Non-Standard Technology Ownership and Support Expectations

Purpose

This guidance establishes expectations regarding the ownership, support, and operational responsibilities associated with non-standard technology acquired by departments, colleges, faculty, staff, researchers, or other IT organizations.

The objective is to help departments make informed technology decisions, understand potential support implications, and establish realistic expectations regarding support ownership and long-term sustainability.

This guidance applies to:

• Faculty in any department or college
• Staff in any department or college
• Researchers and research units
• Departmental, college, embedded, and central IT organizations
• Individuals or groups purchasing technology on behalf of university users

Expectations

Summary

• Non-standard technology may be acquired with or without prior IT consultation.
• Consultation is encouraged because it can help identify support, security, accessibility, infrastructure, licensing, identity, compliance, and lifecycle considerations before purchase.
• Technology acquired without consultation may result in additional operational responsibilities remaining with the purchasing unit.
• UIT User Services may provide best-effort assistance when resources and expertise permit.
• Best-effort assistance does not establish ongoing support ownership.
• Vendors remain the primary source of advanced product support.
• Purchasing departments remain responsible for vendor relationships, ongoing costs, and long-term ownership.
• Procurement, recommendation, consultation, installation, troubleshooting, or awareness of a technology solution does not, by itself, establish UIT User Services as the support owner.
• Clear ownership and realistic expectations help reduce risk for departments, users, and IT organizations.

This guidance is intended to promote informed decision-making, sustainable support practices, and successful long-term operation of non-standard technology across the university.

What We Mean by "Non-Standard Technology"

Non-standard technology generally includes devices, systems, software, or services that fall outside the university's commonly supported hardware, software, and technology offerings.

Non-standard technology may:

• Be highly specialized, vendor-specific, or discipline-specific
• Require unique licensing, infrastructure, integrations, or environmental conditions
• Depend heavily on vendor-provided software, cloud services, or support
• Be acquired for a unique business, academic, instructional, or research purpose
• Require expertise that does not typically exist within general IT support organizations

Examples may include:

• VR/AR headsets and immersive learning technologies
• Specialized research or laboratory equipment
• Bloomberg terminals and other discipline-specific platforms
• Interactive displays and non-standard AV systems
• Specialized peripherals and niche hardware
• Vendor-managed cloud platforms and services
• Pilot, proof-of-concept, or emerging technologies

Non-standard technology is not necessarily unsupported or discouraged. Rather, these technologies often require additional consideration regarding ownership, support, security, accessibility, licensing, and long-term sustainability.

Technology Purchases and IT Consultation

Technology may be acquired through departmental budgets, grants, purchasing cards, procurement processes, or other funding mechanisms. UIT recognizes that not every technology purchase involves consultation with IT prior to acquisition.

While consultation with the appropriate IT organization is encouraged, departments and individuals may choose to purchase technology without prior IT involvement.

Technology acquired without IT consultation may introduce unknown support, operational, security, accessibility, licensing, infrastructure, or integration requirements that are not identified until after purchase.

The decision to purchase technology without prior consultation does not, by itself, create an obligation for UIT to provide support, expertise, system administration, training, implementation services, or long-term operational ownership.

Why Consultation Matters

Technology purchases often involve considerations that may not be immediately visible during product selection or procurement.

Engaging the appropriate IT organization before purchasing non-standard technology can help identify:

• Support requirements
• Security requirements
• Accessibility requirements
• Infrastructure requirements
• Identity and authentication requirements
• Licensing requirements
• Vendor support requirements
• Data privacy and compliance requirements
• Long-term support and lifecycle planning requirements

Failure to identify these considerations before purchase may result in:

• Unexpected implementation costs
• Additional infrastructure requirements
• Additional licensing or subscription costs
• Delays in deployment
• Reduced support options
• Accessibility remediation efforts
• Security or compliance concerns
• Increased dependence on vendor support
• Technology that cannot be fully integrated with institutional systems

Departments remain free to make purchasing decisions. However, technology acquired without prior consultation may result in additional responsibilities remaining with the purchasing unit.

Support Ownership Principles

A fundamental principle of non-standard technology ownership is that purchasing, recommending, installing, configuring, or being aware of a technology solution does not automatically establish support ownership.

The following activities do not, by themselves, establish UIT User Services as the support owner:

• Awareness of a technology solution
• Informal discussions
• Product recommendations
• Procurement assistance
• Installation assistance
• Basic setup assistance
• Limited troubleshooting assistance
• Project participation
• Receipt of support tickets

Departments should not assume that a technology solution is supported by UIT simply because UIT personnel were involved in some portion of the purchasing, deployment, or implementation process.

