[isams] 📢 Networking Opportunity for iSAMS Schools: Let's Connect!

[TomBusfield]

Hello everyone,

 

 

As an iSAMS user, I've noticed how valuable it can be to connect with others in similar roles across different schools. Whether it's sharing solutions to common challenges, discussing best practices, or simply learning from each other's experiences, there's a lot we can gain from networking as iSAMS users.

 

 

To that end, I’d like to open this thread as a space for all of us to share ideas, ask questions, and collaborate. Whether you’re from a school just starting with iSAMS or have been using it for years, your input is welcome.

 

Here are a few suggestions for how we could use this space:

 

• Share tips and tricks that have worked well in your school.
  
• Discuss issues or challenges you’re facing and get feedback.
  
• Explore how other schools integrate iSAMS with third-party systems like CPOMS, GL Assessments, or Power BI.
  
• Discuss upcoming updates or features and how they might impact us.
  
• Connect to explore joint projects or solutions (e.g., Power Automate flows, SQL queries, custom reports).
  

 

To kick things off:

 

• What’s one feature or integration of iSAMS that’s been a game-changer for your school?
  
• Is there a particular challenge you're currently facing that others might be able to help with?
  

 

Let’s make this a valuable resource for everyone! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and connecting with you all.

 

Best regards,

Tom

Head of Data & Systems

Queen Ethelburgas Collegiate, UK

(Feel free to share your role/title so we can learn a bit more about each other!)

Edited November 21, 2024 by TomBusfield

[A_Castro]

Hi Tom,

 

I think this is a great idea!

 

We're in tentative stages of getting Power BI up and running, we've had some reporting set up around results for SLT which predates me in this role, but we want to use it further around other modules and with a wider audience.

 

I'd also be interested to know how much others are using some of the more admin features in iSAMS such as the Daily Bulletin, News, Calendar etc or if people are relying more heavily on integrations. I'm hoping to talk to our office staff soon on efficiencies as we do a lot of this kind of thing outside of iSAMS but in very manual ways and I want to try and make that easier for all!

 

I'm the Data Analyst at Bedford Girls' School, UK

[TomBusfield]

Hi A_Castro,

It's great to hear you're looking to expand your use of Power BI and streamline workflows—definitely a step in the right direction!

We’re currently at a pivotal stage in our development, with several key Power BI integration projects actively underway. These aim to extend reporting capabilities far beyond what iSAMS offers, venturing into business and commercial forecasting alongside academic analysis. Access to our database via SQL has been instrumental in driving this progress, and we opted not to use the iSAMS 'Central Share' package. From our perspective, it offers limited functionality and is more suited to newer developers or those just beginning to explore Power BI.

Shifting the organisational culture to embrace technology has been a significant focus for us. While we're still on the journey, we've seen promising changes in attitudes and are now driving wider integrations, including exploratory projects around AI and predictive analytics.

On the subject of iSAMS admin features, I share your interest. We've found that tools like the Daily Bulletin, News, and Calendar don’t fully meet our needs, especially compared to the efficiencies possible with external integrations. However, the forthcoming portal system raises an interesting question: will this design shift increase reliance on integrated platform features? I also wonder how systems like Evolve will integrate into this framework, as their compatibility with front-of-house systems isn't immediately clear.

I’d love to hear more about your journey as your projects develop. It sounds like we're tackling similar challenges—happy to share insights along the way!

[always_flying]

Hi all,

I wanted to share some thoughts and experiences from my role, where I’ve been developing dashboards connected via API alongside the day-to-day demands of my job. While some of these dashboards are widely utilised, others see more sporadic use, raising questions about their overall impact and value.

Lately, the biggest challenge I’ve encountered has been the performance of iSAMS. This continues to negatively affect its soft perception onsite, compounded by a noticeable decline in the quality of some Helpdesk responses.

When it comes to the roadmap and development of tools, I used to advocate for keeping everything under one roof. However, my mindset is shifting as we see tangible benefits from external tools such as alternative parent portals and/or SOCS. For instance, we recently received an iSAMS invoice detailing module costs, prompting me to consider dropping features like the Student Portal and Calendar Manager to offset the cost of external vendor tools.

That said, I do share concerns echoed by others: will iSAMS develop internal dependencies on modules, crippling (potentially) the usability of our own data?

In exploring alternatives, I’ve been investigating tools from companies like LAC (Learning Analytics Cooperative), also known as Consilience, and how they integrate with platforms like Veracross. These integrations seem promising but raise questions about scalability, support, and adding another SaaS.

Another key factor in this conversation is the recent change in Power BI costing. This has implications for how we structure data analytics and reporting moving forward, especially when balancing costs against functionality and frequency of use.

I’d love to hear how others are navigating these challenges. Are you exploring external tools as well, or doubling down on existing platforms? How are you mitigating concerns around dependencies?

[NewAgeCol]

Hi All,

 

We’ve got good feedback from moving to “My school portal” away from the standard offering. Our exams officer also like Isams from an exams perspective.

 

I have power bi set up and the access to the Isams backend configured (with some SQL queries ready to go) struggling with how to get it all to connect on a schedule though (without manually running the queries) so would love to talk with someone about how they achieve that!

