Bobby Handa: Adelphi's Tech Procurement Expert

If you’ve ever needed a new piece of technology for your work at Adelphi, you’ve probably talked to Bobby Handa, Adelphi’s information technology procurement administrator. Handa joined the Office of Information Technology at Adelphi University in 1999, and has held different roles within the University for almost 18 years. In Handa’s current role, IT Procurement Administrator, he works on the entire procurement process for technology assets, from assessing needs for different departments to searching for the best price and negotiating with vendors.

Handa graduated from Farmingdale State College in 1996 with an associate’s degree in electrical engineering technology and the worked in the mortgage business for a few years before joining the Adelphi Community. His friend Christopher Toften, who currently works as a technical support specialist and supervisor at the IT Help Desk, saw an opening he thought Handa would be perfect for, and recommended that he apply. “At the time I wasn’t looking to switch, but Adelphi offered significant benefits, stability being a big one,” said Handa. ”I didn’t know what to expect at all, but It’s important to continue to plug at something until you find what you want.”

Although Handa didn’t expect to end up in an educational setting, he hasn’t looked back since. One of the aspects Handa enjoys most about his position is the diversity of clients he deals with on a daily basis. “One of my favorite things about working in education is that the variety of work is so different. If I were buying tech for a bank, their core duty is only banking, but here you have to interact with a lot of different departments and people. I might have to interact with the biology department, public safety and campus recreation in a day. The corporate world is much more limited, so I love the diversity of working here.”

The work Handa does has a far reaching impact, and can affect many departments within the University. Needs assessment is a crucial part of the procurement process. A department may let him know they need a printer, and think that’s all the information they need to give, but Handa works to determine what different features they might need, and get the proper equipment. This is important, as obtaining the wrong equipment could create more work for the Help Desk, and cause difficulties within the department that requested equipment. “We want to streamline as much as possible. If I work quickly, then installation works quickly. The University is heavily impacted, as there a lot of areas looking at technology for innovation,” said Handa.

Most of the technology on campus is here because of the work Handa does behind the scenes. Technology is always evolving, which means that his job requires keeping up on trends and the latest tech research. While he’s not usually in the spotlight, thanks to his his hard work and dedication  the University is able to support the technology needs of students, faculty and staff of the Adelphi community.