Is centralized IT-procurement necessary?
There are primarily three motivating reasons for the development of centralized IT procurement:
- IT procurement is an essential component in any IT service lifecycle. On the one hand purchases must be made in order to provide a service, and on the other hand, procurement may even be an integral part of the service itself – see Client Management. Continuous service delivery is only possible when individual procurement processes are synchronized with service processes.
- IT delivery processes are the core business of our suppliers. To minimize misunderstandings and errors which inevitably result in high costs, we must optimally match our procurement processes to those delivery processes. Centralized supplier management is the key to effective cooperation.
- Since we are a contracting authority, procurement, which is taxpayer-funded, is closely scrutinized by taxpayers. To avoid any legal problems, which could ultimately jeopardize our position, our processes must be considerably more transparent and verifiably accurate than in the private sector.
Centralized IT procurement is less about WHAT and more about HOW. Motivated cooperation with local purchasing managers will place the ETH in a stronger negotiating position with its suppliers and help achieve “best price” conditions. Centralized procurement is for the specific purpose of supporting local purchasing managers and providing them with simple interfaces to smooth procurement processes.
IT Procurement & Portfolio
The IT Procurement & Portfolio (ITS PPF) division offers full and comprehensive IT procurement services for the entire ETH. This includes advisory support as well as legal and technical assistance for all hardware and software purchases and IT services. The division is also responsible for proactive IT portfolio development together with its clients.
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