Negotiating UK IT contracts for services, software licensing and hardware: key customer and supplier positions, compromises and pitfalls (B2B)
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Practice notes
Introduction
This Practice Note serves as a negotiation handbook for IT contracting, spanning matters linked to IT services—ranging from support through to total outsourcing—as well as software licensing and/or hardware procurement, and anything that sits between those ends. It outlines headline positions across roughly 30 of the most frequently contested points, and proposes possible middle-ground solutions and principal factors to weigh, taking into account the contract’s scope, the parties’ comparative bargaining leverage, and whether the reader represents customer or supplier. Designed as a high-level overview, it encourages readers to assess what is required for the specifics of any given transaction. Where appropriate, it signposts other Practice Notes for added detail. Its focus is limited to business-to-business dealings. For a broader look at core negotiation themes in services agreements generally, rather than IT-specific arrangements, consult Practice Note: Negotiation guide—services agreements. For several topics covered, this Practice Note also points to example balanced drafting set out in Precedents: IT services agreement—balanced and Framework agreement for the provision of IT products and services—balanced...
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Web page updated on 21/05/2026
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