TV4Education is so much more than just multimedia content.
A short list of features and functions we will introduce to you at our events: –
TV4Education is so much more than just multimedia content.
A short list of features and functions we will introduce to you at our events: –
Here is a history lesson for all you content users. The history of TV4Education and how it all started.
About 7 years ago we had a library system called eLibrary. One of our biggest users put the question to us “why don’t we catalogue and stream “VEA content”?
Having never heard of streaming let alone “VEA Content” we decided to investigate on behalf of our user.
Our developers started investigating what needed to be done to stream multimedia content and I decided I would contact this company called “VEA” from country Victoria”.
Chasing VEA was a project in and of itself. We left numerous messages and letters putting forward our request and explaining how we would grow their user base by streaming their content from our library system (something that had never been done).
After persisting for 6 months, someone from VEA did answer my phone call. I remember the day and the phone call very well because of the response I got to my request.
I was told if no one responded to my calls and communications, I should be well aware that they were not interested in talking to me!
My shocked response was “my goodness, what a response, all you are doing is setting up a competitor”. Her response on the phone was “whatever, good luck” and she hung up!
The rest is history and www.tv4education.com was born about 24 months later after lots of development and even more discussions with our end users on how they would like to see the product develop.
www.tv4education.com is never standing still as we constantly keep talking to teachers, curriculum coordinators, and education professionals.
In a world where cost is escalating almost monthly, our cost to users are trending down as we continue to grow our subscriber base – and that’s in line with our business ethos that “education is a right and not a privilege”.
Just finalized and released SmartSuite CLOUD project this year – and proud of my amazing staff
At Functional Solutions International Pty Ltd, our core belief is that “Education is a right and not a privilege”.
Everything we do is predicated on this belief and hence to make sure no educational institution is disadvantaged because of financial constraints and any technology constraints.
No other hosting provider provides a more innovative, robust, cost effective FIXED cost hosting solution for educational institutions – guaranteed!
We built SmartSuite from the ground up to be an educational platform that would give any school a set of world class educational tools that would require: –
Our feature and function list keep growing every month as institutions come on board and request additional functionality which is provided at no extra cost.
SmartLibrary CLOUD is the most innovative cost-effective product to hit the education space, ever!
We believe we have achieved our goal to bring World Class Educational CLOUD solutions to any educational institution without requiring “big budget expenditure” and delivering a CLOUD solution that far out rivals anything in the current market on functions and features.
As we keep saying “Education is a right and not a privilege”.
I am so proud of my team of what we have achieved and continue to achieve for education!
Some things I don’t understand like, x months free offers.
My old cynic self-says: –
Will we ever consider offering anything for free? Not really as I would never be able to cross off my own 6 points above.
Nothing in this commercial world is free, it’s usually just a con or worse still, a trap!
I once put my Gmail account on the web for 1 month and said ANY free offers send it here….
Stupid me, I thought I would be able to then sell all this free stuff and retire, sadly I am still here working, and charging a fair price for a fair days work.
Michael – CEO
Things I just don’t understand in the education space and probably never will!
Are we doing the best for our school, our students, our community and our country or are we just occupying till retirement simply because no one else cares and it’s easy?
When I go to bed at night I always asked myself, did I make a difference in this world today and if there was a God, would He be happy with me?
I have three children and one grandson (I hope there will be plenty more), I want to make sure my legacy will be around for them and all the others on this earth long after I and my family turn to dust!
Michael
Functional Solutions more than 25 years ago by the grace of God was given $100,000 by Ferntree Computers to take over their 85 school library customers of the Ocelot Library system as they were pulling out of this market and would be dumping these schools.
To put perspective behind this history; the average wage back then was $28,000/year, all library software licenses were a minimum of $35,000 to purchase plus $6,000 annual support and there were 28 library products to choose from.
A gift of $100,000 went in the face of all commercial business decisions, especially from a corporate organization. This so inspired us that we decided we would honour this legacy and as we had “freely received, we would freely give”.
We decided to freely give away our software free of any purchase or license fees and only charge a nominal support fee of $2,000 for primary schools and $5,000 for secondary schools. Additionally, we also committed never ever to charge for upgrades.
This went against the grain of all commercial business practices, especially in the education sector.
What surprised us then and still continues to surprise us today is the ridicule and negative reporting from education departments and our competitors about our business practices in regards price.
Now in July 2017, I am pleased to report we have been vindicated against all the naysayers and our competitors (most of whom are no longer in business), we are still here. Additionally, our competitors no longer charge excessive obscene license and purchase cost.
The big benefit for education is funds are rightly being placed where they should be; in material resources and NOT services.
We believe we have single handily brought down the cost to market realistic terms.
Well, what about the future?
My next blog we will tell you our direction and how we believe we will also succeed in this new direction.
Why?
Our business ethos is “education is a right and NOT a privilege”. Anything we can do to make our ethos a reality for every student is our goal!
Michael Fernandez, CEO Functional Solutions International P/L