Staying Connected

At TechCaliber, we have always advocated for using a lifecycle approach for ICT contracts, and as technologies and suppliers have changed over the years, this approach continues to work and deliver huge benefits for enterprises.  But what is this lifecycle approach? 

Listen to this 7 minute podcast as TC2 Directors Keith Cook and Joe Schmidt describe the five elements of the lifecycle and point out a potential “gotcha” and how to overcome it with a regular strategic review.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Technology Consulting & Strategy Development Services and Success Stories webpages.

If you’re a savvy buyer of technology, you know that it’s seldom that you just accept the terms of a deal that your vendor offers … you negotiate it.  Negotiations often focus on price, but there are any number of commercial arrangements and service terms that can be improved through a spirited negotiation. 

On this 11 minute podcast, TC2 Managing Director Ben Fox and Joe Schmidt discuss the attributes of a good negotiator and highlight how knowing the subject matter and understanding the issues can deliver a winning result.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Strategic Sourcing and Success Stories.

LB3 and TC2 recently ran a three-part on-line class covering the basics of telecom procurement and contracting.  Our aim was to deliver what can be a very difficult topic, in a format that was understandable to someone who’s new to telecom and ICT procurement, and also serve as a refresher for telecom veterans.

Listen to this 10 minute podcast as the architects of the class, Laura McDonald, a Partner at LB3, and TC2 Director Pat Gilpatrick discuss the class with TC2’s Joe Schmidt and provide a quick overview of the class and highlight some interesting observations.

If you’d like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Strategic Sourcing and Success Stories on our website.

When companies buy technology, one of the steps that often neglect to take is benchmarking.  It could be because they believe they already get the best - or at least acceptable - pricing or service level.  They trust that their vendor is looking out for them.  Or maybe they just don’t have the time or really understand what actually can be benchmarked.

On this 6 minute podcast, TC2 Directors Tony Mangino and Joe Schmidt explain why benchmarking of technology is so much more than simply comparing prices, or commercial provisions, or SLAs, and highlight why benchmarking matters more now than ever.

If you’d like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Benchmarking and Success Stories pages.

In this second part of the two-part series on SD-WAN, TC2’s Mark Sheard and Joe Schmidt take a closer look at SD-WAN, the benefits it can provide your company, and some of the pitfalls you better be watching for when you go down the SD-WAN path.

In this 11 minute podcast, Mark and Joe discuss establishing your SD-WAN strategy, assessing your requirements, best practices for buying the solution, and what to do to avoid pain down the road.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit SD-WAN & Transformational Network Services and Success Stories.

Over the last several years, SD-WAN has gained traction with companies looking to reduce networking costs, increase bandwidth flexibility, and improve performance.  The events of 2020 have forced most enterprises to rethink their network architectures and, not surprisingly, SD-WAN is a key component.

In this 9 minute podcast, Mark Sheard, TC2’s UK Managing Director, takes a look at how SD-WAN moved away from being a standalone solution into being part of what Gartner coined SASE – Secure Access Service Edge.  In this first part of a two-part series, Mark discusses some of the SD-WAN trends to look for in 2021 and highlights the benefits that SD-WAN can deliver.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit SD-WAN & Transformational Network Services and Success Stories.

If you have offices in a lot of places, you probably also do business with telecom providers in a lot of places.  Managing those suppliers and that billing can be a monumental task, and that is why using companies that aggregate that billing can be a good idea … if you pick the right supplier and know your requirements.

In this 9 minute podcast, TC2 Directors Theresa Knutson and Joe Schmidt describe the benefits of using a third party service aggregator and provide some insight that will put you on the path to success if you decide using an aggregator is right for your company.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Technology Consulting & Strategy Development Services and Success Stories.

In this second episode of a two-part podcast series, Kevin DiLallo, a Partner at LB3, and Joe Schmidt from TC2 take a close look at Private 5G, a 5G service that could deliver huge productivity and cost advantages to enterprises.

In this 10 minute podcast, Kevin and Joe examine how the use of dedicated spectrum will be used to create “Non-Public Networks” and why it could be one of the most disruptive technologies in the years ahead.

The typical long-term contract structure for enterprise ITC deals, particularly telecom deals, has traditionally been a revenue commitment over a fixed period of time.  This commitment might be a minimum annual revenue or volume commitment, or it might be a minimum term revenue or volume commitment.  New technologies and evolving vendor approaches, however, are changing all this.

In this 12 minute podcast, Laura McDonald, a Partner at LB3, and TC2 Directors Pat Gilpatrick and Joe Schmidt explain why enterprise buyers need to think differently when negotiating new ICT contracts.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Information Technology Advisory Services and Success Stories.

The Telecom Expense Management (TEM) industry continues to evolve, with the top TEM providers offering to manage even more of your ICT Spend.  Not only do you need the basics of invoice receipt, processing, payment, audit, inventory and reporting for wireline and wireless services, but you might also need those same services for maintenance, cloud-based services, Internet of Things services, and subscription-based services.  

In this 12 minute podcast, Steve Rosen, a Partner at LB3, and TC2 Directors Theresa Knutson and Joe Schmidt discuss the outlook for TEM services and offer some guidance on what you’ll want to consider if you’re assessing TEM providers in 2021.

If you’d like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit Managed Services & Outsourcing and Success Stories.