Provision of license for student platform to access a range of software or applications

Concepts

• software package
• birmingham
• software access
• software
• student platform
• a software portal
• platform
• students
• student
• license

Location

BIRMINGHAM

Description

Provision of license for student platform to access a range of software or applications.

Total Quantity or Scope

The University intends to contract with AppsAnywhere Ltd for the provision of a software portal to facilitate learning and access to software for both students and staff. The contract will commence 01/11/2024 until 31/10/2027. AppsAnywhere Ltd currently provide licences for access to software across various devices, on and off site, through Cloudpaging technology, eliminating the need for manual installations. It has become the primary platform for software access over the last two years, with integration into the Canvas Virtual Learning Environment. A three (3) year contract will allow time for a comprehensive review of the University's requirements. Significant internal investment has been made in training and support for the portal, and removing it would negatively impact strategic goals and user experience. An options re-appraisal and procurement process will be initiated before the end of the renewal period to ensure the best future fit and value for money.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 48000000 - Software package and information systems

Indicators

Legal Justification

This is a license renewal of an existing key product used to facilitate Student Learning as well Staff. AppsAnywhere Ltd has been supplying the University of Birmingham for the past three (3) years. The University of Birmingham uses the AppsAnywhere tool to provide a software portal to both students and staff which is accessible on all devices including on campus machines, staff working on or off campus on their university owned or personal device and for students working on or off campus on their own personal machines. The AppsAnywhere portal provides software to the end user depending on their scenario such as being on or off campus, using a university owned device or a personal device, and allows users to launch the software using Cloudpaging technology included with the product that allows end users to access the software without having to manually install the software onto their device. If the software cannot be launched via cloudpaging then AppsAnywhere will either signpost to other methods to access the software or advise the end user on why they cannot use the software in their current scenario, e.g. the software may be licensed to be used on campus only, or on university owned devices only. The AppsAnywhere portal has become the primary way for staff and students to access software over the past two (2) years. Regardless of the software the ideology is you visit the software portal and either gain access to the software or be signposted to how to access/obtain the software. AppsAnywhere can also be integrated into our Canvas Virtual Learning Environment allowing students to launch applications straight from Canvas. The plan is to extend the current contract for a maximum period of up to three (3) years. This time will be used to fully assess and review the requirements allowing a full review. A significant amount of internal investment in terms of developing training materials and supporting users has taken place since adoption Removing or replacing AppsAnywhere at this stage would adversely impact our immediate strategic goals, and would directly have a detrimental impact on the staff and student experience and would require significant time and staff resourcing. The Business Owner will need to undertake an options re-appraisal and associated procurement process eighteen (18) months before the end of this three (3) year period in order to obtain the best future fit in terms of requirements and also value for money.