ISG and NPI Partner to Help Enterprises Navigate Cost and Service Complexities of Cloud Migration

Joint advisory services will provide end-to-end sourcing and contract management

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Apr 14, 2015, 11:00 ET

STAMFORD, Conn., April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Services Group (ISG) (NASDAQ: III), a leading technology insights, market intelligence and advisory services company, said today it has formed a strategic partnership with NPI, a leading spend-management consulting firm, to help clients of both firms understand the true costs of moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud.

The announcement of the partnership follows ISG's announcement in February that it formed a dedicated Cloud Solutions practice to advise clients on cloud transformation strategy and guide them through the myriad decisions they need to make as they move work to the cloud. ISG has been advising clients about cloud solutions since 2010, but with the adoption of cloud services on the rise, the firm decided to create a formal practice area and expand its advisory capabilities with new evaluation tools and management platforms.

The partnership with NPI combines ISG's deep information technology outsourcing (ITO) expertise and cost and service benchmarks with NPI's market-leading advisory services that help clients optimize intricate enterprise software licensing agreements and reduce costs. Together, the two firms will help clients overcome many of the pricing, licensing and contracting challenges presented by a new generation of cloud offerings.

"As IT vendors shift more offerings to the cloud, enterprises are struggling to evaluate and manage multiple – and new – licensing scenarios, navigate the transition from on-premise to cloud-based infrastructure, and assure that operational excellence is maintained – or improved – throughout the adoption lifecycle," said Steve Hall, partner and head of Digital Technologies for ISG. "Together, ISG and NPI can help our clients understand and steer clear of the new pitfalls in an increasingly cloud-enabled world, and achieve the cost efficiency and performance that will lead to new growth opportunities."

Accelerating internal demand and vendor pressure to shift to the cloud has had an impact on IT sourcing readiness, and has driven many companies to overbuy and overspend on IT services and contract renewals. The ISG-NPI partnership addresses growing market demand for:

Tools and expertise to define the cost and operational impacts of migration to the cloud;
Licensing expertise to define migration strategies that meet business needs, technical needs, and compliance requirements;
Vendor-specific price benchmark data to assure best-in-class pricing and terms relative to peers; and,
Full-lifecycle IT sourcing support to eliminate overspending.

NPI will complement ISG's extensive experience in outsourcing management with deep pricing and licensing expertise on vendors such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP and others. Together, NPI and ISG will help clients define optimal service delivery models, negotiate vendor agreements and monitor service-level performance.

"The risks in IT sourcing have grown exponentially over the last three years, and it's become impossible for enterprises to keep up – especially when it comes to cloud migration," said Jon Winsett, NPI CEO. "Through our partnership with ISG, we're able to optimize each IT purchase operationally, financially and strategically."

About Information Services Group
Information Services Group (ISG) (NASDAQ: III) is a leading technology insights, market intelligence and advisory services company, serving more than 500 clients around the world to help them achieve operational excellence. ISG supports private and public sector organizations to transform and optimize their operational environments through research, benchmarking, consulting and managed services, with a focus on information technology, business process transformation, program management services and enterprise resource planning. Clients look to ISG for unique insights and innovative solutions for leveraging technology, the deepest data source in the industry, and more than five decades of experience and global leadership in information and advisory services. Based in Stamford, Conn., the company has more than 900 employees and operates in 21 countries.

For additional information, visit www.isg-one.com.

About NPI
NPI is a spend management consulting firm that protects companies from overspending in specific cost categories – information technology, telecommunication and transportation. Using a combination of market experts, proprietary methodologies and extensive data, NPI ensures that prices and terms are best-in-class. Reviewing more than 14,000 purchases annually, NPI provides objective oversight for billions of dollars of strategic spend for its clients.

For additional information, visit www.npifinancial.com or call 404-591-7500

SOURCE Information Services Group