Distributed Organizations Need To Consolidate Communications Vendors

Forrester enterprise clients with distributed organizations are always interested in simplifying their increasingly complex communications environment. One aspect of this we often hear about is a desire to consolidate services providers with software and hardware vendors. What are the main benefits that can be gained by consolidating vendors to the business and also to IT? This report explores anecdotal information gathered from user company interviews, inquiries, and sourcing strategy, as well as RFP consulting engagements. We also used Forrsights survey data to identify preferred sourcing models and trends. Our analysis will provide guidance about how far to go with vendor consolidation, taking into consideration a firm's business and IT organizational structure and the IT sourcing culture. Forrester also has developed a checklist of questions to ask that can be used to evaluate a company's communications sourcing strategy. This report outlines the business impact for sourcing and vendor management (SVM) executives working on consolidating communications services vendors.