What buyers actually pay across eleven vendors, by spend tier and product, from closed agreements rather than surveys. Check your quote against the band before you sign it.
Every band below comes from closed agreements in the Redress engagement file and the VendorBenchmark deal base, stated at the spend tier it applies to. A discount percentage on its own is a ratio the vendor controls; the pages behind each row give the metric, the tier and the term the band is measured in, and what moves a deal from the bottom of the band to the top.
Benchmark at a glance. The spread between a first quote and a benchmarked signature runs 10 to 20 points at most vendors, and the spend tier moves the band further than anything said at the table.
Check your own quote against these bands on VendorBenchmark (free, no signup), or bring the number to the negotiation team.
| Vendor | Benchmark band | What moves it | Full benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft EA renewals | Median E5 discount 28 percent; Tier C and D enterprises 22 to 38 percent against list; median Azure discount 24 percent | Tier, Copilot attach, Azure commitment posture, the uplift cap in the order form | Microsoft EA benchmarks → |
| Oracle Database, middleware, applications | Net cost per unit per year is the number that holds; support at 22 percent of net licence fees | Entitlement and deployment baseline, metric choice, timing against the 31 May year end | Oracle benchmarks → |
| Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription | List 15 dollars per employee per month below 1,000 employees to 5.25 dollars at 40,000 to 49,999 | Employee count definition, band position, OpenJDK alternative on the table | Java benchmarks → |
| SAP RISE, S/4HANA, ECC | 20 to 28 percent below 1M dollars ACV, 28 to 38 percent at 1M to 5M, 45 to 55 percent above 10M | Spend tier above all; FUE count, uplift surfaces, term length | SAP benchmarks → |
| Salesforce Sales, Service, Agentforce | Sales Cloud 20 to 40 percent; Agentforce 5 to 15; blended rate set by product mix | Cloud mix, estate size, renewal posture, seven levers worth 5 to 15 points | Salesforce benchmarks → |
| ServiceNow ITSM, ITOM, Now Assist | 8 to 20 percent below 500K ACV, 22 to 34 percent around 2M, 40 percent plus above 5M | Spend tier, calendar, a credible alternative; structure replaces rate at the top | ServiceNow benchmarks → |
| Broadcom VMware VCF per core | 185 to 275 dollars per core per year against a 350 dollar list | Spend tier, term length, a costed exit path, core minimum inflation | VCF benchmarks → |
| AWS Enterprise Discount Program | 5 to 20 percent off most spend, on top of Savings Plans | Commitment size, ramp shape, what counts as qualifying spend | AWS EDP benchmarks → |
| Google Cloud CUDs and agreement discount | Two layers stack; 60 to 75 percent of buyers negotiate only the CUD layer | Resource versus spend based commitments, the negotiated agreement percentage | Google Cloud benchmarks → |
| Cisco Enterprise Agreement | Discount ladder 20 to 35 percent by commit tier; median first quote gap 19 percent | Quarter timing, suite composition, True Forward growth assumptions | Cisco ELA benchmarks → |
| Workday Implementation partner cost | 300 to 650 dollars per worker for the implementation; 6 to 13 million at 20,000 workers | Scope, statement of work terms, programme size | Workday benchmarks → |
| IBM Enterprise License Agreement | 19 to 34 percent below the opening best and final at enterprise scale, median 27 percent | ILMT reconciliation, Cloud Pak VPC sizing, a Red Hat carve out, the uplift cap | IBM benchmarks → |
| OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise | 10 to 18 percent at 500 to 2,000 seats up to 33 to 40 percent above 15,000 seats on 36 months | Seat band, term, credible competition between OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini | OpenAI benchmarks → |
Two further pages carry the method rather than a vendor: The Vanishing Discount 2026, the annual report across 800 contracts showing how far achieved discounts have fallen since 2019, and how to use a benchmark in a negotiation without naming the source. The IBM ELA benchmarks joined the library in October 2026. To test a quote you already hold, start with is this a good deal? The software quote check, and plan the close with the vendor fiscal year end guide.
The presenters in this film are AI generated avatars. The service, the commercial terms, and the guidance are real.
Benchmarking: How to Check What You Are Being Told
Every vendor says the deal is best in class. Benchmarks from comparable closed agreements are how you check: discount bands, escalator caps and term precedents matched to your size, industry and product mix.
