Sector-driven software procurement
Software procurement across higher education is becoming more complex by the month. Costs are rising, markets are consolidating, and institutions are being asked to do more with less.
Over recent months, I’ve been working closely with colleagues across Jisc and UK Universities Procurement Consortia (UKUPC) as part of the UUK Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce. We’ve been investigating these pressures in detail to identify where acting together can make the biggest difference.
Sector challenges with software procurement
What’s striking is how similar the challenges look across institutions; unsustainable price increases, particularly in locally-contracted SaaS solutions, inconsistent use of sector-wide spend, and the proliferation of institution-level agreements that weaken strategic vendor management and service outcomes.
And as a sector, we’re also becoming increasingly reliant on a small number of suppliers for critical systems. Too often, we’re tackling these issues in parallel rather than together which weakens our collective leverage and drives up costs.
This is where sector-powered procurement really matters, and your involvement in the process can make a difference sector-wide.
By pooling demand and negotiating collectively, institutions can secure terms they can trust, reduce risk and achieve meaningful savings. Last year alone, our licensing portfolio delivered more than £500 million in savings for the sector. But that value is only realised when institutions choose to act together.
Jisc and UKUPC partnership
Although frameworks managed by UKUPC and Jisc are specifically designed for UK education and research, inconsistent adoption means the sector is not fully realising their value or collective negotiating strength.
That’s why the partnership between Jisc and UKUPC is important in fully realising the value, resilience and outcomes possible in software procurement across the whole of the higher education sector.
By combining our expertise in licensing negotiation, procurement and supplier engagement, we can strengthen the sector’s position in a way no single institution can achieve on its own.
Get involved in sector-powered procurement
Data sits at the heart of this work. Understanding where collective leverage is strongest helps us focus effort where it will have the greatest impact. Early proofs of concept, combining negotiation with targeted tendering, are already showing how a coordinated approach can reduce costs and improve outcomes for institutions.
Procurement and IT teams across the sector need to work together, share insight and data, encourage consistent use of sector frameworks, and build senior-level support for collective supplier engagement. These actions may feel small in isolation, but together they maximise budgets, reduce duplication and strengthen institutional resilience.
But this only works with strong engagement from across the sector. And that’s where my ask to you comes in.
As the work of the UKUPC partnership progresses, we will be reaching out directly to these teams to share their insight and perspective. Your engagement will be critical to ensuring this work delivers meaningful, sector-wide value.
What happens next
Activity will be structured around three strands:
- improving awareness and take-up of existing agreements
- developing a sector-led strategy informed by shared data and insight
- delivering targeted proofs of concept that demonstrate what collective action can achieve
We shared this approach with UCISA in January 2026, and will continue consulting with the procurement community, the National ICT Group and colleagues across the sector. A key next step is gathering institutional data aligned to the objectives of the UUK Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce.
Longer term benefits for the sector
I see this partnership as a positive shift in how the sector approaches software procurement. It builds on what we already share: common challenges, deep expertise and a commitment to securing better outcomes for institutions, staff and students.
Most importantly, it reinforces Jisc’s role as a strategic partner – helping institutions secure better value, stronger terms and greater long-term resilience through sector-driven licensing agreements. The need for collective action has never been clearer, and the opportunity to make a real difference is well within reach.
About the author
In my role I am responsible for the delivery of a high performing procurement and supplier management service for Jisc and our members. This includes:
- Working with all directorates in Jisc to develop a procurement and supplier management strategy to support the corporate strategy
- All sourcing and procurement activity, including setting up frameworks and DPSs used by our members
- Commercial contract and supplier management for all contracts and frameworks
- Ensuring that our procurement strategy is in line with our commitment to reducing our carbon emissions
- Being and active member of the UK procurement/purchasing community, particularly those within the higher and further education sector