A specialist pharmaceutical company in the life sciences sector was preparing to independently contract with a leading IT service provider to manage its IT infrastructure. Because the proposed arrangement was sole-sourced, the organization wanted to ensure the deal was both commercially competitive and operationally sound before moving forward. It needed an independent view of the proposal’s pricing, service levels, and performance commitments to validate whether the solution met market standards.

Everest Group supported the client through a custom pricing and proposal assessment focused on reviewing transition and transformation charges, evaluating resource unit pricing, and assessing SLA and performance commitments across key IT infrastructure towers. Within just a few weeks, Everest Group helped the client secure a 9% reduction in vendor pricing and obtain best-in-class SLAs and performance commitments, giving the organization confidence that it was entering into a stronger, better-structured agreement.

Client Challenge

The client was planning to move ahead with a sole-sourced IT infrastructure proposal from a leading service provider. While the company saw value in the provider’s capabilities and wanted a flexible, cost-effective delivery model, it also recognized the risks of proceeding without an independent assessment. Because the deal was not being competitively bid, the organization had limited external reference points to determine whether the proposed pricing and performance terms were truly aligned with the market.

This created a significant challenge. The client needed to understand whether the one-time transition and transformation charges were reasonable, whether the steady-state resource units reflected fair market value, and whether the proposed service levels would adequately support business needs. In addition, it wanted to examine the Statement of Work carefully to identify any ambiguities, gaps, or provisions that could create confusion or execution risk during implementation.

The stakes were high. Without a rigorous review, the company risked entering into a suboptimal agreement with inflated pricing, unclear contractual expectations, or service commitments that fell short of best-in-class standards. Such an outcome could have increased long-term operating costs, weakened service quality, and limited the company’s ability to hold the provider accountable after contract signature.

To reduce these risks, the client sought Everest Group’s help to independently assess and validate the commercial and operational characteristics of the proposed solution, ensuring it was positioned to negotiate from a fact-based and informed standpoint.

Everest Group Solution

Everest Group provided custom pricing support to help the client evaluate the sole-sourced IT infrastructure proposal from both a commercial and operational perspective. The objective was not only to assess whether the pricing was competitive, but also to determine whether the overall structure of the proposal would support a successful and well-governed engagement.

The work began with a review of the one-time transition and transformation charges, along with the individual steady-state resource units that formed the basis of the proposed solution. Everest Group analyzed these components to establish a comparable total contract value view and determine how the proposed spend aligned with prevailing market norms. This helped the client move beyond surface-level pricing comparisons and understand the underlying economics of the deal in a more structured way.

Everest Group also assessed the proposed IT infrastructure solution across key towers, examining both stringency and coverage of SLAs and performance metrics. This was especially important because competitive pricing alone would not guarantee value if the service commitments were weak or incomplete. By evaluating the performance framework in detail, Everest Group helped the client identify where the proposal already aligned with strong market practice and where additional improvements should be pursued.

In parallel, Everest Group reviewed the Statement of Work to identify any provisions that could create risk during implementation. This included highlighting potential gaps, unclear definitions, and areas that might lead to confusion once services transitioned into delivery. These insights allowed the client to strengthen the proposal before execution rather than reacting to issues later in the engagement.

Based on this multi-part assessment, Everest Group provided targeted recommendations on pricing, contract structure, and service expectations. The result was a clear, evidence-based perspective the client could use to engage the provider more effectively and negotiate a stronger overall agreement.

Results

Everest Group’s insights enabled the pharmaceutical company to approach the service provider with greater clarity and negotiating confidence. Armed with an independent fact base on pricing, service levels, and contractual structure, the client was able to challenge elements of the proposal that did not fully align with market expectations and focus negotiations on the areas that would drive the greatest value.

Within 22 working days, the organization achieved a 9% reduction in vendor pricing. This was a meaningful commercial outcome, particularly in a sole-sourced environment where the client had initially faced limited leverage. In addition to lowering the cost of the proposed agreement, the company also secured best-in-class SLAs and stronger performance commitments across the infrastructure scope. These improvements increased confidence that the final agreement would support both cost efficiency and service quality over time.

The engagement also delivered broader value beyond immediate savings. By reviewing the Statement of Work and assessing the overall structure of the proposal, Everest Group helped the client reduce implementation risk and improve its readiness to manage the provider relationship after contract signature.

“Within just a few weeks, Everest Group helped us achieve significant cost savings and best-in-class SLAs and performance commitments,” the client shared. “This was a huge win for us!”

Why Everest Group?

The client selected Everest Group for its deep expertise in market intelligence and its ability to deliver actionable, localized insights.

Through a structured approach combining buyer feedback, competitive benchmarking, and commercial strategy development, Everest Group enabled the client to refine its GTM strategy for Asia. The engagement demonstrated Everest Group’s ability to translate complex market dynamics into clear, practical recommendations.

By aligning pricing, positioning, and sales strategies with regional expectations, the client is now better equipped to drive sustainable growth and strengthen its presence in Asia’s competitive automation market.

More client stories