Environment and scope
Give every bidder the same baseline: users, sites, platforms, critical systems, support windows and expected growth.
- Current tools and contracts
- Known service issues
- Security and compliance obligations
- Planned projects in the next 18 months
Service commitments
Separate response time from resolution expectations. Ask how priorities are assigned and what happens when several urgent events occur together.
- Service desk hours and channels
- Priority definitions
- Escalation timing
- Maintenance windows
- Service credit terms
Commercial clarity
Request a price schedule for the base service, common additions, projects and offboarding. State which assumptions each bidder must use so headline prices can be compared.
- Included user and device volumes
- Project rates
- Third-party license treatment
- Annual uplift
- Exit assistance and data return
Evidence
Ask for sample reports, a redacted service review, current certification evidence and references that resemble your organization in size and complexity.