Inevitably, many negotiations are not part of a competitive process and are simply a negotiation with a single vendor. And often that vendor is fully aware that it’s not facing any true competition for the services and products under negotiation.

In this 11-minute podcast, TC2 Managing Director Ben Fox and Tony Mangino discuss tactics and approaches to conduct an effective sole-source negotiation when you don’t have any competition.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit TC2’s Strategic Sourcing webpage.

• Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2 & LB3

In mid-May, two of the largest cable companies in the US, Charter and Cox, entered into an agreement to merge in a deal valued at over $34 billion. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close sometime in the latter half of 2026.

In this 5-minute podcast, TC2’s Keith Cook joins Tony Mangino to discuss the merger and potential impact on enterprise customers.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Internet First & Broadband Services and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2 & LB3

In mid-April AT&T updated the General Terms and Conditions in their online Service Guide, which apply to pretty much all its wireline services, to allow them much broader leeway to migrate services as part of what they call a “Technology Migration”. This is on top of an earlier AT&T Service Guide change that resulted in material cost increases on certain key components of their SIP Trunking service.

In this 10-minute podcast, LB3’s Laura McDonald joins Tony Mangino to discuss these changes and how to effectively manage your deal in the face of supplier service guides.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Network Services Transactions and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

• Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

Recent technology advancements and changes in the regulatory environment have made Private 5G a more attractive technology for enterprise applications, including “Wi-Fi” for industrial, educational, and corporate campuses and numerous IoT (Internet of Things) applications.

In this 8-minute podcast, David Lee of TC2 and Steve Rosen of LB3 join Tony Mangino to discuss the state of the market for Private 5G, CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) and FWA (Fixed Wireless) and how these services should feature prominently in the strategic plan for your enterprise.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development and Spectrum, Wireless & Infrastructure Development webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

The commitment to sustainability initiatives, such as net-zero emissions targets and renewable energy consumption measures, is moving from the corporate boardroom into the decision-making process for selecting strategic ICT service suppliers.

In this 8-minute podcast, TC2 Director Tony Mangino joins LB3 Partner Deb Boehling to discuss the challenges of quantifying and evaluating the "soft benefits" of sustainability from an ICT procurement perspective and whether these benefits are translating into real cost savings for enterprise customers.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and Technology Consulting & Strategy Development webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

As Cisco has grown from a network device OEM to a multifaceted software supplier across networking, UC, security services, observability tools, and a plethora of other products, enterprises' relationships with Cisco have become correspondingly complex.

Add to this, a deep-rooted pattern at Cisco of targeting price increases, and any negotiation with Cisco quickly becomes very challenging.

In this 10-minute podcast, TC2 Managing Director Ben Fox joins Tony Mangino to discuss the layers of complexity involved when engaging with Cisco and how to best prepare for and succeed in your next Cisco negotiation.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and Technology Consulting & Strategy Development webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

In 2025, we anticipate the continued enterprise migration to Contact Center as a Service (“CCaaS”) solutions. Customers are facing the difficulty of keeping good contact center agents, the end-of-life status of existing equipment and software, and the shift by providers from on-prem to cloud-based offerings with effective AI use cases.

In this 8-minute episode of Staying Connected, Julie Gardner of TC2 and Laura McDonald of LB3 join Tony Mangino to discuss the state of the CCaaS market, and how savvy customers are utilizing RFPs and pilots to select best in class solutions that align with business and technical requirements.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development Services and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

· Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2