Software purchasing

All software requests should be directed to the Service Desk by logging a ticket through the ANU IT Service Desk Portal, navigating to Software and selecting Request Software catalogue item.

1. Requesting Software

If you are planning to request software products that are covered by existing licensing agreements, provided, managed, and supported by the ITS, and included in the Standard Software list available on the Request Software catalogue item, please consider the following guidance:

  1. Log in to the ANU IT Service Desk Portal.
  2. Go to the Software Category and select "Request Software" Catalogue item.
  3. Search for the software you are looking for under the Software Required variable
  4. Fill in all the details and submit the request  

Note: Microsoft Project and Microsoft Visio require a licence to be purchased. You can select these products in the Software Required list.

After your request is submitted, a representative from the Service Desk team will contact you and help you with your request.

For any issues with your request or for further information, contact the Service Desk, https://servicedesk.anu.edu.auor call +61 2 612 54321.

If the software you need is not listed, please follow the guidelines outlined below.

If you need to buy new software for your ANU-provided device, your team, or for a specific area within the University, there are no existing licensing agreements in place, the software doesn't need any involvement from the IT department for procurement, implementation, or support, and it doesn't require integration with University data sources or access authentication (such as Single Sign-On), please follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the ANU IT Service Desk Portal.
  2. Go to the Software Category and select "Request Software" Catalogue item.
  3. In the dropdown menu for software required, select "Other."
  4. Complete all the sections in the provided form.

After your request is submitted, a manual process is involved to confirm whether a Software Assessment is required by the Software Assessment Group (SAG). The SAG is comprised of representatives from different disciplines in the University which includes Contracts, Information Security, Privacy, Records Management, Support, Infrastructure, etc. The group aims to assess software requested by the community for its appropriateness and compatibility for use in the University's IT ecosystem.

Software Assessment Process

In the event that a Software Assessment is required the following process will be followed:

  1. Request for more information, response to the questions outlined below is mandatory to progress your request to the next step.

    Before the software product is installed/purchased, a Software Assessment needs to be undertaken for all new software products to protect ANU Data. To do this we need some information about how the software product will be used:
    • some general information about the software product, including relevant website links (URLs)?
    • what it will be used for?
    • who and how many people will be using it?
    • will it be integrated with any other ANU system?
    • what data/information is going into it? any sensitive or personal information?
    • do you know which country it is hosted in? or where is the data/information stored?
    • what is the annual cost?  
  2. The Software Assessment Group will evaluate the responses, in some cases you may be asked to provide additional information.
  3. If the Software Assessment reveals no security objections with the software product and it can be used at ANU your request will be forwarded to the Service Desk team. If security risks and concerns are identified your request may be closed or referred to the Information Security Office for a comprehensive cyber security risk assessment requiring the vendor to provide technical information. 
  4. If forwarded to the Service Desk team, a representative from the team will contact you and help you with your request.

Appropriate support should be established, contact the vendor directly to seek support or resolve any issues encountered with the product.

For any issues with your request or for further information contact the Service Desk, https://servicedesk.anu.edu.auor call +61 2 612 54321.

2. Requesting academic software for the Information Commons (IC)

The Academic software requests web page is guidance that you should consider if you are an academic and if you are planning to request academic software products that will be used for teaching, learning, and research for the IC before the commencement of each semester.

For further information about the IC software requests please contact Information Commons Liaison, IC.Software@anu.edu.au.

For all software purchase requests

For a software request that involves purchasing, please consider the following policies and procedures:

  1. ANU Procurement rules must be followed:
    • Under $5,000 one quote required
    • $5,000- $50,000 two written quotes. Quotes must be sighted by delegate
    • $50,000 - $250,000, 3 quotes required and a purchase order raised
    • over $250,000 needs full procurement activity
      For further information visit the ANU Procurement procedure. Otherwise, exemption from procurement is required through UPCO.
  2. If there is any personal or sensitive information collected in the data a Privacy Impact Assessment may be required. Contact ANU Privacy Officer privacy@anu.edu.au directly. For further information visit the ANU Privacy website.
  3. The Terms and Conditions should be reviewed to ensure protection of any ANU data and to identify licencing risks. Contact the Legal Office Legal.Office@anu.edu.au directly.
  4. If being used to store any official records, permission is required. Contact University Records Management records@anu.edu.au directly.

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