Emphasize Flexibility In Communications Service Contract Negotiations To Reduce Risk

This report outlines Forrester's processes guidance for sourcing and vendor management (SVM) executives working on telecommunications and mobility services sourcing. A mistake made by many SVM groups at large user companies is accepting the services provider's contract paper instead of generating their own. The best contracting outcome for communications services is an agreement that gives the customer flexibility and also reduces commercial risks when the customer adopts new service delivery methods, like provider-managed or hosted solutions, and alternative pricing models, such as volume- and consumption-based pricing. This report is designed to help SVM professionals by identifying several best practices observed during our regular work with Forrester IT clients on telecom and mobility service RFP preparations and giving expert guidance on preparing for contract negotiations.