Project February 10, 2026

SmartSelect at the University of Zurich

Transparent decisions. Efficient processes. Successful IT procurement.

The University of Zurich, one of Switzerland's most prestigious universities, faced the challenging task of upgrading various areas of its IT infrastructure. Many systems had reached the end of their life cycle or no longer met the increased requirements of users in research, teaching, and administration. The complexity lay not only in the large number of components to be modernized, but also in the different needs of the stakeholders and the requirement to make the entire procurement process efficient, transparent, and compliant with regulations.

The IT infrastructure was upgraded using mini-tenders. To efficiently manage the large number of requests for quotes, the University of Zurich chose atrete, which supported and moderated the mini-tenders. The focus was on the use of SmartSelect, a digital platform that made it possible to record all requirements in a structured manner and to weight them easily and comprehensibly by means of pairwise comparison. This allowed the diverse needs of all parties involved to be systematically brought together and integrated into the tendering process.

atrete coordinated the entire mini-tender process—from gathering and consolidating requirements to evaluating bids and communicating with bidders and framework agreement partners. The tool-supported approach using SmartSelect not only significantly accelerated the evaluation process, but also made it transparent and comprehensible for all involved. The traceability of the individual evaluation steps facilitated internal coordination within the project team and enabled open, transparent communication with the suppliers.

Thanks to the use of SmartSelect, we were able to carry out our mini-tenders professionally, fairly, and efficiently. This allowed us to conduct our procurements much more quickly and uniformly.

MARCO HÖHLE, TEAM LEADER FOR SERVERS, STORAGE, AND BACKUP / CENTRAL IT DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH

This approach resulted in a noticeable increase in efficiency throughout the entire procurement process. The University of Zurich benefited from a sound and transparent basis for decision-making, a high level of acceptance among all parties involved, and a significant acceleration of processes. The positive experience with SmartSelect and the methodological support provided by atrete has led the University of Zurich to decide to conduct future tenders together with atrete and SmartSelect again.

Further information about SmartSelect can be found here.