How to prepare for a technology supplier review

A technology supplier review shouldn't be an ambush and shouldn't be a rubber stamp. Half an hour, well prepared, does the job.

Before the meeting

• Pull the system's entry from the technology register
• Confirm current cost, seat count, contract end and notice period
• Note any incidents, outages or unresolved issues in the last 12 months
• Ask the internal team: still useful, still used, still fit?
• Identify at least one credible alternative

During the meeting

Work through the Technology Supplier Review Checklist:

1. System review — is it still the right tool?
2. Commercial review — is the pricing still right?
3. Risk review — how exposed are we if this fails?
4. Decision — renew, renegotiate or replace, with reasoning captured.

After the meeting

• Record the decision and reasoning against the system
• Schedule the next review
• Update the renewal date and notice period if anything changed