In this film: Best in class, according to whom · What cannot be negotiated blind · How the grid gets built · What you get, and when · Who buys it
Benchmarking is bought when a number needs checking: a renewal quote, a discount the account team calls best in class, or contract terms nobody can compare because nobody sees other companies' agreements.
It fits procurement teams that want the reference point before responding, and legal teams that want term precedents, escalator caps, audit clauses, swap rights, from the market rather than from the vendor's template.
Without benchmarks, three questions go unanswered in every deal:
The benchmark grid answers all of it from comparable closed agreements, matched to your size, industry, and geography.
Four phases deliver the grid: scope and dimensions agreed, the peer set assembled from active engagements, the benchmark built with high, low, and median bands, and the readout handed to procurement and legal with the recommended posture.
| Deliverable | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Pricing benchmark grid | Unit pricing across the peer set with high, low, and median bands by metric and tier. |
| Discount benchmark | Discount norms by product, edition, and volume: where the ceiling sits versus the opening quote. |
| Term benchmark | Escalator caps, audit clauses, swap rights, and metric definitions across the peer set. |
| Posture and walk away point | The recommended stance and the credible alternative that resets vendor behavior. |
| Procurement playbook | The concession ladder, executive moves, and red line list briefed to your team. |
Every benchmark engagement draws on the same research base we publish. Start with the reports; the engagement applies them to your numbers.
How prices moved across 11 vendors: the composite index, the list versus realized gap, and the AI premium.
2026 ResearchWhat enterprises actually negotiate off list across eleven vendors, in bands, with the levers that move the number.
2026 ResearchHow much paid software goes unused, where it hides, and the recovery plays.
2026 ResearchEvery major vendor price action across seven years, on one timeline.
2026 ResearchWhich levers actually move the realized price, ranked by effect.
2026 ResearchWhere unbudgeted AI spend is accumulating and the governance that contains it.
2026 ResearchWhen leaving vendor support pays, what it saves, and the risk math.
2026 ResearchThe mechanisms behind systematic overpayment across software and cloud.
Most published benchmarks are surveys of what people say; ours are drawn from engagements: real closed agreements across 500+ deals and 11 publishers, matched to your profile before any band is quoted.
Independence keeps the bands honest: no reseller margin, no vendor money, and no reason to flatter anyone's quote. If your deal is already strong, the grid says so and you sign with confidence.
The published research above is the public layer of the same base: the Price Increase Index, the Discount Benchmark, and the Shelfware Report all draw on the engagement data your grid will.
Benchmarks run fixed fee, all inclusive, quoted on scope before we start. Negotiations that follow run fixed fee or on contingency at 25 percent of the savings delivered beyond the vendor's best offer: you keep 75 percent, and if we save you nothing, you pay nothing.
What benchmarked negotiations produce, on the record.
Kroger resolved a $20M Oracle Java claim at zero cost.
✓ Published case studyA UK financial services firm secured 35 percent savings at its EA renewal.
✓ Published case studyAn Australian telecom won 30 percent Salesforce savings.
✓ Published case studyA global bank cut its Broadcom VMware renewal by 50 percent.
Three dimensions, separately or together: unit pricing, discount levels, and contract terms, escalator caps, audit clauses, swap rights, metric definitions, across any of the eleven publisher practices.
From engagements: comparable closed agreements across 500+ deals, matched to your size, industry, and geography. Bands are quoted with high, low, and median so the answer is a range you can negotiate inside, not a single folkloric number.
3 to 6 weeks depending on dimensions and publisher count, timed so it lands before your response is due.
That is the most common use: the quote and contract sample come into scope, and the grid answers where each element sits against the peer set.
Then the grid says so, in writing, and you sign with confidence. Knowing you are at market is worth as much as discovering you are not.
The continuous version: your tier 2 and 3 portfolio benchmarked on subscription with renewal alerts, while this engagement delivers deep grids on the deals that matter most.
Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, Broadcom VMware, AWS, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Workday, Cisco, and the GenAI vendors, plus the wider portfolio through the program.
Fixed fee per grid, all inclusive, quoted on scope before we start. Negotiations that follow run fixed fee or on contingency at 25 percent of the savings delivered beyond the vendor's best offer: you keep 75 percent, and if we save you nothing, you pay nothing.
The grid, the posture, and the walk away point, delivered before your response is due.
One letter a month. Negotiation moves, audit signals, and price book shifts.