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How to Purchase IT Software

The ITS software process has been designed to provide a more streamlined, efficient and transparent experience for requests and purchases.

Available Software

The first step is to review the list of available software to see whether what you wish to acquire is already supported by ITS. The list can be viewed in ServiceNow by visiting https://helpdesk.qmul.ac.uk/, selecting ‘IT Request’, then selecting the ‘Available Software/Application Request’ form. 

Once you have accessed the form, you will need to select the operating system of your device (e.g. Windows/Mac), which will allow you to use the dropdown under Application/Software to see which software is already available. 

If the software you wish to request is available, you will need to raise a request for this in ServiceNow. You can do this by accessing the ‘Available Software/Application Request’ form and selecting the relevant operating system, as above, then following the remaining steps outlined within the form, ensuring that all mandatory fields are completed.

Once your request has been submitted, license costs (if applicable) will be provided for the relevant budget holder to approve. Following approval, the software will be deployed as requested.

New Software

If the software you wish to request is not available, you will need to submit a new software request. This is done via ServiceNow - https://helpdesk.qmul.ac.uk/ - by selecting ‘IT Request’, then selecting the ‘New Software/Application Purchase’ form and completing all mandatory fields.

Your request will then be reviewed by ITS to ensure you are asking for a software/application not currently supported. If it is supported, you will receive guidance on purchasing the software. If it is not, you will be asked to complete a submission for the Ideas Forum.

Ideas Forum

When a submission is made to the Ideas Forum, it is initially triaged by ITS Enterprise Architecture to ensure there are no other existing software/applications which meet the same needs and that the software/application fits into the Queen Mary estate. The request is also reviewed by Information Security to ensure it is compliant and secure and by Technology Sourcing to review costing, licensing etc. These tasks run in parallel to reduce the time taken to process the request, with notifications provided throughout to ensure you are kept up to date.

Once the software/application has passed through the above steps, you will be invited to attend the Ideas Forum to present your idea and run through further strategic alignment checks. 

If a request is approved by the Ideas Forum, procurement activities and licence purchasing will be carried out (where required), after which the new software will be deployed.

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