Tropic and Vantage Decisions Partner to Give Technology Buyers a Stronger Seat at the Negotiating Table

In the majority of software deals the supplier knows precisely what other similar companies paid and the floor their own team will hold on price. The buyer comes in with a quote and a due date.

That mismatch is why I’m excited about Tropic’s new partnership with Vantage Decisions, a strategic negotiation advisory firm co-founded by Peter Krasa and Scott Wambolt. Together, we're helping IT organizations turn real market pricing into stronger negotiating strategies and better vendor and supplier economics.

Data reveals the opportunity. Experience determines how to act on it.

A great price benchmark is about knowing what other similar companies are actually paying for that same software or AI product. It's how you know whether the quote is good or not, and how much leverage you have to negotiate.

Knowing the market price is the starting point. An extremely important one. But, you still need to know how to use that information. That takes judgment on how a specific supplier behaves under pressure, when to push, what to trade, and when to walk away. 

Vantage Decisions brings exactly that. Peter and Scott have more than 30 years of personal experience in high-stakes negotiations and a deep understanding of how vendors really operate. Pairing that experience with Tropic's price benchmarks gives clients both the facts and the strategy to use them.

How are Tropic's price benchmarks unique?

A price benchmark is only as good as the deals behind it. Most of the pricing information that buyers have access to is a guess, a crowdsourced story or a third-party contract that is outdated by many years. Tropic’s is based on active data across over $25 billion in software spend and more than 14,000 suppliers.

• It comes from live negotiations and real contracts. Our pricing data is based on tens of thousands of software deals orchestrated by Tropic subject matter experts who focus on specific supplier categories, so it reflects exactly what buyers are paying currently.
• It goes down to the SKU level. We leverage billions of dollars of SKU-level contract pricing so buyers can compare the specific products and versions they are purchasing versus an average for the entire vendor.
• It's matched to similar companies. Buyers can see how a quote compares to what similar companies are paying for the same product before signing.

That context is what turns a benchmark from an interesting data point into intelligence a buyer can act on. It's also what makes this partnership so valuable. Vantage's advisors can walk into each negotiation with market facts that are hard for a supplier to dismiss, and the experience to use them well.

What this partnership delivers 

Software and AI is becoming an increasingly larger portion of a company’s total budget all the time and vendors are continuing to shift how they price and package what they offer. Every new purchase and every renewal is an opportunity to get it right or pay even more for another year. Most teams don't have the bandwidth or in-house experience to dive in on every purchase. 

Through this partnership, Vantage Decisions clients get:

• Market pricing benchmarks that show what comparable companies pay for the same software and AI products, drawn from Tropic's proprietary data
• Negotiation strategy grounded in decades of experience understanding how suppliers behave
• Hands-on support for complex commercial decisions, so insight turns into results

The goal is to give buyers the same depth of knowledge suppliers bring to every negotiation.

“Tropic brings world-class technology and market intelligence specifically to the IT and AI space; Vantage Decisions brings decades of experience understanding how vendors really operate and how to turn that intelligence into leverage,” said Peter Krasa and Scott Wambolt, Co-Founders of Vantage Decisions. “We’re extremely excited because together, we can give our SMB clients a more informed, collaborative and powerful position at the negotiating table.”

Making technology a buyer's market

Our mission is to make technology a buyer's market. Developing excellent intelligence is important. Getting it to buyers wherever they make decisions is important too. Sometimes that's inside a procurement platform or an AI assistant. Sometimes it's at the negotiating table, with an experienced advisor in the room.

Vantage Decisions brings Tropic's price benchmarks to more buyers and gives them a stronger position in the negotiations that shape their technology budgets.