Who handles my IT vendor management?

IT Department: Often manages technical requirements, performance monitoring, and daily operations with vendors, as seen at MIT.

Procurement/Sourcing Department: Handles contract negotiations, sourcing new vendors, and the formal purchasing process.

Finance Department: Oversees vendor costs, ensures they align with the budget, and manages financial aspects of contracts.

Dedicated Vendor Management Office (VMO): Some large companies have a specific VMO that manages relationships across all departments, not just IT, according to Vendor Centric.

The responsibility for IT vendor management typically falls to one or more of the following roles/functions within an organization:

• A Vendor Manager or Vendor Management Lead, who owns the vendor-portfolio, lifecycle, performance monitoring and risk. [1]
• The Procurement / Commercial Manager (or procurement team), who handles sourcing, contracts, negotiations and cost control. [2]
• The IT Department / IT Leadership (CIO/CTO/IT director), who ensures the vendor’s services/solutions align with technical strategy, security and operations. [3]
• The Risk & Compliance / Security team, who monitors vendor risk, compliance, service continuity and regulation. [4]

If you tell me your organization’s size and who currently handles vendor-relations, I can help you determine exactly who in your case should own vendor management (or if it's outsourced).