The Division of Operations, Finance, & Support (OF&S) has recently procured an enterprise instance of Asana. Powered by the division’s Strategic Sourcing Initiative, current paid Asana accounts have been consolidated into a single, centrally funded Asana license, allowing current users to experience smoother collaboration, reduced costs, and standardized support – all without the hassle of managing individual software contracts.
By streamlining licenses under one enterprise agreement, the university is reducing overall spending on project management tools—resulting in cost savings for units that previously maintained separate subscriptions.
Why Asana?
OF&S is committed to improving project management (PM) practices, and to date the Rice community has relied on a mix of platforms to track projects and tasks. While these tools have served their purpose, the fragmented approach has led to process inefficiencies, decentralized contracts, and limited ability to collaborate across teams. By moving to a single solution, the university will:
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Enhance collaboration by bringing teams together under one platform.
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Strengthen PM skills across the university through unified practices, common language, and uniform training.
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Reduce costs through collective bargaining and centralized software procurement.
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Streamline support with a unified system and standardized training resources.
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Ensure scalability by providing licenses to meet the growing needs of the campus community.
A Strategic and Phased Rollout
Spearheaded by the Office of Operational Excellence and Engagement, the project team is undertaking a thoughtful implementation approach to ensure effective adoption, proper resourcing, and long-term success.
Phase 1: Laying the Groundwork (Completed)
The first phase is focused on building a strong foundation for adoption. During this phase, the project team accomplished the following:
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Transitioned 300 current paid Asana users linked to the Rice domain from their individual instances into a single enterprise instance, allowing for immediate cost savings to current users.
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Implemented Single Sign On (SSO) with the support of OIT, providing users with a more secure environment.
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Built a new project space for new users to easily access onboarding resources (e.g. setup tips, online training resources, etc.) once expansion occurs.
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Began implementing key settings and features in anticipation of expanding users in future phases.
Phase 2: Thoughtful Growth (In Progress)
In anticipation of enhanced investment in the 2026 fiscal year, the project team embarked on Phase Two of the project by engaging department representatives in an interest session. This engagement included:
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Outreach to over 50 campus unit leaders to provide an overview of the project and seek invitees to the Asana interest session.
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Hosting an interest session with over 100 attendees to learn more about Asana’s free versus enterprise license to determine the best solution for their unit.
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Distributing an Asana Interest survey to attendees to determine how to responsibly grow the enterprise solution at Rice.
Additionally, focused work is underway with current Asana users to ensure they are maximizing new features now available within the enterprise instance. With the help of campus partners, the implementation team is eager to begin welcoming new teams into the platform this summer.
Interested in Testing Asana or Belong to a Small Team?
Asana provides a free license that can include up to 10 team members. The free version suits smaller teams needing a simple tool for basic project management. Additionally, the free version provides a great opportunity for future users to begin exploring some of the functionality that will be offered in the enterprise account. Activate a free license today through Asana’s website.
If you have questions about Asana implementation at Rice, please contact the Operational Excellence team at opex@rice.edu.