Questions For New Systems
Often new 3rd Party systems are necessary to improve business operations. The selection and implementation of these technology tools is a critically important task and many questions need to be answered for before the purchase of any new system:
- Can the business need be solved within any currently owned SPU systems?
- Will new hardware or servers need to be purchased and what are the initial and maintenance costs?
- What effect, if any, will the application have on other departments or staff?
- What are the annual savings costs and savings of the system, including estimated FTE cost in support and training?
- How does adding the support of this new system affect available support for existing systems?
- How will this system share data with other systems such as Banner?
See /wiki/spaces/CIS/pages/36143562 for information about submitting a new project request to CIS.
Enterprise Software Acquisition Policy
Any new systems purchases must comply with the Enterprise Software Acquisition Policy to receive CIS support. It can be helpful to review and consider the requirements at the ideation phase of your product selection process. Technical review can also take weeks to months, so make sure to get started early.
Legal Review
Any software purchase that requires any type of signed agreement must be reviewed by the Office of Risk Management. This process can often take weeks to months, so make sure to get started early.
Cost Estimates
In Washington state, the sale of software and some associated services are taxed. Review the state's IT Tax Information page to help you estimate implementation and purchase costs.
Cloud and SAAS System Checklist
Cloud or SAAS software takes special consideration. It usually comes with significant cost reduction, but also carries significantly more risks. See the checklist for details on what to consider.
Data Usage / Institutional Data
If the new software or system needs imports of Institutional Data or may generate new institutional data, please review the Institutional Data Policy to understand your obligations. If the data you need for your system to operate is steward by a separate business unit, you must obtain approval to use that data from that unit.