A multinational manufacturer had recently downsized its IT and procurement teams to reduce overheads. While cost savings were achieved, the organisation also lost critical in-house knowledge of software licensing and vendor contract management. When renewal discussions arose with several large vendors, the remaining team lacked the expertise to interpret clauses, validate usage data, or challenge commercial terms effectively.

Traditional consulting support was deemed too expensive and time-consuming for what were seen as “one-off” questions — yet the risks of making uninformed decisions were growing.

Challenges

• Knowledge gap: Downsizing and ending contractor relationships meant the team no longer had access to senior licensing or commercial specialists.
• Renewal pressure: Multiple vendor renewals approaching within the same quarter.
• Budget constraints: No appetite for long consultancy engagements or additional headcount.
• Compliance uncertainty: Unclear whether current entitlements covered actual usage, especially across cloud subscriptions.

Using Assist

The procurement lead submitted a question through Assist, requesting expert clarification on licence measurement and renewal options for one key vendor. Within 2 business days, they were connected directly to an ITAA consultant with 15+ years of experience in that specific vendor’s licensing.

Over the following week, the client used Assist several times to:

• Validate the vendor’s proposed true-up methodology and identify overstated costs.
• Interpret key contractual clauses related to cloud migration and licence portability.
• Benchmark renewal pricing against peer data from similar enterprise clients.
• Gain a clear “yes/no” view on whether a proposed commercial model would create compliance exposure.

Assist provided immediate access to senior ITAA consultants, the same calibre of expertise typically engaged on larger programmes, but available instantly and proportionally to the client’s needs.

Outcomes

• Informed decisions: The team challenged inaccurate vendor assumptions and avoided unnecessary true-up costs (~£250k).
• Risk reduction: Clarified compliance exposure before renewal, avoiding potential audit triggers.
• Cost control: Paid only for the advice used, total cost <5% of a traditional short consultancy engagement.
• Capability restored: Retained access to senior-consultants without increasing headcount or entering long-term contracts.
• Speed and simplicity: Responses delivered within 1–2 business days through the Assist platform, providing a rapid connection to trusted ITAA expertise.

“Assist has become our safety net. We can make informed decisions and stay compliant without starting a new project each time.” – Procurement Lead, Global Manufacturer

Conclusion

Assist gave the client an efficient, flexible way to access the same depth of ITAA expertise they previously relied on through traditional consultancy — but only when they needed it. This model bridged the knowledge gap created by downsizing, enabling informed, compliant, and commercially sound decisions without new headcount or large-scale engagements.

The case highlights how Assist extends ITAA’s consulting capability, offering organisations a scalable way to draw on expert insight for specific licensing or procurement questions — proving that sometimes one accurate answer at the right moment can deliver measurable impact.

Protecting our clients’ confidence is of the utmost importance at ITAA. While our case studies are based on true projects, we have used fictitious names and removed or changed other identifiable details.