Large contract renewals. Confusing pricing. Competing opinions.
Sourcing IT should not take several months or leave you with a contract that under-delivers. The fix is simple: get clear outcomes, make bids comparable, and negotiate from evidence, not guesswork. That is where independent, data-backed IT sourcing helps.
What is IT sourcing?
IT sourcing is the structured process of getting the right external supplier or solution in place to deliver your IT needs.
It covers defining what you need, scanning the market, running a fair competition for IT supplier selection, selecting and contracting a supplier, and planning a clean handover so the service works on day one. It applies to new services, IT contract renewals, renegotiations, and transitioning between suppliers.
The flow we use, each step building on the last
- Start with outcomes
Agree the result you want, for example maximising value at lower run-rate, faster fixes, or a better user experience. From there, set scope, locations, security and compliance needs, and how you would exit if you had to. Shared goals make decisions easier. - Make bids comparable
Capture today’s reality in common units, including volumes, services and costs. This removes apples versus oranges later and lets suppliers price the same thing. Clean inputs lead to clearer bids and decisions. - Choose the model and route
Decide how you will buy. You can use a single supplier or several. You can choose a managed service, where the supplier runs the service to agreed service levels, or staff augmentation, where the supplier lends people that you direct. Then agree the route to market, for example a Request for Information (RFI), followed by a Request for Proposal (RFP), or an existing framework, and set a realistic timeline for your technology procurement. - Keep the documentation tight
A concise, unambiguous set of documents receives better bids. Include outcomes, scope, service definitions, the measures that matter, a pricing template with units, volume scenarios, key terms, and a simple question and answer plan. Ensure clear and expected business outcomes are documented. Also design concise Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) and Invitations to Tender (ITTs) or RFPs so suppliers respond comparably. Ask suppliers to answer your templates and requirements, not just send marketing and boilerplate material. - Model the money
When bids arrive, compare total cost over time, not just year one. Test growth and decline. Surface extras like tooling, transition, exit and indexation, and check service credits and debits. Sense-check commercials with independent IT benchmarking so you know rates and service levels are competitive. This turns “looks cheap” into “is good value”. - Negotiate with evidence
Use your model and risk lists to close gaps on service levels, change control, security, data, subcontractors, intellectual property and termination rights before you award. Evidence-based vendor negotiation keeps the conversation calm and productive. - Plan for day one and the first 90 days
A great contract still fails without a clean start. Lock knowledge transfer, cutover steps, acceptance criteria, early life support, named roles and a 30, 60 and 90 day plan. If day one is solid, the year will be too. This puts future years of the contract on firmer ground.
Common pain points to address
IT contract renewal deadlines arrive before there is time to compare options. Pricing feels opaque or inconsistent. Scope is split across multiple suppliers, so gaps and hand-offs appear. “Cheap” bids look good until change requests arrive. Transitions are planned on hope rather than evidence. If any of that sounds familiar, a structured sourcing flow fixes the basics and keeps decisions grounded.
What you get with ImprovIT
You get an objective comparison that ends with a clear recommendation for IT supplier selection. We build a cost model you can trust, test a few sensible scenarios, and sense-check against the market. During vendor negotiation, we help protect value and close risk so the deal you sign is the deal you get. Finally, we line up a practical transition plan and first 90 days checklist so day one runs smoothly.
Once live, we can provide vendor management support, monitoring performance and pricing so the contract keeps delivering value.
Get started
- Sourcing readiness review, 2 to 3 weeks. Scope, baseline, risks, route to market, and the pricing benchmark and market analysis you need to choose a path.
- PQQ and RFP (ITT) packs and pricing templates. Make bids comparable and complete for efficient technology procurement.
- Negotiation support. Models and red lines to land the right deal.
Prefer to talk it through? Explore our IT Sourcing services or book a free 30-minute IT sourcing consultation.
FAQs
What is the difference between a managed service and staff augmentation?
A managed service outsources an outcome to a supplier who runs the service to agreed service levels. Staff augmentation adds people to your team who work under your direction.
When should we start a sourcing exercise before a renewal?
Ideally three to six months before renewal for focused renegotiations, and longer for multi-tower or complex scopes. Starting early preserves leverage and avoids rushed decisions.
How do you make bids truly comparable?
We define service units and volumes up front and use a structured pricing template. That way all suppliers price the same thing, and you see like-for-like totals over time for reliable IT supplier selection.
Can you work with our Procurement and Legal teams?
Yes. We plug into your governance and provide the analysis, pricing models and red-line positions so Procurement and Legal can move faster with less risk. We can also augment this area if required.
What happens after contract award?
We can support transition planning and can provide vendor management to track performance, keep pricing competitive, and adjust the contract as needs change. We can also help with the important ‘critical friend’ IT assurance roles during transition.
