Software
"SAAS and Cloud Computing are game changers!"
Challenge
Enterprises lack timely and relevant information regarding what an IT vendor is willing to concede in a high value negotiation. In most cases, an internal procurement team must rely on generalized benchmarking exercises and/or the actual vendor’s business-as-usual (BAU) analysis to assess whether an offer is “best in class.” Without a valid line of sight into similar vendor negotiations, how does the enterprise really know if incremental money is being left on the table?
The Hastings Group provides leverage, both in the form of market data and a stellar team of analysts that have continual insight across the enterprise IT landscape. Our approach is simple, we rarely ask a vendor to do something that it hasn’t already done for another client. We understand what pricing and terms are reasonable, where the pressure points are, and how hard to push.
The Advantage
“Vendor Independence” is crucial. Unlike other negotiation firms that deal with large companies, THG does not have partnerships or affiliation with the IT vendor community. Since we do not rely on revenue from the vendor, we don’t have to worry about “stopping short” in a negotiation.
"Relevant, timely data". THG spends each day researching, analyzing and negotiating enterprise IT agreements, and as a result, has a valuable pulse on vendor pricing, licensing tactics, discounts, concessions and other key metrics that come into play in high value, high impact contracts.
THG prides itself on its "flexibility"; flexibility in terms of engagement models, pricing models and the size of agreements that it can negotiate.
Experience
THG was born out of the IT vendor community and therefore understands the common strategies and critical nuances that arise in a negotiation. THG tirelessly monitors the status of the IT vendors, including their revenue recognition strategies, sales performance goals, competitive market threats, sales commission structures, and many other variables. These metrics combined with our data and experience are utilized to their fullest extent with the goal of serving as a “pre-signature validation” that an enterprise’s IT agreement is highly competitive, in terms of pricing, terms and conditions, and future risk.
For 20+ years, THG has been committed to IT contract optimization. We are former business, IT and vendor executives who understand both sides of the negotiation table.
Bottom Line
THG’s performance and value can be measured in the quality and longevity of its clients. Whether a client’s goal is to utilize THG as a resource for “Best and Final Offer” (BAFO) validation or as an extension of its existing IT purchasing function, THG delivers hard dollar, measurable savings and risk mitigation.
Most of our clients are in the Fortune 500 as well as large state agencies; therefore we are accustomed to working with some of the world's most experienced internal Procurement and IT Finance teams. This experience has enabled THG to invent engagement models and pricing schedules to account for the diversity amongst our client base.