SAM Software Procurement & Vendor Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company discovers mid-contract that a vendor's SaaS platform has been acquired by a competitor. What SAM best practice should the organization invoke?
- Immediately terminate the contract without penalty
- Review the contract for change-of-control clauses that may allow exit or renegotiation (Correct answer)
- Continue as normal since the service terms remain unchanged
- Transfer all data to a new vendor immediately
Correct answer: Review the contract for change-of-control clauses that may allow exit or renegotiation
Change-of-control clauses in software contracts give customers rights to renegotiate or exit if ownership changes, protecting against conflicts of interest.
Question 2: Which procurement method is MOST appropriate when an organization needs specialized software and wants multiple vendors to compete on both technical merit and price?
- Sole-source procurement
- Request for Proposal (RFP) (Correct answer)
- Emergency purchase order
- Blanket purchase agreement
Correct answer: Request for Proposal (RFP)
An RFP solicits competitive bids evaluated on technical capability and cost, ensuring best value when specialized requirements must be met.
Question 3: A software vendor proposes bundling three applications at a 30% discount. What SAM consideration is MOST important before accepting?
- Negotiate the discount to 35% before accepting
- Assess whether all three applications are actually needed to avoid paying for unused licenses (Correct answer)
- Accept immediately to capture the discount before it expires
- Request perpetual licenses instead of subscription for better ROI
Correct answer: Assess whether all three applications are actually needed to avoid paying for unused licenses
Bundled software often includes products the organization doesn't need, making the apparent discount illusory if unused licenses add compliance risk.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a software escrow agreement in vendor contracts?
- To hold license fees in escrow until delivery is confirmed
- To ensure access to source code if the vendor goes out of business or discontinues the product (Correct answer)
- To prevent the vendor from raising prices during the contract term
- To store backup copies of the software on neutral servers
Correct answer: To ensure access to source code if the vendor goes out of business or discontinues the product
Escrow agreements protect customers by placing source code with a neutral third party, accessible if the vendor ceases operations or stops supporting the product.
Question 5: During vendor due diligence, an organization learns a software provider lacks SOC 2 Type II certification. What is the MOST appropriate SAM response?
- Proceed with procurement since SOC 2 is optional for software vendors
- Require the vendor to obtain certification before contract signing
- Document the risk and include compensating controls or security requirements in the contract (Correct answer)
- Disqualify the vendor from consideration entirely
Correct answer: Document the risk and include compensating controls or security requirements in the contract
Documenting the risk and requiring compensating controls balances security requirements with procurement flexibility when a preferred vendor lacks certification.
Question 6: A SAM manager is asked to evaluate a vendor's true cost of ownership for a new ITSM platform. Which cost category is MOST commonly overlooked?
- License fees
- Implementation and integration costs (Correct answer)
- Annual maintenance fees
- Training costs
Correct answer: Implementation and integration costs
Implementation, data migration, and integration costs frequently exceed license fees but are underestimated during initial procurement evaluation.
Question 7: What does 'most favored customer' (MFC) pricing status mean in a software vendor contract?
- The vendor will prioritize support tickets from this customer above all others
- The customer is guaranteed pricing no higher than the vendor's best price offered to comparable customers (Correct answer)
- The customer receives exclusive access to beta features before general availability
- The vendor must match any competitor's price if requested
Correct answer: The customer is guaranteed pricing no higher than the vendor's best price offered to comparable customers
MFC clauses contractually guarantee that pricing will not exceed the best rate the vendor offers to similarly situated customers.
SAM Software Procurement & Vendor Management 2
A company discovers mid-contract that a vendor's SaaS platform has been acquired by a competitor.
What SAM best practice should the organization invoke?