Full report - State Library of Victoria - Victoria Online

Vicnet:
Reshaping the
Business Model
The State Library’s Corporate Plan 2007–10
commits to reshaping Vicnet’s business model.
It states: ‘We will develop a fi ve-year forward
plan for Vicnet that will strengthen its position
as a leader in the innovative use of technology
in a community setting.‘
Vicnet was established in 1994 to bring the
benefi ts of the internet to Victorian communities,
and to explore the opportunities offered by the
internet to the Victorian public-library network.
Vicnet’s stated purpose is to support the
government’s aim of strengthening Victorian
communities using ICT.
Vicnet’s services fall into three categories:
providing ICT support services to certain
community groups and individuals
managing projects for government
agencies, which focus on the relationship
between ICT and individuals and groups
in the community
providing ICT support services, particularly
connectivity, to certain public-sector entities,
including public libraries.
In 2006 the Library sought additional funding
for Vicnet as part of slv21. In response, the
State Government allocated $500,000 per year
to maintain Vicnet’s core operations. In arguing
for this additional support, the slv21 proposal
said, under the banner of ‘connecting the
community’, that:
‘The challenge for the library
of the 21st century will be to
leverage this body of expertise
in supporting access to and
use of information technology
in the community, so that as
many Victorians as possible
can take advantage of the
information services that will
be increasingly available
to them online.‘
The commitment in the Library Board’s Corporate
Plan to the development of a new, fi ve-year
strategy and funding model seeks to address
this challenge. During 2007–08 it has led to a
sustained program of refl ection, analysis and
research, on which a proposal for the future
of Vicnet was developed.
The program has included consultation –
through market-research studies, formal
stakeholder feedback and a rigorous analysis
of fi nancial arrangements – about which aspects
of Vicnet’s work are most highly valued by the
community and by its government clients.
There has been detailed analysis of each of
the elements of Vicnet’s business to see how
they can be built into a more coherent and
sustainable framework, responding to the
challenges raised by the slv21 program.
The analysis identifi ed that Vicnet delivers a
range of community and library-focused activities
to help Victorians to make better use of the
internet, in that it:
manages and delivers ICT projects
researches and articulates internet
access and equity issues
provides internet connectivity (ISP)
provides web hosting and email services
provides end-user support
develops and designs websites, using
either in-house skills or selected suppliers
designs and delivers community-focused
ICT training programs.
One important conclusion is that some current
Vicnet activities are giving rise to significant
fixed overhead costs that support fluctuating
and unpredictable revenue streams. This means
that the value Vicnet offers government can and
must be delivered in more clever and agile ways.
There are also some aspects of Vicnet’s
work – particularly in the management of the ISP
business and the provision of connectivity
support – where the development of a vigorous
private market in the intervening years since
Vicnet’s formation means that its future presence
in that marketplace needs to evolve.
A proposal which articulated a new Vicnet
business model was endorsed at the April meeting
of the Library Board of Victoria and commits to:
a core program for Vicnet of communitydevelopment
activities with a
technology focus
a complementary project-delivery capacity
in the community technology fi eld (but
with a focus on strategic, value-added
consultancy, brokerage, training and
delivery, rather than connectivity
and technical support)
some aspects of Vicnet’s business involving
the ownership and maintenance of IT
hardware being phased out over time.
This proposal is being implemented while Vicnet
continues to deliver a range of major projects
such as MyLanguage and Open Road, and
continues to provide services for culturally and
linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, as
described on page 74.
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Library Board of Victoria Annual Report O7—O8