IT contracts

The decision for a company to upgrade or radically modify its IT system is often a necessary one, and always a courageous one.

Courageous, because any IT project requires an investment in time, energy, meetings, project follow-up, etc.

And all this for what? To deal, sometimes and even often, with the end-user's dissatisfaction! People are resistant to change, and don't always appreciate having their working habits modified, even if time often proves that the change was beneficial.

The company will therefore have to manage both the implementation of its project and relations with the service provider responsible for carrying it out, as well as the internal management of the project and the necessary communication with end-users.

What follows is intended to deal only with the first aspect, i.e. relations with the service provider who is to implement the project. They are not intended to be exhaustive, but only to present a few points which we have found to be decisive in the context of projects carried out by the companies we advise.

We would also like to emphasize that the term "IT contracts" covers a wide variety of contracts, from simple contracts to turnkey contracts. Simple contracts include hardware sales contracts, enterprise contracts, software licenses, lease contracts and leasing contracts. Turnkey contracts are more complex, in that a service provider undertakes to supply a customer with a software and hardware package making up an IT solution tailored to the customer's needs. Our presentation will focus on this type of contract.

Our only ambition is to draw your attention to the fact that the choice of an IT solution is sometimes quite complex, and can be the source of future difficulties for the company if it is not careful to respect a few essential rules when concluding the contract.

The company has both rights and obligations, which are all too often underestimated. It is vital that these rights and obligations are formalized in a contract with the service provider. This contract must be "tailor-made" to meet the company's specific needs, and must be able to spell out what is essential for the company in terms of upgrading or overhauling its IT system.

Please refer to references [1] to [10].