Contract Terms
A good contract for software products has a number of features that should be present from an IT perspective. We readily acknowledge that many of these features also have key stakeholders in the licensing firm’s Legal Department; Finance Department; Compliance Department; Procurement team. However, for our purposes here, only features that have an IT impact are listed.
Also note: There are software attributes also critical to the licensing firms’ needs, which are not per se contract features (such as whether a software product can be consumed in a headless fashion). Such attributes of the software more pertinent to an RFP or a client’s Architectural requirements are also not mentioned here.
- Product Representations
- Product Performance Specifications
- Service Levels
- Fixed Costs in Detail
- Variable costs, if any, which include specifics on how they are measured and charged
- Buyer Protections that trigger contract renegotiations prior to contractual end date
- transaction costs not to exceed…
- 3rd party costs not to exceed…
- Product Customization Expenses
- Product Customization Options
- Exclusively by Product Owner
- Specified 3rd parties
- other
- Product Version Details, including end-of-life actions
- Self-managed or Hosted or Cloud Support Terms
- Attestations to Pertinent Regulatory Compliance
- Product Support Specifics
- Licensing Parameters
- Ownership of any new Intellectual Property created
Contact us for more details or to ask a specific question.