Staying Connected

Verizon recently notified its customers that it was sunsetting certain legacy voice services beginning on November 1, 2025.

In this 5-minute podcast, TC2's Theresa Knutson joins Tony Mangino to explain the significant cost increases that are now hitting customer invoices in advance of the anticipated sunset date.

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

It's been over two years now since Verizon and HCL announced their strategic partnership, which included Verizon retaining its sales function, solutioning, and customer acquisitions, and HCL taking over post-sale implementations and ongoing customer support.

In this 9-minute podcast, Theresa Knutson and Brent Knight from TC2 join Tony Mangino to discuss how the strategic partnership is impacting enterprise customers and if Verizon's HCL gamble is paying off.

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

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Taxes, fees, and government surcharges on enterprise wireless services are at a record high, comprising upwards of 30% of the average taxable portion of a typical monthly bill.

In this 8-minute podcast, Frank Zagrodnik and Tony Mangino from TC2 do a deep dive on the fine print of your wireless bill to discuss the taxes, surcharges, and fees that have a material impact on your enterprise mobility budget, and what you can do to get a true picture of your wireless total cost of ownership.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our IT Cost Management and Strategic Sourcing and webpages.

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If your organization still has legacy Verizon voice, non-IP IVR, or access services in your inventory, changes are coming — and they're coming on a fixed timetable. Verizon has put out formal notice that these services are being retired, and customers need to move to alternatives well before the withdrawal date.

In this 7-minute podcast, Bryan Carriker and Tony Mangino from TC2 discuss the recent notice from Verizon, the important milestone dates to track and how this move fits into the broader industry shift to all IP based networks.

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

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Regulatory pressure related to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is growing. While federal ESG rules in the U.S. remain fragmented, states like California are pushing forward with tough climate disclosure laws. Meanwhile, the EU is advancing sweeping directives like CSRD and CS3D, imposing new reporting and due diligence requirements across global supply chains.

In this 10-minute podcast, Deb Boehling, a senior lawyer at LB3, and Tony Mangino discuss how procurement teams can reduce ESG compliance risks by building key obligations into vendor contracts, such as adherence to laws, third-party audits, and remediation for non-compliance. The stakes are high—sustainability is no longer optional—it's a legal, financial, and reputational imperative.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Network Services Transactions and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

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Arista's VeloCloud SD-WAN acquisition marks a major shift in the enterprise networking space, giving Arista a mature and cloud-native SD-WAN platform to complement its strengths in data center and cloud networking. For enterprise customers, the move could mean faster innovation, improved support, and stronger WAN-to-cloud integration. However, customers should be aware of potential risks with the acquisition including hardware changes, licensing shifts, and short-term integration hiccups.

In this 7-minute podcast, Larry York and Tony Mangino from TC2 break down why the deal matters — and the potential impact on competition in the SD-WAN marketplace from the likes of Cisco, Fortinet, and Juniper.

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

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Inevitably, many negotiations are not part of a competitive process and are simply a negotiation with a single vendor. And often that vendor is fully aware that it's not facing any true competition for the services and products under negotiation.

In this 11-minute podcast, TC2 Managing Director Ben Fox and Tony Mangino discuss tactics and approaches to conduct an effective sole-source negotiation when you don't have any competition.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit TC2's Strategic Sourcing webpage.

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Understanding Cisco Enterprise Agreements can be complex but with the right approach, enterprises can navigate these contracts effectively. Key strategies involve mapping the contract landscape and ensuring financial protections against underperformance.

In this 7-minute podcast, LB3 partner Marc Lindsey and Tony Mangino discuss how enterprises can move from complexity to clarity when negotiating with Cisco, and how they can avoid the "value trap" of bundled software, support, and services.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit TC2's Strategic Sourcing and Technology Consulting & Strategy Development and LB3's Information Technology Advisory webpages.

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In mid-May, two of the largest cable companies in the US, Charter and Cox, entered into an agreement to merge in a deal valued at over $34 billion. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close sometime in the latter half of 2026.

In this 5-minute podcast, TC2's Keith Cook joins Tony Mangino to discuss the merger and potential impact on enterprise customers.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Internet First & Broadband Services and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

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In mid-April AT&T updated the General Terms and Conditions in their online Service Guide, which apply to pretty much all its wireline services, to allow them much broader leeway to migrate services as part of what they call a "Technology Migration". This is on top of an earlier AT&T Service Guide change that resulted in material cost increases on certain key components of their SIP Trunking service.

In this 10-minute podcast, LB3's Laura McDonald joins Tony Mangino to discuss these changes and how to effectively manage your deal in the face of supplier service guides.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Network Services Transactions and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

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