If you wish to buy new software please contact the IT Service Desk to discuss your requirements at the earliest opportunity.
In addition to checking whether we already have software that may meet your needs, and providing support and user access, the IT Service desk will check that potential purchases comply with legislation such as GDPR and Digital Accessibility.
For software (which is accessed by a web browser or mobile app) from a third party, we are obliged by Digital Accessibility regulations to ensure that the software is as digitally accessible as possible.
If the software is not compliant, then we need to look for alternatives which are more or fully accessible.
If we buy software which has digital accessibility issues, you will need to consider the impact on users with different disabilities and what alternative provisions you will make for users if they are unable to use the software properly because of those issues.
The same applies to renewing contracts for existing software. We cannot continue with an existing piece of software which has digital accessibility issues. We need to understand the digital accessibility of the current software and, if necessary, seek alternatives with better accessibility.
Please remember to allow sufficient time for checking and testing software when making a software request / renewing a software contract.