New Adobe Agreement Creates Cost Savings Across Higher Education System

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, OneNet, the Council on Information Technology (CoIT), and the Oklahoma Higher Education Procurement Cooperative (OHEPC) negotiated a new agreement with Adobe that is estimated to generate net cost savings to the state of nearly $350,000 over three years. The State Regents, with project leadership by Oklahoma State University, worked to extend availability and reduce the price of this software suite to 26 campus locations in the state system of higher education.

Adobe Creative Cloud’s collection of more than 20 applications are used in photography, design, video, web development, and more. Examples of popular software include Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. The suite offers both creative and productivity software in a cost-effective package.

One of the State Regents’ key goals is to coordinate contracts for the higher education institutions that reduce costs systemwide. The State Regents led the negotiations with Adobe with the goal of establishing an agreement that would benefit the majority of institutions.

OSU’s purchasing leadership also was vital to the success of the new agreement. OSU’s purchasing department utilized the OHEPC “lead agency” model to encourage institutions to participate in the contract renewal. They also benchmarked Adobe pricing for other states’ higher education customers to better position the State Regents and CoIT to negotiate with Adobe.

Participation in the contract increased over the previous agreement, with 26 campus locations and the State Regents joining the consortium, representing a total of 22,542 FTE. Total FTE participation increased by almost 20% over the 2017 Adobe contract.

“The collaboration among the State Regents, CoIT and the procurement cooperative is a great example of how our higher education institutions work together to create cost savings for the state,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “This collaboration is a valuable model for negotiating future vendor contracts for higher education.”

At the request of CoIT members, the State Regents and OSU negotiated a flat rate for Adobe Creative Cloud, resulting in a 28.4% decrease in pricing for most colleges and universities.

The contract also includes Adobe Sign licensing at a reduced price. The Adobe Sign service enables digital signatures on contracts and other documents. Adobe Sign is designed to reduce paperwork and expedite the document signature process. This application also assists with audit records and provides encryption to guarantee digital signature authenticity.

The State Regents licensed both Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Sign for staff, creating cost savings for the agency over prior agreements.

“In my role as higher education CIO, one of my priorities is to generate cost savings for the state system through technology contracts,” said Vonley Royal, OneNet executive director and higher education chief information officer. “I applaud the work of CoIT and OSU for taking a leadership role in this initiative and creating an agreement that benefits the system as a whole.”