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Women 4 STEM’s Mary-Beth Hosking on Why Vendors Need to be More Upfront About the True Cost of IT
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Strategic Business Initiatives Community Interviews

Women 4 STEM’s Mary-Beth Hosking on Why Vendors Need to be More Upfront About the True Cost of IT

Mar 25, 2025 | 3 mins

When Mary-Beth Hosking was a senior IT exec in the transport sector, she spent 8 months refining a business case for a $200,000 tech spend.

There were 16 iterations of this document before the organisation felt that the proposed tech investment would provide the right amount of value.

“The thing I had to do in a low margin business was to make the business case attractive using a lot of data, making sure I had all the information I needed…to provide the right numbers,” Hosking tells ADAPT.

“That [involves] doing the right research, really truly understanding what is the business problem you are trying to solve? What does it actually mean? Where are the cost savings?”

This experience highlights a potential issue that can derail any sales engagement: vendors not being upfront about the total cost of their products and services during negotiations.

Hosking dislikes vendors that conceal the “hidden…

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