University Information Technology (UIT) has signed a university master services agreement (UMSA) with Salesforce that allows the University of Utah and University of Utah Health entities to engage with the company on equal terms without the need to negotiate department- or college-specific contracts. A business associate agreement (BAA) with Salesforce is still under review.

UIT Enterprise Software Engineer Brandon Gresham said that because two vendors—Salesforce and Carahsoft—provide the university with Salesforce licensing, the U’s Purchasing department requires that contracts go to bid. However, Gresham said the process is a simple matter of requesting pricing from each vendor.

Gresham said UIT also has partnered with several Salesforce technical consultants who specialize in most Salesforce products. These contracts are applicable across the university. For more information or help contacting the U’s new Salesforce consultants, please email Gresham.

Notes:

• Due to contractual complexities, please reach out to Gresham at brandon.gresham@utah.edu before initiating any bid process for Salesforce products or services.
• To meet HIPAA requirements around protected health information (PHI), certain U of U Health entities may not be able to leverage the UMSA at this time without the university first completing a BAA. An alternative path is available by purchasing licenses through Carahsoft instead.