Vendor sales teams have internal pricing tools, margin calculators, and benchmark data from thousands of deals. Your procurement team negotiates once every 3–5 years. Our benchmarking closes that gap.
Vendor sales teams negotiate thousands of deals per year. They know exactly what discount every comparable customer received, what terms they accepted, and where the margin sits. Your procurement team negotiates with each vendor once every 3–5 years. The information asymmetry is structural — and it costs seven figures annually for an enterprise of scale.
Gartner estimates that 90% of enterprises overspend on software licences. Without independent benchmark data, you are negotiating with one hand tied behind your back. The vendor knows what “good” looks like — you don’t. Our benchmarking closes that gap and gives your negotiation team a decisive, data-driven edge.
See exactly where your pricing sits relative to market median, best-in-class, and worst-case for every SKU, every vendor, every contract term.
Our benchmarks calculate the precise dollar amount between what you’re paying and what a well-negotiated deal looks like. No guesswork — hard numbers.
Beyond unit price: escalation clauses, renewal traps, support rates, flex-down rights, overage buffers, and structural terms that compound cost over time.
Flag auto-renewal triggers, uncapped escalators, CPI stacking, and contractual traps before you sign — not after. Every risk is quantified and prioritised.
Executive-ready dashboards with scenario modelling show the CFO exactly what savings are achievable and what the cost of inaction looks like.
When you can show a vendor that their proposal is above P75, backed by anonymised data from 500+ deals, the dynamic at the table changes completely.
A global industrial enterprise was presented with a 5-year, full-suite HCM deployment. The vendor’s proposal looked competitive on the surface — but our benchmarking revealed structural risks worth millions over the contract lifecycle.
| Attribute | This Deal | Market Benchmark | Risk | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit Price | $17.72 /user/mo | $14–$19 | At Market | $15–$16 via credit |
| Initial Escalator | ~2.0% / year | 0%–3% | Acceptable | Push to 0%–1% |
| Support/Success Rate | 30% of subscription | 15%–25% | Above Market | Reduce to 20–22% |
| Renewal Escalator | 5% Index + CPI | 0%–3% all-in | High Risk | Single 3% all-in cap |
| Flex-Down Rights | None during term | Annual or at renewal | High Risk | 10% annual band |
| Growth Buffer | 5% / 30-day window | 10%+ annual | High Risk | 15% buffer, annual only |
| Rate Lock | Reset at renewal | Fixed through renewal | High Risk | Lock all rates for life |
| Signing Credit | 8.1% ($750K) | 10%–15% | Below Market | $1.0M–$1.2M |
Illustrative example. Actual dashboards tailored to each vendor and client. All data anonymised.
A global services company with 56,000+ users faced a Microsoft EA renewal with steep price increases across every SKU. Our benchmarking revealed a CSP migration path that saved millions — and exposed where the EA pricing sat relative to peers.
The difference between the most expensive option (€18.7M) and the least expensive (€12.1M) was €6.6 million over three years. The client was initially prepared to sign the EA like-for-like renewal. Our benchmarking prevented a €6.6M overspend.
Illustrative example. All data anonymised and benchmarked against comparable enterprise deals.
Unit price is just the starting point. The structural terms of your contract often have a larger financial impact than the headline rate. We benchmark every material commercial attribute — not just what the vendor wants you to focus on.
| Category | What We Benchmark | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Per-user, per-processor, per-core rates vs. P25/P50/P75 | Confirms whether your headline rate is competitive |
| Escalation Clauses | Annual uplifts, CPI stacking, innovation indexes | A 5% escalator compounds to 34% over 6 years |
| Renewal Terms | Renewal pricing formulas, auto-renewal triggers, caps | The renewal clause is often the most expensive term |
| Support/Success Rates | Premium support %, managed services fees | 30% support on growth auto-compounds costs |
| Flex-Down Rights | Annual reduction bands, M&A relief, contraction rights | Without flex-down, you pay for seats you don’t use |
| Licensing Model | EA vs. CSP, named user vs. processor, metric traps | The wrong model can cost millions in overcharges |
| Signing Credits | Credits as % of TCV, conditional vs. unconditional | Below-market credits leave money on the table |
| Cloud Commits | Commit levels vs. consumption, overage rates | 62% of enterprises underuse cloud commitments |
| Exit & Data Rights | Post-termination access, data export, migration support | Unspecified exit terms create vendor lock-in |
Every engagement includes a data-driven benchmarking pack. Choose a vendor to learn more about our advisory services.
Contact us for a confidential benchmarking consultation. We’ll show you exactly where you sit relative to market — and how much you could save.