Description
A technology review is required for all information technology, communication technology, or software purchases/renewals, including "free" services and services developed in-house.
After submitting a technology review request, a multi-departmental committee of campus professionals, each with unique areas of expertise, seeks to understand if the University currently owns a comparable solution that will perform the same function as the new requested solution. The University currently owns and tracks over 2,000 different software applications. This number grows each year as new software requests are made.
The review checks for three specific areas:
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Digital Accessibility Services reviews the requested product or service using a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to ensure that it meets the accessibility requirements set forth by the Federal and State of Ohio laws for our students, faculty, staff, and the general public. This helps assure the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance (ECRC) that we have protected the rights of our students, faculty, staff, and the public. This review is conducted using the information provided by the vendor. An exception may be made on a case-by-case basis. Details on what to include are described in the process to request an exception.
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Information Security conducts a security review to protect the individual and the University from security breaches and ransomware attacks. The vendor provides a Higher Education Cloud Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT) assessment form or System and Organization Controls 2(SOC2) to OHIO or OHIO will send a questionnaire to the vendor containing questions that must be successfully completed before their approval is granted.
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The Purchasing Department and Legal Affairs review the End User License Agreement and/or the Terms and Conditions to ensure the agreements are compliant with Ohio state law and University policy (for more information, please review the Terms & Conditions). If they find terms and conditions that the University cannot agree to, they will draft up an Addendum/Amendment with modified terms. The Purchasing Department will work with the vendor to negotiate the Addendum/Amendment. If an agreement is not reached, the request will be denied (requestors may then work with OHIO IT on an alternative solution).
Once the agreement is signed by all parties and all other reviews have been completed successfully, the requester will be notified by OHIO IT and Purchasing separately to complete the purchase/installation/setup process.
Note: The failure of any one of these reviews can result in the denial of the solution purchase request.
Exceptions to these requirements can only be made per the recommendation of the Information Security Office and General Counsel based on extenuating circumstances and a minimum 5-7 weeks must be allotted for this review process.
Note: Review of technology requests typically take a minimum of 45 days to be routed through the approval process.
Please request a technology review as soon as you have selected the product you wish to purchase or renew. You may need to work with your vendor to gather the required user and technical details as part of your request. For help with a software or technology purchase, contact the IT Service Desk.
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Additional resources
Join the Device Support and Software Advisory Community
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The Device Support and Software Advisory Community is open to OHIO students, faculty, and staff who have an interest in software availability, computer support, virtual desktops, digital signage, and other devices managed by the University.
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