Insights for IT Negotiations

UpperEdge
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The world's most trusted IT negotiation advisors for innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation strategies

  1. 3D AGO

    From Risk to Reward: How SaskPower Achieved a Smooth S/4HANA Go-Live with Jesse Webb

    In this episode of Insights for IT Negotiations, hosts John Belden and Kylie Chisholm sit down with Jesse Webb, IT Director at SaskPower, to explore the story behind the utility’s highly successful SAP S/4HANA transformation. Jesse shares the lessons learned from SaskPower’s multi-year modernization journey, from managing vendor costs and internal resource capacity to building a cohesive cross-functional team that ensured go-live readiness. She reveals how deliberate planning, risk mitigation, and strong collaboration between IT, business, and implementation partners helped the organization overcome early project hurdles and achieve a seamless go-live weekend. Tune in to hear practical insights on: Balancing internal and external project resourcesEstablishing clear go-live criteria and risk mitigation plansThe power of co-location and building team trustHow early alignment and executive communication drive project successWhether you’re preparing for your own SAP modernization or navigating a complex IT transformation, this conversation is packed with real-world lessons on what it takes to deliver results confidently and collaboratively. Resources: BLOG - Thriving Amid Uncertainty: How to Move Your Digital Transformation Forward While Others Freeze BLOG - Rethinking Transformation Strategy in an AI-First World: AI is Changing SAP Strategy. Is Your Busin… About the Show:Welcome to Insights for IT Negotiations, a podcast by UpperEdge, a leading IT sourcing, negotiation, and project-execution advisory firm. Join John Belden, UpperEdge’s Chief Research & Strategy Officer, and Kylie Chisholm, UpperEdge’s Marketing Manager, every other week as they share high-impact insights to help you maximize the value of your key IT relationships. Timestamps:03:05 — Overview of SaskPower and Its SAP Background04:35 — The SAP Modernization Program05:23 — From ECC to S/4HANA: Scope and Approach07:03 — Modernizing Custom Applications and Risk Mitigation08:33 — Lessons Learned from Earlier Projects10:33 — Managing Internal Resource Capacity13:20 — IT vs. Business Resource Constraints14:05 — Business Integration and Dedicated Resources14:39 — Sponsor Message (UpperEdge Subscription Advisory Services)14:59 — Go-Live Readiness: Planning and Criteria16:01 — Testing Strategy and Success Criteria19:01 — Practice Conversions and Dress Rehearsals20:04 — The Go-Live Weekend Experience21:10 — Risk Management and Business Continuity Plans22:53 — Lessons from Backup Planning24:04 — Key Decisions That Drove Success25:21 — Co-Location and Building Team Cohesion27:08 — Value of Personal Relationships in Project Success28:13 — What Jesse Would Do Differently29:03 — The Importance of Context in Decision-Making

    31 min

  2. OCT 31

    Dreamforce 2025: Salesforce’s AI Push, AELA Explained, and What It Means for Your Renewals

    In this episode of Insights for IT Negotiations, host Kylie Chisholm is joined by Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge’s Salesforce Practice Leader, to unpack everything from Dreamforce 2025. They dive into how Salesforce’s Agentic Enterprise Licensing Agreement (AELA) is reshaping enterprise licensing, the emphasis on AI and “Agentforce,” and what all this means for you as a Salesforce customer approaching renewal. Listeners will learn how to: Strategically prepare for upcoming renewals and negotiationsPush back on unwanted AI add-ons and licensing changesAlign internal stakeholder messaging and evaluate new value propositionsUnderstand the real implications of Dreamforce-announced products and pricingIf you’re a Salesforce customer heading into renewal season, this episode offers timely, tactical advice to help you protect value and improve outcomes. Resources: VIDEO - Salesforce’s New Agentic Enterprise Licensing Agreement (AELA) – What Customers Need to Know BLOG - Salesforce Increasing Pricing and Adding Agentforce Options: What Customers Need to Know Now About the Show:Welcome to Insights for IT Negotiations, a podcast by UpperEdge, a leading IT sourcing, negotiation, and project-execution advisory firm. Join John Belden, UpperEdge’s Chief Research & Strategy Officer, and Kylie Chisholm, UpperEdge’s Marketing Manager, every other week as they share high-impact insights to help you maximize the value of your key IT relationships.

