as domestic negotiation problems. One...
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Software TnCs – anchor or drift!

Software TnCs – anchor or drift!
In a SW license grant, the wording “for its own internal business purposes” by itself is very dangerous for the Customer. A Licensor will fight, debate, argue intensely to prevent a change to its SW License grant wording. EXTREME ANCHORING can be a successful strategy to leverage a Licensor to agree to a License grant...
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Watch out the trap of choices!

Watch out the trap of choices!
Where possible, Customer contracts should contain detailed Requirements written in a results or Outcome format. Even if contract Requirements are written in a results-format making the Vendor responsible for the Outcome, the Customer becomes responsible when it manages the Vendor’s performance. The Customer must focus on and manage Outcomes and NOT Vendor performance. Bill was assigned...
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Finding and filling HOLES

Finding and filling HOLES
There are always HOLES in our processes, all need improvement. Such HOLES can be difficult to see, especially if we are too satisfied with current outcomes. Using Hansei or deep reflection, IT procurement  can find and fill the HOLES as part of Kaizen or a continuous improvement program. I. Ask yourself, how are things going with...
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Alignment alone won’t do!

Alignment alone won’t do!
Internal alignment of Stakeholders at a Customer does not by itself guarantee a successful outcome. If Customer internal alignment is based merely on the desires or aspirations of a Stakeholder without regard to best-practice principles, the consequences may be dire! Alignment is most beneficial when the Customer’s Stakeholders have all identified, agreed upon, and aligned...
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Training isn’t one and done!

Training isn’t one and done!
Some if not many Cloud Services may be usable ONLY if the Customer employees have been trained. Cloud Providers may charge a lot of money for training and training may be a significant profit center for them. Before signing and while still having negotiation leverage, wise IT procurement professionals explore with internal Stakeholders possible future,...
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Why SOWs fail!

Why SOWs fail!
The Vendor MUST be responsible for 2 things: a) providing the required RESULTS; and, b) managing Vendor’s personnel and resources necessary to produce the RESULTS. The Customer MUST NOT be responsible for results; rather, for 2 things: a) a small, specific set of Customer Obligations (like access to the Customer facility, to computer networks, diagrams,...
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Look outside the box for better VRM!

Look outside the box for better VRM!
A Contract must be managed effectively for a Customer to get what it is paying for. There are many important aspects of the relationship between a Customer and its Vendor that cannot be controlled or managed by Contract Management. A Customer with an ongoing relationship with a Vendor should, in addition to Contract Management, use...
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Positive incentives can improve Service Levels!

Positive incentives can improve Service Levels!
Vendors required to pay Remedies for missing Service Levels often want the right to earn a Bonus for exceeding Service Levels. Vendors often work harder with a better attitude to achieve a positive reward than to avoid a negative consequence. Even if Customer policy or tradition prohibits giving a Vendor a monetary reward for exceeding...
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Else – little word, big impact!

Else – little word, big impact!
If a SW license grant does not adequately cover the needs of a Customer before the SW License Agreement is signed, the Vendor will demand more money to license for additional needs. Using the five (5) Ws can help IT Procurement ask good initial questions to learn what a SW License grant should cover. Asking...
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Non-SW audits

Non-SW audits
Bad provisions in Contracts can really hurt Customers. The 3 to 5 worst provisions should be identified and kept OUT of contracts currently being negotiated. Internal Audits can be used to pro-actively find in existing Contracts these 3 to 5 really bad provisions, and FLAG the Contract to ensure removal or modification of the provision...
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Use CHOICES for a more powerful RFP.

Use CHOICES for a more powerful RFP.
RFPs can be written narrowly, in a yes-or-no fashion with few CHOICES. It is possible to add CHOICES to the RFP, to require the Bidders to bid on multiple Alternatives, Options, or Phases. Customers can and should add CHOICES to the RFP which will increase opportunities for a Bidder to “get its foot” in the...
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Get credible or fail!

Get credible or fail!
Desirable Vendors resist making concessions without a credible threat to losing a deal. Part of a credible threat must come from the Customer’s developing ALTERNATIVES to the preferred solution. A threat can be made more credible if the Customer researches and uses to its advantage a Vendor’s weaknesses. Your IT procurement group sends out an RFP...
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Using the “Neg-to-Pos What If filter”

Using the “Neg-to-Pos What If filter”
You are putting together a Contract document for your Stakeholders. How can you be sure that every business requirement is covered by an appropriate Performance Warranty and Remedy for failure? Allow me to introduce the “Neg-to-Pos What If filter.” We all know about “What if” questions. They can be negative or positive. Say you are buying an...
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Tickler file – an essential K Management tool!

Tickler file – an essential K Management tool!
Contracts often contain renewal dates and other critical deadlines. Failure by the Customer to promptly meet critical deadlines can be extremely costly to the Customer. Contract Managers SHOULD establish, maintain, and effectively operate a TICKLER system to ensure critical deadlines and other dates aren’t overlooked. Consider Scenario One (1). Here’s a painful situation. The Customer has...
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