A critical vendor raises its price by forty percent at renewal. What do you do in the next ninety days?
Spend two weeks on facts: contract dates, notice clauses, real usage and switching cost. Cut usage you do not need, build an alternative you could execute, and negotiate term, caps and tiers, not just the headline. If you cannot switch in ninety days, buy time with a short renewal and start the exit work.
Answer
Short answer
Facts come first. A critical vendor raising its price at renewal is counting on the fact that you cannot leave in time. Spend the first two weeks on contract dates, notice clauses, real usage and switching cost. Then reduce usage you do not need, build an alternative you could execute, and run the vendor negotiation on term, caps and tiers rather than the headline. If you cannot switch inside ninety days, buy time with a short renewal and start the exit work in earnest.
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Likely follow-ups
- The vendor says the increase reflects new features you have not asked for. How do you respond?
- The notice window for non-renewal closed last month. What options are left?
- How do you stop this happening at the next renewal, starting the day you sign this one?
- Your engineers want to start migrating immediately as a statement of intent. Do you let them?
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