IT Contract Risk Assessment & Supplier Negotiation
Tony Stroud, General Manager
We consulted with BPG just before signing a new IT supplier and are glad we did. The vendor had given a standard ‘copperplate’ contract which left us open to paying extras for any unforeseen or unexpected costs – which was highly likely since our solution needed a lot of customisation. BPG did a risk assessment and despite the time pressures, advised us to go through all the ‘fine print’ and re-define the contract to cover ourselves against this kind of exposure. BPG also recommended we have enough discussions to satisfy ourselves the vendor really understood our requirements. Thanks to BPG, if I am ever presented witha similar contract, I’ll know exactly what to do: don’t rush preparation, be thorough in studying the contract and ensure upfront protection from scope and budget creep. One thing is certain: without BPG, the project would have cost us much more.
