Seven questions every professional firm should ask before renewing any vendor contract. Built from fifteen years of vendor evaluation in regulated environments where getting it wrong has real consequences.
Covers vendor fit, true cost, market benchmarking, exit terms, ownership, security obligations, and alternatives
Each question includes red flags and what a strong answer looks like
3-page PDF · Ready to use in your next vendor review
Most vendor renewals happen on autopilot. This blueprint gives you the questions to change that — and the clarity to know when a vendor relationship needs to be renegotiated or replaced.
This blueprint reflects the vendor evaluation framework developed across fifteen years of simultaneous COO and CTO responsibility at a regulated investment firm — where vendor decisions had to be documented, defensible, and built to hold under scrutiny.
The blueprint is the starting point. The Operating Architecture Assessment goes deeper — a fixed-fee, 2–3 week engagement that maps your full vendor stack, benchmarks costs, identifies risk gaps, and delivers a prioritized blueprint.