Working with a small team, and a limited budget, creates the need to think laterally, explains Taronga Zoo's Jenny Vasseleu.

Based at the zoo, Jenny Vasseleu is manager of IT and planning for the Zoological Parks Board of NSW. A government authority, the Board is responsible for both Sydney's Taronga Zoo and Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

Vasseleu said there were four staff in its IT department. As well as holding overall responsibility for operation of the division, she also works as the systems administrator for SAP and IBM AS400, as well as being the Web master.

As well as the division's other systems administrator, there are two technical systems officers which look after hardware rollouts, maintenance support and helpdesk. One of the technical systems officers also manages Taronga Zoo's point-of-sale system.

Vasseleu has been at the zoo since 1988, and comes from an HR background. After taking on responsibility for the IT infrastructure at the zoo, she found it was running a number of different applications.

-There were about 30 computers in the zoo--17 were dumb terminals hanging off an old Apricot running our then accounting financial system, so it was very difficult converting information," Vasseleu said.

So Vasseleu put a submission to management about how it could be more consistent about the IT infrastructure it was getting.

From there she was given task to oversee a tender to provide computerised ticketing for the zoo. In addition, Vasseleu also worked with the other systems administrator to secure network infrastructure for the zoo under sponsorship, and increasing the organisation's forward planning.

It has also been carrying out a master planning process, with ideas for interactive exhibits and facilities including touch screens which could be set up with sound, video or voice. Vasseleu is also hoping to have information kiosks throughout Taronga Zoo, and is looking at putting in wireless infrastructure so these can be moved when needed.

-If we have wireless we could network the different locations so staff could share information," she said. -We could use and hire out handheld devices [at Western Plains Zoo] to the public when they enter zoo grounds."

Vasseleu envisages that the handheld devices could then be used to connect to an intranet, so users could access information, fast facts, or maybe even e-mail details to themselves. The devices would then be collected from the customers before they exited the zoo.

Wireless would also be useful at Taronga Zoo for staff, Vasseleu said. -Employees walking around zoo and maintaining exhibits could use the device for work requisitioning, if something needed maintenance...or if they're watching a particular animal for health reasons they could make notes which vets could have immediate access to."

Vasseleu reels off the names of vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco, SAP and IBM, which have helped the zoo setting up systems. -We don't have a lot of money or a very big budget in IT," she admits.

The IT budget is largely spent on leasing hardware, she said. This allows it to keep its IT hardware current, and roll over the machines at the end of three years. -Putting in anything new is very difficult, but we've had fabulous support from a lot of IT sponsors," Vasseleu said.

Her wishlist includes seeing the wireless network in place, rolling out a few more modules of SAP, and making use of mySAP.com portals. She said that because of the nature of a zoo people often don't think of it having an IT division.

-We do everything that every other organisation does," she said. -We have a finance dept, HR department, and we've got retail, catering and commercial areas as well as an extensive labour force that cuts across a number of different classifications."

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