When I was a college student I worked on the other end of this: a faculty member and I were technical consultants for the University as they were evaluating some software systems. Let me just say: colleges can be a pain in the neck. There is a TON of regulation on higher education (from student-related regulation, FERPA sort of stuff to financial regulations on grant money and such) which can be a big barrier to entry.

I don't know enough about your niche to say anything definitive (and I'm not really an expert, anyway) but I was working on selecting a research and export control system and there was a ton of regulatory policy we had to learn/consider. I'd say you should start by talking with faculty members who are directly involved with the process to see what you're getting into.

The one question that was pretty constant across the departments I worked with was "How long will this company be around, and what is our support commitment?" Universities usually avoid spending money on IT if they can, so they want a product that is going to be well-supported. Switching solutions is costly, so that makes them fairly risk-averse as well.

In addition, the procurement processes are usually bureaucratic nightmares, but that's the same with large companies :)