Things to consider when purchasing technology

Is your organization ready to make a digital purchase?  

A digital purchase includes hardware, software and any materials with a technology component. To determine if your organization is ready to procure a cloud product, use the Organizational Readiness Checklist for a New Application. You can also refer to Service and Content Design, which provides guidance on how to design new or existing services. It describes a process to understand what citizens and staff need, and to build the products that will improve the service experience.   

Before starting any digital procurement, you should consider the following: 

1. Review the latest information on the government’s new directives on purchasing technology
2. Do you have funding for your procurement? Try these sources: 
   • Digital Investment Office (DIO) for capital projects under $20 million and less than $10 million in any one year 
   • Treasury Board for operating funds and capital projects over $20 million
3. Consider whether you are buying the most up-to-date software 
4. When looking at SaaS tools, some may be similar to Microsoft 365 suite. You are encouraged to check the Microsoft products suite already under contract with the government before looking towards SaaS tools 
5. Suppliers may not be willing to negotiate the terms and conditions, and you may not have control over the terms and conditions  
6. Consider the additional benefits of your procurement, such as social purchasing, Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement (GERP) and economic impacts 
7. If procuring applications that include artificial intelligence (AI), buyers should ensure that it allows others to use AI responsibly
8. Review Core Policy and Procedures Manual, Chapter 6: Procurement and Chapter 12: Information Management and Information Technology Management 
9. For coding, application creation, and digital resource hiring, contact the Digital Marketplace 

Software contract terms and conditions 

The terms and conditions of software licences may change during the life of the licence. This can introduce risk to government. Contact the Risk Management Branch (RMB) for more information.  

Cloud vs. on-premises software 

Government is taking a cloud-smart approach.  

Cloud infrastructure allows flexibility in a contract – it will expand or contract to meet your organization’s demand.    

Visit Cloud Services for information about the cloud options available for government.  

A cloud-smart approach recognizes the benefits of cloud services, while acknowledging that other options may better suit certain applications.  

The approach encourages organizations to make thoughtful, strategic decisions around what works best for business and operational needs. 

To help you decide if cloud is the right solution for your organization, here are some things to consider: 

Cloud/SaaS 

• Hosted on the supplier’s servers and accessed using an internet service provider 
• In general, priced under a monthly or annual subscription, with additional recurring fees for support, training and updates 
• Generally considered an operating expenditure 
• Examples include Microsoft 365, Customer Relationship Management (CMR), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Content Management System (CMS) 

On Premises 

• Installed locally, on a company’s own computers and servers 
• In general, priced under a one-time perpetual license fee (usually based on the size of the organization or the number of concurrent users). There are recurring fees for support, training and updates 
• Generally considered a capital expenditure 
• Examples include legacy systems such as Oracle 

While many types of software are offered on-premises, most are moving to cloud. Learn more things you need to consider when purchasing cloud or on-premises software.