Support Model: Best-Effort Assistance

For non-standard technology, UIT User Services may provide best-effort assistance when resources, expertise, and operational priorities permit.

Best-effort assistance may include:

• Basic setup guidance
• Connectivity troubleshooting
• Review of available documentation
• Identification of potential environmental issues
• Referral to the appropriate support resource

Best-effort assistance does not guarantee:

• Resolution of all issues
• Product functionality or performance
• Deep product expertise
• Product administration
• Vendor-specific troubleshooting
• User training
• Custom development or scripting
• Long-term maintenance
• Dedicated support resources
• Ongoing operational ownership

UIT involvement should not be interpreted as acceptance of future support responsibility.

In many cases, UIT's role may be limited to helping determine the appropriate next step or identifying the appropriate support provider.

Vendor Responsibility

For non-standard technology, the vendor generally remains the primary source of advanced technical support.

If UIT is unable to resolve an issue through best-effort assistance, departments should expect to work directly with the vendor for:

• Product-specific troubleshooting
• Software defects
• Hardware failures
• Configuration assistance
• Product administration
• Advanced technical support
• Specialized training
• Product enhancements

Departments should consider vendor support offerings and support responsiveness as part of the purchasing decision.

Financial Responsibility

Departments purchasing non-standard technology remain responsible for costs associated with ownership and operation, including but not limited to:

• Vendor support agreements
• Maintenance contracts
• Subscription renewals
• Product licensing
• Replacement parts
• Accessories
• Professional services
• Vendor-provided training
• Consulting services

Central IT organizations should not be assumed to provide unfunded financial support for technology acquired outside standard institutional offerings.

Technology Lifecycle Responsibility

Purchasing a technology solution also creates an ongoing responsibility to maintain, support, and eventually replace that solution.

Departments should consider:

• Equipment replacement
• Product upgrades
• Subscription renewals
• Vendor contract renewals
• User training
• Documentation
• Knowledge transfer
• Staff turnover
• Long-term operational ownership

Technology that becomes difficult to support due to expired contracts, unavailable expertise, undocumented configurations, or staffing changes may require increased reliance on vendor services or departmental resources.

Technology Recommended or Procured by Other IT Organizations

MSU operates within a decentralized IT environment where multiple IT organizations may recommend, procure, configure, install, or assist with technology solutions.

When one IT organization assists with a technology solution that is ultimately used by another department or support organization, that involvement alone does not establish User Services as the long-term support owner.

Departments should understand that:

• Different IT organizations provide different services
• Consultation does not necessarily include ongoing support
• Installation does not necessarily establish long-term ownership
• Project participation does not automatically transfer responsibility
• Product recommendations do not imply comprehensive support coverage

When support ownership is not explicitly established, departments should expect that support responsibilities may remain with:

• The purchasing department
• The technology owner
• The vendor
• The originating IT organization
• Another designated subject matter expert

Security, Accessibility, and Compliance Considerations

Certain technologies may introduce security, privacy, accessibility, networking, identity management, compliance, or data governance requirements that are not immediately apparent at the time of purchase.

This is particularly common with technologies that:

• Connect to university networks
• Store institutional data
• Process institutional data
• Utilize cloud services
• Require authentication services
• Integrate with university systems
• Handle regulated or sensitive information

The ability to purchase a technology solution does not guarantee that the solution can be deployed in all university environments without additional review.

Requirements identified after purchase may:

• Delay deployment
• Require additional remediation efforts
• Increase implementation costs
• Limit available support options
• Require changes to the original implementation approach

Departments should understand that these requirements may still apply even when technology is acquired without prior consultation.

Summary

• Non-standard technology may be acquired with or without prior IT consultation.
• Consultation is encouraged because it can help identify support, security, accessibility, infrastructure, licensing, identity, compliance, and lifecycle considerations before purchase.
• Technology acquired without consultation may result in additional operational responsibilities remaining with the purchasing unit.
• UIT User Services may provide best-effort assistance when resources and expertise permit.
• Best-effort assistance does not establish ongoing support ownership.
• Vendors remain the primary source of advanced product support.
• Purchasing departments remain responsible for vendor relationships, ongoing costs, and long-term ownership.
• Procurement, recommendation, consultation, installation, troubleshooting, or awareness of a technology solution does not, by itself, establish UIT User Services as the support owner.
• Clear ownership and realistic expectations help reduce risk for departments, users, and IT organizations.

This guidance is intended to promote informed decision-making, sustainable support practices, and successful long-term operation of non-standard technology across the university.