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9 steps to better IBM ELA negotiation results

Get a leg up on your next IBM enterprise licensing agreement or renewal. Following these nine steps will help prepare you to meet Big Blue across the negotiation table.

Title 9 steps to better IBM ELA negotiation results

Negotiating enterprise licensing agreements is an important part of the job for CIOs and other IT leaders. The task isn't easy, however, which is particularly true for IBM ELAs. A bad deal could mean your IT budget, if not the business itself, ends up in the red for years to come.

You can increase your odds of success by crafting a strategy. One way to do so is to come to the negotiation table better prepared, using what consultancy ClearEdge Partners calls its "leverage management maturity model."

Composed of nine often-overlapping steps, the model encourages users to get a head start on IBM ELA or other software licensing negotiations and renewal processes by creating a calendar and timeline, fully understanding your options, and researching your vendor's revenue model and priorities. Also, it is essential to risk assess and inspect your current licensing agreement to better forecast and model future requirements, and take control of the information narrative by presenting a unified messaging front.

Explore the nine steps, where they overlap, how they apply specifically to IBM ELAs and what success looks for following each one.

About ClearEdge Partners
Founded by senior sales executives from large IT suppliers and informed by current market analytics, ClearEdge enables CIOs and their teams to make more competitive IT investments. By combining rigorous inspection and IT financial expertise, they identify risk and opportunity, align internal teams and maintain leverage throughout the lifecycle of supplier relationships. As a result, their clients maximize the value of their investments by unlocking millions of dollars from legacy spending and redirecting funds toward IT modernization, digital and cloud transformation with confidence and speed.

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