For Senior Managers, the vision is focused on flexible service delivery meeting their needs for increased efficiencies and better information management. In particular they want:

• Easy access to information to support decision making
• Effective workflows, increased efficiency and reduced duplication of effort
• Ability to plan iterative change, in the short and long term
• Ability to be responsive to change

For IT Managers, the vision for flexible service delivery is also about better management of information, but with a particular focus on the addressing the underlying data and process integration issues and service-enabling their existing systems. In particular, they want to:

• Understand the goals set by senior managers
• Be influential in setting strategic direction and change
• Be able to discuss architecture at the enterprise level with senior management and teaching colleagues, including their applications and services and the interface and data transfer issues between them, together with the main business processes that drive their enterprise, including any weaknesses or 'pain points'
• Know the costs of running the administrative complexities of existing processes and systems so that it is possible to assess where cost savings and process improvements can be made
• Be able to consider how adopting a service-oriented approach (soa) and implementing a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to their data layer could streamline the architecture and reduce the need for interfaces and rekeyng of data
• Be able to consider how alternatives to traditional software supply models, such as Shared Services, Open Source products, Cloud applications or Software as a Service (SaaS), could add value or reduce costs
• To know of appropriate IT governance structures to support a service focused approach
• Be able to produce a costed roadmap in conjunction with business colleagues of how they plan to role out change, both strategically and iteratively
• Be influential in unlocking the current market inertia of a small number of companies offering large supplier-led solutions with long periods of lock-in, and to help encourage the development of a mixed economy of suppliers who have the technologies and business models available to support shared and flexible service arrangements
• Be empowered to engage effectively with suppliers and be able to purchase costed and interoperable services, based on open interface specifications and standards, and be able to switch between supplier offerings to meet changing institutional needs and priorities

For suppliers, the vision for flexible service delivery is about being able to be responsive to the changing needs of the sector, and to provide competitive, flexible and 'best of breed' offerings as part of a mixed economy. In particular, they want to be able to make available:

• Modular products that have been disaggregated into defined units of functionality, which can be sold as discrete interoperable services, based on open or recognised (or proprietary and publically available) interface standards
• Business models that support flexible and shared service arrangements so that institutions can choose to switch to their offerings to meet their changing needs and priorities

Although not an initial target audience of the Flexible Service Delivery programme, there are likely benefits to other customers, especially learners, teachers and researchers, and support staff such as librarians and administrators.

For teaching staff, the vision for flexible service delivery is focused on technology empowering them to innovate and develop new pedagogies as well as delivering seamless business processes so that administration issues were not a barrier to learning. In particular they wanted:

• Freedom to access whatever online resources they believe to be useful
• Freedom to use whatever online tools they believe to be useful
• Ability to change their delivery 'on-the-hoof' to meet the needs of different cohorts of learners
• CPD to help them understand the capabilities of technology
• Quick and seamless enrolment processes that give learners access to all the facilities they need before classes start
• Visible IT support and dialogue/collaboration with support staff

For learners, the vision is focused on the flexible service delivery environment meeting their needs in a very individualised and personalised way, and as a 'consumer'. In particular they want:

• The ability to choose course content
• The ability to choose the means and timing of assessment
• More emphasis on mentoring and guidance than on 'chalk and talk'
• A range of delivery options that includes online, face-to-face and work-based learning
• Seamless admin processes that mean they don't need to register separately for enrolment, library card, fees payment etc
• Use of appropriate tools that might include social networks and e-portfolios
• Recognition and accreditation of prior learning acquired in the workplace
• An emphasis on accessibility and inclusion