They will provide you with valuable insight into the service levels they will require. Finance is necessary because they know how to record the deal, pay the bills, value the equipment, compare options. Legal is important because there are vast legal issues involved, including Intellectual Property, asset transfers, and human resources issues. Technical will provide excellent advice on service levels, future strategies, capacity planning. Operational Management will provide excellent advice on service levels, tricky details in the doing of the work, and as a reality check on proposed head-counts and delivery schedules.
Personnel provides invaluable advice and numbers regarding personnel and benefits issues.
Senior Management is the most important because they provide the overall authority to do the deal, are often the initiators of the deal and know the direction they are marching toward. The Everest model is designed to bring all the players together in to a consensus as to the results expected from the deal, and how those results will be achieved. Very often the managment team is left holding the ball, after the lawyers have signed the deal. A key management agreement is people. Both parties are well aware of the technology on either side, what is missing is relationships and trust.