In the world of IT managed services (much like in life generally) ending a long-term relationship is often difficult, protracted and expensive. ​

​You know the sort of thing – who gets to keep the data centre*, do you share the employees 50/50 or only have them every other weekend and for two weeks in the summer?​​

​One of the primary reasons for this is that (again, much like in life generally) very little thought is given at the beginning of a new relationship to what we will happen at the end. Exit provisions and associated costs are rarely included in first-date conversations or preferred supplier contract negotiations (weddings) and the effect of this is that when the time does come to move on to a new partnership the process can often be marred by confrontational and unconstructive behaviours.​​

​Regularly Finyx get brought in to help a client to exit a supplier with whom a contract is coming to an end of where the relationship has broken down. The challenge of this task varies from relatively simple contractual exit management with a natural break in the contract and both parties are clear on what exit (and if relevant transition) provisions are needed. More often a highly complex and emotionally charged situation occurs where the contract is silent or unclear and the parties disagree wildly.​​

​Whilst every situation is slightly different, there are some common themes that make this exercise better or worse:​​

Clarity – everyone needs to know where they stand. If this clarity doesn’t exist it, it is usually used to attempt to exploit the other side. ​​
Motivations – clients are often frustrated by the way their suppliers are behaving because they can’t relate to the them​

​At Finyx we use many years experience of sitting on both the client and supplier side, to bring clarity to the situation and to understand and unravel the causes of “difficult behaviour”.​​

​There is an old expression in the legal world; ‘those who represent themselves have a fool as a client’… ​

​Hard though it is to hear, if you are part of it, you can’t see it objectively – and that’s why you should involve someone who can…​​

​​If you would like to know more, please contact matt.haynes@finyx.com. ​

​*By the way – no-one wants the data centres anymore