It is no secret that office technology is implemented throughout most firms today, as IT refers to computing technology, networking, and the internet – which is the foundation of company’s regular business operations. Nearly 50% of IT budget is spent on suppliers across large companies (Bansal, 2017). Regardless of the IT budget, many of these companies lack insight as they overlook the interconnections between departments, causing increased costs and neglected opportunities. In contrast, a developed IT Vendor Management Office (ITVMO) hierarchy signifies value and guarantees the opportunity for optimization in the future.

Traditionally, IT departments overlook the department, focusing on IT strategy only. Due to this narrow view, data collection is not properly determined, and comparative financial models that reveal potential savings and value leakage are not efficiently identified. As stakeholders work with a narrow overview, formal procedures and policies are regularly overlooked. As a result, suppliers are segmenting departments within their specialties, instead of merging departments together to gain a wholesome understanding of how the business can benefit as a whole. Although this functionality focuses on cost reduction, there is no focus on employee performance, business impact, or the opportunity for departments to work together to become strengthened. If a company functions without a “centralized vendor management approach”, the business economy is at risk by not identifying opportunities throughout different departments of the organization.

A developed Information Technology Vendor Management Organization unites managed services and vendor products, in a methodical way to optimize all departments within the organization. Furthermore, the ITVMO acts as the link between different departments, while identifying a relationship between all departments of a company, including sales, marketing, customer service, finance, and overall business plan.

A successful ITVMO generates collective, useful information for a firm to identify current competitive advantages and future avenues for growth, across different departments and industries. ITVMO can be most advantageous when it allows enterprises to leverage their current consumer base and advantage, to expand across industries and wholly propel the business forward.

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