Anatomy of an SOW: Special issues in drafting Statements of Work in technology transactions

Mia Rendar | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Mia Rendar is a thoughtful technology and business process transactions advisor who focuses a substantial portion of her practice on technology and outsourcing engagements.

With in-depth experience negotiating SaaS deals, cryptocurrency platform implementation, and integration of artificial intelligence technologies, Mia has had the opportunity to support global leaders in the finance, retail, startup and health care sectors. She has also advised clients on multinational IT and business processes, facilities management and managed network services, logistics and fulfillment deals, systems integration, and software licensing arrangements.

Mia is a key member of Pillsbury’s cloud team and supports clients as they enter into contracts with major cloud providers, plan strategic cloud migrations and go to market with cloud-based products. Mia has advised global companies moving to cloud-based critical services, as well as technology-focused clients engaging with cloud providers on migrating on-premise service offerings to cloud-based solutions. She has also helped first-time cloud users scope financial commitments and migration goals across multiple cloud providers. With her extensive experience in cloud technology, Mia provides critical guidance to her clients, ensuring successful cloud initiatives that meet their business goals.

Gabby Regard | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Gabby Regard advises clients on a range of technology and outsourcing engagements.

With a focus on strategic outsourcings and complex services arrangements, Gabby assists clients in navigating the full lifecycle of transactions, from initial structuring to post-contract management. Her practice encompasses a wide range of agreements, including information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) transactions, transition of services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), software licensing, payments transactions and branding agreements.

I. Fundamentals of SOWs in tech transactions | 2:00pm – 2:40pm

• Differentiating between MSA and SOW contents
• Crafting clear and actionable service descriptions
• Addressing performance indicators, service levels, updates, and professional services

II. Detailed structure and components of SOWs (part I) | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

• Overall Structure: Scope, transition, solution implementation, personnel, pricing

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

III. Detailed structure and components of SOWs (part II) | 3:10pm – 3:30pm

• Specificity in scope and responsibilities
• Renewal rights and managing updates/upgrades

IV. AI services in SOWs | 3:30pm – 4:10pm

• Describing AI services effectively
• Training and education for AI use
• Intellectual property, transparency, and reporting obligations