IT technical services partner selection

Challenge

A cloud-based communications company was transitioning to a new technical platform and sought to accelerate its customer base migration by outsourcing key technical tasks to a third-party IT provider. While technical competence and cost were gating partner selection criteria, senior management also desired a service provider compensation plan and financial incentives aligned with the company’s own revenue recognition model.

Approach

• Developed technical and service level agreement (SLA) requirements in conjunction with the client’s technical team
• Identified partner selection criteria and relative importance ratings
• Selected and screened a short-list of capable IT technical service providers
• Designed a bidding template incorporating a compensation plan aligned to the client’s objectives for quality, migration speed, and shared risk/reward
• Prepared RFP documents, statement of work (SOW), and a negotiations playbook
• Assessed proposals, capabilities, and references
• Co-led partner proposal workshops and negotiations leading to the final selection
• Advised the client’s legal team through to agreement signing

Results

• Partner selected, contracted, and initial phases of the work launched
• Anticipated service provider contract lifecycle costs and performance exceeded initial expectations, further validating the business case for outsourcing