    20 min

  3. OCT 7

    Navigating Salesforce Renewals and the Reality Behind “Agentforce”

    In this episode of Insights for IT Negotiations, host Kylie Chisholm talks with Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge’s Salesforce Practice Advisory Leader, about how customers can successfully prepare for upcoming Salesforce renewals. Adam discusses why many organizations are frustrated with Salesforce’s current direction, particularly its heavy focus on Agentforce and AI, while overlooking existing customer needs and product value. He explains what this means for enterprise buyers and how they can strengthen their negotiation position. Listeners will learn how to: Approach renewals and upcoming negotiations strategicallyPush back on unwanted AI add-onsAlign internal teams for consistent messagingGet the most out of DreamforceIf you’re a Salesforce customer heading into renewal season, this episode offers timely, practical advice to help you protect value and improve outcomes. Resources: BLOG – Salesforce’s New Agentforce Pricing: What Customers Should Know VIDEO – Salesforce Q2 FY26 Earnings: Agentforce Hype vs. Reality About the Show:Welcome to Insights for IT Negotiations, a podcast by UpperEdge, a leading IT sourcing, negotiation, and project execution advisory firm. Join Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge’s Salesforce Practice Leader and Kylie Chisholm, UpperEdge’s Marketing Manager, every other week as they share valuable insights to help you maximize the value of your key IT relationships. For more innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation insights, subscribe to the UpperEdge newsletter and follow UpperEdge on LinkedIn and Twitter.

    21 min

  4. SEP 23

    Oracle’s AI Playbook: Co-CEOs & Explosive OCI Growth

    Oracle just named two co-CEOs and doubled down on an AI-first future. Jeff Lazarto explains how OCI’s gigawatt-scale GPU superclusters, Oracle’s vectorized “AI database,” and application-layer AI agents could make Oracle the standard for AI training and—soon—enterprise inferencing. He also highlights what this means for customers evaluating Oracle today: timing, deal leverage, and a practical path from on-prem to cloud/Fusion.   Key Points: Why big AI players are choosing OCI for training; cost/performance narrative.  Oracle’s bet that inferencing (AI agents doing work) will dwarf training.  The “AI database” and data privacy posture across models.  Leadership update: co-CEO model aligning apps vs. infra.  Customer takeaways: leverage, migration paths, and contract strategy.  Episode Chapters 00:00:23 AI and OCI are driving Oracle’s momentum - Oracle’s earnings buzz is fueled by AI demand and OCI’s gigawatt-scale GPU superclusters selected by top AI players. 00:01:11 Why big tech is choosing OCI - Oracle claims faster/cheaper model training; efficiency and cost are key factors behind marquee customer selection. 00:02:04 Training now, inferencing next (the much bigger market) - Ellison frames inferencing—AI agents embedded in business processes—as the wave that will dwarf training. 00:02:46 From “college” to work: enterprise-tuned AI agents - Publicly trained models get fine-tuned on company data so AI agents can actually do tasks for the business. 00:03:05 Oracle’s AI Database and vector search - Oracle pitches a vectorized, privacy-preserving database that works across ~25+ models while keeping enterprise data secure. 00:03:41 Endorsement loop that benefits Oracle - If leading AI builders rely on OCI, enterprises may follow suit for hosting their own AI workloads. 00:04:24 OCI growth projections that shocked Wall Street - Oracle reiterated aggressive OCI revenue targets through FY30, a key driver of the stock’s surge. 00:05:12 Oracle’s stack: training → inferencing → data → apps - Strategy spans AI training/inferencing, the AI database layer, and SaaS built on AI application generators. 00:05:50 App generators = networks of AI agents - Oracle describes SaaS evolving from hand-coded software to AI agents linked by workflows. 00:07:07 Multicloud and “Cloud@Customer” options - Run Oracle in public regions, behind your firewall, or access Oracle Database from Azure/AWS/GCP via reseller arrangements. 00:07:28 Leadership shift: two new co-CEOs - Clay Magouyrk (OCI/engineering) and Mike Sicilia (industries/apps) step in; tech-first leaders for infra and apps. 00:08:05 Clay McGuirk’s remit (Gen2 OCI & AI DCs) - Architect behind high-performance OCI powering gigawatt-scale AI training is elevated. 00:08:30 Mike Sicilia’s remit (vertical apps & AI) - Industry SaaS leader focuses on applying AI within Oracle’s application portfolio. 00:09:12 Why tech visionaries at the top matters - Oracle follows the big-tech pattern: product-minded leaders setting direction vs. sales-led stewardship. 00:10:01 Co-CEO model returns; wider exec moves - Safra Catz shifts to executive vice chair; additional sales/finance leadership changes are in motion. 00:11:30 Two-engine company, two tech CEOs - Structure mirrors Oracle’s dual identity: infrastructure and applications led by AI-savvy chiefs. 00:11:57 Customer takeaway: leverage the moment - High expectations on Oracle create room to negotiate strong terms and strategic commitments. 00:12:44 Installed base path to AI value - Benefits of AI live in the cloud: Fusion for apps and OCI for tech; BYOL eases the move. 00:13:24 Expect harder Oracle push to cloud - Stronger GTM motions will highlight concrete AI/business value to drive migrations. 00:14:09 Start with your Oracle strategy, then engage - Define the enterprise roadmap first; invite Oracle to align capabilities and structure the right deal.

