Can an outsourcing vendor share or license its client's data?

What is the short answer?

An outsourcing vendor generally cannot share or license client data on its own. Access to a client's tickets, code, call recordings or procedures exists so the vendor can deliver a service; it is not ownership and not a licensing right. The client decides what happens to its records, so the vendor's proper role is to introduce the client's executives to SourceX and step back.

This matters because records held for a client are a red flag in data licensing. SourceX looks for companies that created their own records and have the rights to license them, and a vendor's view into a client's systems does not meet that test.

Whose data is it when a vendor processes it?

Ownership and permitted use come from the contract and the law, not from who has login credentials. Most services agreements say the client owns its data and the vendor may use it only to perform the services. Many add confidentiality duties, restrictions on subcontracting and data-return or deletion obligations.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has put the principle plainly in staff guidance: a company's promises not to use customer data for undisclosed purposes, such as training or updating models, are enforceable, whether they appear in privacy policies, terms of service or other materials. Read the FTC staff post on upholding privacy and confidentiality commitments. It is staff guidance, not a rule, but it shows why confidentiality commitments to clients carry weight. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

What does the vendor see, and what can it do with it?

If the client agreement is silent on a point, treat the data as the client's and ask in writing.

How should a vendor respond when it wants to help a client?

Follow a three-step rule. It keeps the client in control and the vendor out of the data.

1. Ask the client's authorized sponsor. An owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative is the right person; a project manager is not.
2. Offer an introduction, not access. The vendor says it will introduce the sponsor to SourceX and will not see or describe any record.
3. Disclose the arrangement. Tell the client in writing that the vendor may earn a share of SourceX's fee if a deal completes, and that the delivery relationship is the same either way.

How does a proper introduction work?

1. The vendor registers as a partner and shares its referral link, or submits the client through the referral form.
2. The client's sponsor applies at sourcex.si/apply or speaks with SourceX directly.
3. SourceX qualifies the company on size, history, data breadth and rights. The company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded).
4. The company completes a data inventory and agrees price and terms before buyers review.
5. If a deal closes, data is delivered under agreed redaction rules and the company is paid.

The vendor is never in the data path. The referral earnings calculator shows how the reward formula works.

What does this mean for different kinds of vendors?

The same rule applies across vendor types, with different pressure points.

• Offshore delivery partners and BPO or contact-center operators: your agents handle tickets and calls that belong to your clients. Read the playbook for offshore delivery partners for how to turn that relationship into an introduction.
• Nearshore software firms: code and issue histories created for a US client are normally the client's. See the nearshore software firm guide.
• Fractional CFOs and accountants: finance files are client confidential. The fractional CFO playbook explains the route.
• UK-based advisers: the same logic applies; see referring US companies from the UK.

For the broader picture of how clients license business data to AI labs, read helping clients license business data to AI labs.

How do partner rewards work?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward is paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. Tax forms a foreign payee may be asked for are covered in how to fill out a W-8BEN-E for an advisory or consulting firm, and the program terms set the details.

Next step

Check your client agreement first. If it permits outside commissions and the client is a US company with 50+ full-time employees at peak, register as a partner and ask the sponsor whether they want an introduction.