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Category Archives: IT Dispute
← Older postsThe Failure of Southwest One: What Can We Learn?
April 9, 2013
In 2007, Somerset County Council struck a deal to outsource various services to a joint venture company. That company — Southwest One (SW1) — was intended to serve as a trailblazer that demonstrated how public and private organisations could work together to benefit the communities of the South West and further afield. However, at the end of March the death knell of the relationship was marked by news that Somerset
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Managed Services, Outsourcing, Performance Improvement, Project Recovery, Public Sector, Risk Management | Tagged culture, southwest one | Comments OffHow to Renegotiate a Contract with Your Strategic Partner (in 5 Steps)
February 12, 2013
You no doubt are aware of the recent horse meat scandal in which it was discovered that beef burgers sold in supermarkets across the UK and Ireland were in fact less beefy than one would hope. Well believe it or not, there is actually an outsourcing angle to consider amongst the public and media furore. It was recently reported in Supply Management that Tesco has terminated its contract with Silvercrest
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Performance Improvement | Tagged mediation, negotiation | Comments OffStrategic Vendor Responsibilities: Your Vendor is An Expert
January 22, 2013
You may have experienced the sinking feeling that a strategic partnership is not going the way you had hoped (and indeed planned for). In fact, you may well be experiencing that feeling at present. That being the case, it is of vital importance that you equip yourself with a solid understanding of both your rights and your strategic partner’s obligations (contractual, statutory and implied). Our first step at BPG is always
Posted in Contract Management, IT Dispute, Outsourcing, Public Sector | Tagged court rulings, duty to think, duty to warn, expert providers, expert responsibilities | Comments OffKey Steps to Bringing a Failed Provider Relationship to a Satisfactory End
December 5, 2012
In last week’s post on using an expert to fix a failing provider relationship we touched upon the fact that repairing a relationship is almost always better than terminating one. Termination is a rocky road to travel down. The potential liabilities are huge, reputations on both sides are at stake, and unless there is a truly glaring instance of contractual wrongdoing, neither party is likely to back down. In short,
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Public Sector | Tagged contract termination, expert, litigation, service provider relationships, settlement, strategic commissioning | Comments OffHow to Use an Expert to Fix a Failing Provider Relationship
November 27, 2012
It’s a common situation. An organisation is very disappointed with what they perceive to be unsatisfactory service delivery from a strategic provider and they want out of the contract. They appreciate that exiting a service provider, complex IT or strategic commissioning contract can open up a proverbial hornet’s nest, so they bring in an expert to assist in facilitating a relatively smooth process. If at that stage Best Practice Group
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Managed Services, Outsourcing, Performance Improvement, Project Recovery, Risk Management | Tagged case study, city council, contract termination, expert witness, ICT outsourcing, IT outsourcing, outsourcing, provider relationship, strategic commissioning | Comments OffManaged Service Provider Up For Sale? 3 Risks to Consider and 3 Steps to Take
September 18, 2012
The news last Thursday that Northgate Managed Services has put itself up for sale comes as little surprise to those of us with extensive experience in the managed services sector. The company has been struggling to provide any significant return for its group and in turn, its investors. Despite a turnover in excess of £128m in the last financial year, Northgate MS made an operating profit of just £200,000 — and that
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Managed Services, Outsourcing, Performance Improvement, Procurement, Project Recovery, Public Sector, Risk Management | Tagged capital investment, contract terms, managed services, northgate managed services, service levels, service provider relationships, service provider risks, service recovery | Comments OffOutsourcing Provider Going Bust? 10 Steps to Protecting Your Interests
September 4, 2012
Mainstream media hasn’t been shy in publicising the shortcomings of outsourcing and commissioning providers in recent times. Whether it has been the G4S debacle, or the more recent news that outsourcing specialist Mouchel has been taken over by its bankers, the failure and demise of outsourcing providers is very much in the public eye. The fact is this — there are a number of outsourcing and commissioned providers going bust
Posted in Contract Management, IT Dispute, Outsourcing, Project Recovery | Comments OffService Recovery: The 9 Key Steps to Preparing for a Meeting with Your Vendor
August 21, 2012
Despite good intentions on both sides of the fence, a service provider partnership can falter. There are many reasons as to why this can happen (such as the contract clauses discussed last week), but the key point at such a stage is to consider how to resolve the issue. Whilst looking back on what has gone wrong can be a useful exercise, looking forwards to a positive resolution will give you
Posted in Contract Management, IT Dispute, Project Recovery | Tagged service recovery | Comments Off10 Things You Should Know About IT and Service Provider Relationships
May 21, 2012
Although I only joined Best Practice Group recently, I have already been well-exposed to the grim reality of faltering and failing supplier/vendor relationships. As a Sales Director and Managing Director of IT vendors during my career, I used to think that I knew a great deal about the topic. But in spite of that, I have learnt an enormous amount in my relatively short tenure here. The simple fact is
Posted in Contract Management, IT Contract, IT Dispute, Outsourcing, Project Management, Project Recovery, Risk Management | Comments OffVendor Responsibilities in ICT / Outsourcing Projects
April 17, 2012
Companies have produced surveys, some more scientific than others that lead us to the sure knowledge that Outsourcing projects and complex ICT procurements have a more than even chance of running either over budget, or beyond their expected delivery date, or both. Even without this hard evidence we only have to look at our own experiences to know this is true. Many surveys put the number of projects this happens
Posted in IT Contract, IT Dispute, Project Recovery | Leave a comment ← Older postsGet Free Updates
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Most Popular Posts
- The Failure of Southwest One: What Can We Learn?
- Renegotiating PFI Contracts: 3 Steps to Cutting Costs in a Successful Partnership
- Vendor Responsibilities: The 7 Key Things to Bear in Mind
- Terminating a Failed Outsourcing Relationship: Key Points to Consider
- Preparing to Exit Your Outsourcing Relationship? 2 Steps to Follow
- How to Create an Evaluation Framework for Procurement Tenders
- Outsourcing Contracts: The Top 10 Clauses that Service Providers Try to Manipulate
- Back to Basics: The 3 Outsourcing Methods (and Which One You Should Utilise)
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- Strategic Commissioning: One Mistake Many Local Authorities Make
