The administrative purchasing decision took nearly two years. The academic decision, about two hours. All technology purchasing decisions are not the same.
Administrative decisions are more about negotiation and compromise.
The length of time required to make a technology buying decision is a direct result of the size of the purchase and the number of people and departments that purchase will affect. By and large, academic procurement is comprised of many small purchases with specific impact, while administrative procurement is comprised of a few large investments with organizational impact. For instance, a chemistry professor may need a specific software program that analyzes molecular structure or a piece of specialized laboratory equipment, and an art professor may require image manipulation software or video editing equipment. On the other hand, administrative systems such as financial systems, student information systems, human resource systems, LANs or computer centers touch everyone in the university. Such systems require interoperability with legacy databases, existing software platforms and existing hardware.