ARTICLE · 26 MARCH 2026

Back To Basics: Getting The Contract Structure Right For IT Transactions

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Contracts are an essential tool for business, ensuring clarity, managing risk and creating accountability in commercial relationships. Understanding and picking the right contracts...

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Contracts are an essential tool for business, ensuring clarity, managing risk and creating accountability in commercial relationships. Understanding and picking the right contracts for an IT transaction is just as important as having a contract in place. A poorly structured contracting framework can lead to operational confusion, misaligned expectations and increased legal risk. Getting the structure right from the outset not only improves governance but also allows the business to scale its technological relationships efficiently.

Technology transactions may be contracted for under a Master Services Agreement ("MSA"), Statements of Work ("SOWs"), or standalone technology agreements. This article explains the role of each contract document and how they fit together in IT transactions.

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