Quilt Affiliate Member BCNET Continues to Build Value through Collaboration

Helps to reduce and avoid increased costs by $9.2M for Higher Education

[Vancouver, May 15, 2014] BCNET, a not-for-profit, shared information technology (IT) services organization, led by and for its members, revealed today how sharing IT services is helping B.C.’s colleges, research universities and institutes reduce and avoid increased IT costs by over $9.2 million in fiscal year 2013/14. BCNET’s collaborative model enables the entire public, post-secondary sector in B.C. to leverage its buying power and share best practices for hardware and software procurements, IT services and advanced network services.

BCNET is continuing to collaborate with the sector to reduce costs and gain efficiencies by leading IT related initiatives in partnership with 25 post-secondary institutions and the Ministry of Advanced Education through the Administrative Service Delivery Transformation (ASDT) initiative.  The ASDT project is a sector-led initiative aimed at gaining administrative efficiencies, reducing and containing costs and enhancing the quality of services for the sector.

“We have been effective at facilitating a unique, cooperative, inter-institutional environment to explore, evaluate and offer shared IT solutions,” claims Michael Hrybyk, President and CEO of BCNET. “Together with our members, we have operationalized four procurements, and realized efficiencies of over $6.1 million in fiscal year 2013/14. An additional five procurements and 11 IT services are in the development phase this year. Furthermore, we have measured $800,000 in cost avoidance for two operational IT services and avoided costs of $2.3 million for Internet transit, Internet peering and Advanced Network services.”

About BCNET

BCNET is a not-for-profit, shared information technology (IT) services organization led by and for our members, British Columbia’s higher education and research institutions. Owned, governed and funded primarily by our members, we facilitate a unique, collaborative, inter-institutional environment-one based on equality and common goals-to explore and evaluate shared IT solutions for mutual technology challenges.

We leverage our collective infrastructure, expertise and resources to provide shared IT services that cut costs, streamline processes, eliminate technology duplication and improve operational efficiency of our members that in turn helps better serve students, faculty, staff and communities.