    15 min

  5. AUG 29

    Renewal Pricing Tied to Real Usage?

    SaaS vendors often push programmatic renewal price increases—whether you used the product’s features (new or existing) or not. Here’s a fairer, customer-focused approach: only permit price hikes at renewal when (1) the SaaS vendor enhanced the production being subscribed to since your last renewal and (2) you’re actually using those enhancements. That aligns spend to delivered value and incentivizes vendors add enhancements of value and put in effort to help drive adoption. Key points Renewal price increase caps (3–5%, even 0%) are helpful but programmatic and often are littered with conditionsA better standard: tie any increase to verifiable feature use.SaaS vendors should proactively enable usage (training, outreach, no cost resources…etc.)Most customers underutilize features—don’t pay for what you don’t use, certainly don’t pay more for air For more innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation insights, ⁠subscribe⁠ to the UpperEdge newsletter and follow UpperEdge on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠.

    5 min

  6. AUG 28

    Microsoft Eliminates EA Volume Discounts: What It Means for Enterprise Customers

    In this episode of Insights for IT Negotiations, UpperEdge’s Adam Mansfield joins to break down Microsoft’s recent announcement to eliminate Enterprise Agreement (EA) volume discounts starting November 1st. Adam explains what this change means for enterprise customers, how executives are reacting, and the strategies organizations can use to prepare. From executive-level conversations to utilization analysis, alternative solutions, and the role of Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs), this discussion provides practical guidance for navigating Microsoft’s evolving pricing model. Resources: UPCOMING WEBINAR - ⁠Breaking the Microsoft Mold: How to Negotiate on Your Terms⁠ BLOG - ⁠Microsoft Ends EA Volume Discounts: What It Means and How to Respond⁠ VIDEO - ⁠Microsoft Ends EA Volume Discounts – What It Means for You⁠ About the Show:Welcome to Insights for IT Negotiations, a podcast by UpperEdge, a leading IT sourcing, negotiation, and project execution advisory firm. Join John Belden, UpperEdge’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer, and Kylie Chisholm, UpperEdge’s Marketing Manager, every other week as they share valuable insights to help you maximize the value of your key IT relationships. For more innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation insights, ⁠subscribe⁠ to the UpperEdge newsletter and follow UpperEdge on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠.

    24 min

  7. AUG 22

    Salesforce’s New Agentforce Pricing Plans: All About Getting You to Start Using

    In this episode, Adam Mansfield, Salesforce Practice Leader at UpperEdge and industry expect, explains what the new Pay-As-You-Go and Pre-Commit, and Pre-Purchase pricing models mean for enterprise customers and why Salesforce is providing them. Key takeaways and what will be covered: Breakdown of all three Agentforce pricing options: Pre-Purchase, Pay-As-You-Go, and Pre-CommitWhat EVP of Corporate Strategy, Bill Patterson’s public comments really signal about internal Salesforce priorities and current Agentforce adoptionHow to use this moment of leverage to negotiate better terms, definitions, and future flexibility For more innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation insights, ⁠subscribe⁠ to the UpperEdge newsletter and follow UpperEdge on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠.

    7 min

  8. AUG 13

    Microsoft Ends EA Volume Discounts – What It Means for You

    Effective November 1, 2025, Microsoft will eliminate EA volume-based discounts for online services like Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. Adam Mansfield, Microsoft Practice Leader at UpperEdge, breaks down the impact, why Microsoft is making this change, and how enterprise customers can push back. Learn how this move ties to Microsoft’s motivation to accelerate ARPU growth, increased product adoption and upgrades (Microsoft 365 Copilot, E5), and shift more customers towards an MCA-E or CSP contracting model—and what actions need to be take right now. For more innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation insights, ⁠subscribe⁠ to the UpperEdge newsletter and follow UpperEdge on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠.

    9 min
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The world's most trusted IT negotiation advisors for innovative IT sourcing and risk mitigation strategies

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