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SAP Agreements: A Gold Mine of Savings Opportunities

Steven Zolman
Mar. 18,2013 |

If you are a large SAP customer, there is likely a latent gold mine of savings opportunities hidden deep down inside your SAP agreements. Did you know that for ERP Application licensing alone, not counting all the variations of licensing definitions we have seen over the years (literally thousands of different definitions of what is a limited professional user as an example), there are still 34 major licensing classes for SAP users? Most clients, even those that closely examine their user demographics, struggle to make sense of their own deployments. The kind of convoluted deployments we routinely see in our client base, combined with the ...

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The Rise of the Disruptive Supplier

Steven Zolman
Feb. 22,2013 |

In last month’s blog post, “How a 5% Performance Improvement Can Result in a 50% Savings”, we discussed how the economics of IT deals of all kinds (Cloud, SaaS, Hardware, Software, Services, Outsourcing and Telecom, among others) can be dramatically improved with very small strategic improvements in the process of IT optimization. We asked you to stay tuned to this month’s newsletter, and the blog post, “The Rise of the Disruptive Supplier”, mainly because optimization itself is often thought to be (and many times is) a unilateral activity. Certainly it is always a best practice to understand the macro market conditions to ensure the ...

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Reason #11 Why Healthcare Providers Pay Way Too Much for IT: Unprecedented Change and Mandate for Business Sustainability

Matt Hartzman
Feb. 22,2013 |

Healthcare organizations pay an unnecessary premium for IT systems, software and services. The reasons are many; NET(net) identifies the Top 12 in our White Paper. With all the focus on reducing Healthcare costs, it may surprise you to learn that of the 30 industries we recently sampled, Healthcare organizations actually pay more for technology than any other industry. Our analysis shows Healthcare organizations pay an average 17% more than that of the other 29 industries we sampled, and 33% more than the industry with the lowest average costs (food service). In this blog series, we outline why we believe Healthcare providers pay way too ...

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Reason #9 Why Clients Spend Way Too Much for Telecommunications: Unused Services

Dave Young
Feb. 22,2013 |

In our November 2012 issue of The Net Effect, we published a White Paper titled “Top 10 Reasons Why Clients Spend WAY TOO MUCH...For Telecommunications”. This is the second in a series of blog entries that will explore each of these topics in more detail, moving on to #9 Unused Services. If you consider the volume and multitude of service types of telecommunications consumed by the average enterprise and then factor in the number of telecommunications suppliers that make up the typical portfolio of telecommunications in the enterprise, particularly for organizations with many remote locations, it’s no wonder its challenging to keep on top of ...

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Reason #10 Why Clients Spend Way Too Much for Telecommunications: Incorrect Rate Implementation in New Agreement

Dave Young
Jan. 21,2013 |

In our November 2012 issue of The Net Effect, we published a White Paper titled “Top 10 Reasons Why Clients Spend WAY TOO MUCH...For Telecommunications.” This is the first in a series of blog entries that will explore each of these topics in more detail, starting with #10 Incorrect Rate Implementation in New Agreement. You would certainly want to believe that for organizations which have been around for a very long time, implementing a new agreement into their billing systems would be a well-documented and routine process for telecommunications companies. However, more often than not, this is not the case; and as a consumer of these services ...

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Reason #12 Why Healthcare Providers Pay Way Too Much for IT: Healthcare IT is Oversimplified

Matt Hartzman
Jan. 21,2013 |

Healthcare organizations pay an unnecessary premium for IT systems, software and services. The reasons are many; NET(net) identifies the Top 12 in our White Paper. With all the focus on reducing Healthcare costs, it may surprise you to learn that of the 30 industries we recently sampled, Healthcare organizations actually pay more for technology than any other industry. Our analysis shows Healthcare organizations pay an average 17% more than that of the other 29 industries we sampled, and 33% more than the industry with the lowest average costs (Food Service). In the first posting of this blog series, we outline why we believe Healthcare ...

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How a 5% Performance Improvement Can Result in a 50% Savings

Steven Zolman
Jan. 9,2013 |

The Hurt Suspend disbelief for just a moment and hear me when I say that most clients wildly overpay for technology. Not you, you say? Well, allow me to add meat to this alleged bone of contention between us, by further quantifying that statement. In a recently completed 36-month study of field results in actual client dealings, we empirically demonstrated that clients significantly overpaid in IT investments, by averaging 40% achieved savings in over 504 managed field engagements. These were not the top 504 savings examples, rather a comprehensive selection of field opportunities ensuring a representative and varied sample with no improper ...

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Now is the Best Time in Years to Regain Control of Your Microsoft Agreement, Investment and Relationship

Scott Braden
Nov. 14,2012 |

This is a big quarter for Microsoft, with the release of Windows 8 and Office 2013, as well as the Surface / RT line of tablets and phones. It’s also a historic market opportunity for Microsoft’s enterprise customers. Most large businesses have been paying for Enterprise Agreements for a decade or more now, and are wondering whether the continued investment is worthwhile in a time of tightening cost controls and decreased relevance of traditional desktop computing in the enterprise. Will the market embrace Microsoft’s new products, or yawn and continue to run on the “good enough” existing versions of Win/Office, and continue the amazing ...

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IT Optimization & Sustainability

Steven Zolman
Nov. 14,2012 |

IT Optimization There are three major components to consider when maximizing economic and strategic value in your agreements, investments and relationships. They are: • Your Company • Your Suppliers • And The Market In your company, you’ll have needs, ambitions, organizational objectives, priorities, budgets, capabilities, infrastructure, and demographics that are all unique to you. In your technology supply chain, suppliers will have their own goals and ambitions, and will have strong incentives to promote their innovations, highlight their capabilities, sell their wares, and position their eco-system partners. In the market, you’ll find ...

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CIO’s First 100 Days – Creating Value in IT Supply Chain

jfisher
Oct. 25,2012 |

You are a new CIO, it could be your first CIO job or you may have been in that seat before. Whatever your situation, you are now in a new job and you need to make an impact on your new organization. The saying, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” certainly applies to your situation. Without a doubt, your organization will be looking for you to build value and whatever you do, you will make a first impression (either positive or negative). Here are some tips from the trenches to help you make that first impression a positive one. While there is always a “honeymoon” period for a new CIO, it doesn’t last long and in almost all ...

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