Mac Ferguson
Mac Ferguson focuses his practice on complex global technology, strategic sourcing/outsourcing and commercial matters for established and emerging companies.
His experience includes structuring, negotiating, and documenting large-scale information technology outsourcing (ITO), business process outsourcing (BPO), software licensing and implementation agreements, technology transactions and other commercial agreements.
His ITO experience includes the outsourcing of virtually every IT function, including data center operations, managed network operations, end user computing, enterprise infrastructure and systems administration, virtual desktop support, service desk support, application development and maintenance, enterprise security and other key operational functions.
His BPO experience includes finance and accounting, financial services processes, facilities management, human resources, supply chain and procurement management, research and development, logistics functions, claims processing, call center services and other strategic operational functions.
He also represents customers and providers in intellectual property licensing, development, distribution and procurement agreements, as well as cloud computing transactions, such as Anything as a Service (XaaS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) agreements, and in the deployment of new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and blockchain technologies.
Mac advises clients during all phases of the contract lifecycle, from initial strategy on structuring transactions and conducting competitive processes to ongoing vendor management, including post-contract matters such as implementation/transition challenges, governance, audits and disputes.
Mac has extensive experience representing clients across a variety of sectors, including consumer goods and retail, financial services, life sciences, hospitality, insurance, technology, real estate, transportation, and industrials.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
1 Contributions by Mac Ferguson
PRACTICE NOTES
Outsourcing Pricing and Charging Models: Time and Materials, FTEs, Resource Units, Fixed Fees, Gain Share, Indexation, Taxes, Benchmarking, Service Levels and Drafting the Charges Schedule
Introduction
Selecting an appropriate charging model, carefully aligned to scope and structure of the arrangement, is fundamental to cultivating a successful customer–supplier relationship in an outsourcing context. The chosen charging model defines the financial boundaries for when and how the supplier is paid, while also setting out, for the customer, the overall financial profile of the deal for budgetary purposes.
Initial considerations
When establishing a pricing methodology for an outsourcing transaction, the customer should determine at the outset whether it wishes to purchase ‘efforts’ or ‘results’ from its selected supplier. Once that direction is set, the charging approach can be built to reflect the outcome the customer is aiming to achieve. Where multiple discrete business functions are being outsourced, the customer may at the same time require cost certainty (i.e. results) and, separately, flexibility (i.e. effort), each applied to different components of the services as appropriate. As a consequence, many pricing and charging structures in practice become hybrids, combining elements of the models described below to support the intended objectives...
Commercial
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