 

Data lead at St Christopher school

[TomBusfield]

Hi NewAgeCol,

 

 

We faced a similar challenge due to restrictions on IP addresses and security considerations, especially with multiple assets in different locations. Here’s how we worked around it:

 

 

 

1. Virtual Machine Setup: We set up a virtual machine on our server to act as an on-premises data gateway. This allows secure and consistent connectivity to our SQL tables.
    
   
2. Direct SQL Connection: The virtual machine connects directly to the SQL tables, pulling the data required without manual intervention.
    
   
3. DataFlow in Power BI: Using Power BI DataFlows, we aggregate and transform the data from SQL into a semantic model.
    
   
4. Scheduled Refresh: In Power BI settings, we configured a refresh schedule to ensure the data stays up-to-date without manual effort.
    
    
   

This approach has worked seamlessly for us, ensuring secure and automated data updates. If you’d like, I can share more details about setting this up or any challenges we encountered along the way.

 

 

Best,

Tom

[NewAgeCol]

That would be awesome thank you - I tend to have to really spell it out to our IT team so will pop you a message with email etc.

[dhicks]

We faced a similar challenge due to restrictions on IP addresses and security considerations, especially with multiple assets in different locations.

 

We use the hosted version of iSAMS, so we don't have an on-site server and, therefore, don't have direct access to the SQL database behind it. iSAMS' "batch" API is quite good for extracting data - it's not an REST API (that's a separate thing in iSAMS) where you have multiple endpoints you can call, instead you define the data that gets exported for a given API key in iSAMS and then the calling application gets that data in XML format. We have scripts that get that data and process it in various ways (we use data from iSAMS to create users, for instance) - mostly that data gets written to various CSV / XLSX files for end users to use, but we could write it to an SQL database if wanted.

 

I've used PowerBI a little, and been quite impressed with its features, but if I was aiming to process data from iSAMS (and/or combined with various other data sources) I would prefer to extract the data from the various sources into common storage (probably an SQL database fo some sort), then build reports using a Javascript front-end that could be served by a simple static web server, making it possible to more easily distribute to end users, including parents.

[bald_pig]

We use the hosted version of iSAMS, so we don't have an on-site server and, therefore, don't have direct access to the SQL database behind it. iSAMS' "batch" API is quite good for extracting data - it's not an REST API (that's a separate thing in iSAMS) where you have multiple endpoints you can call, instead you define the data that gets exported for a given API key in iSAMS and then the calling application gets that data in XML format. We have scripts that get that data and process it in various ways (we use data from iSAMS to create users, for instance) - mostly that data gets written to various CSV / XLSX files for end users to use, but we could write it to an SQL database if wanted.

 

I've used PowerBI a little, and been quite impressed with its features, but if I was aiming to process data from iSAMS (and/or combined with various other data sources) I would prefer to extract the data from the various sources into common storage (probably an SQL database fo some sort), then build reports using a Javascript front-end that could be served by a simple static web server, making it possible to more easily distribute to end users, including parents.

 

We're using iSams hosted, and have read-only access to the database, you can request this from them.

[TomBusfield]

Hi both,

 

We're iSAMS hosted too - you can work around these limitations using a On-Prem Data Gateway direct to the SQL. Direct write back can also be achieved via REST. You'll need to pay for the privilege, but with the enhanced API access, you can generate your own token for REST giving you full write access.

[always_flying]

This is probably one of the best ways to do this.

 

Has anyone connected things up to Fabric yet? I've been doing some work on this, amongst the distractions...

 

Hi NewAgeCol,

 

 

We faced a similar challenge due to restrictions on IP addresses and security considerations, especially with multiple assets in different locations. Here’s how we worked around it:

 

 

 

1. Virtual Machine Setup: We set up a virtual machine on our server to act as an on-premises data gateway. This allows secure and consistent connectivity to our SQL tables.
   
2. Direct SQL Connection: The virtual machine connects directly to the SQL tables, pulling the data required without manual intervention.
   
3. DataFlow in Power BI: Using Power BI DataFlows, we aggregate and transform the data from SQL into a semantic model.
   
4. Scheduled Refresh: In Power BI settings, we configured a refresh schedule to ensure the data stays up-to-date without manual effort.
   

This approach has worked seamlessly for us, ensuring secure and automated data updates. If you’d like, I can share more details about setting this up or any challenges we encountered along the way.

 

 

Best,

Tom

[NewAgeCol]

Hi Tom - have popped you a private message on here with email details - would be great to have a quick chat whenever suits you

 

Thank you!

[TomBusfield]

Hi Tom - have popped you a private message on here with email details - would be great to have a quick chat whenever suits you

 

Thank you!

 

Hi,

 

My apologies - will reach out soon.

 

Thanks

Tom

[TomBusfield]

We're using iSams hosted, and have read-only access to the database, you can request this from them.

 

Fairly recently, Schools can sign up (and pay for the priviledge) for access to the Dev resources and ability to request REST tokens for internal use - the cost is fairly low and would allow you to develop write back solutions off platform.

 

Perhaps worth speaking with your iSAMS AM if you haven't already?

 

Thanks

Tom

[bald_pig]

Fairly recently, Schools can sign up (and pay for the priviledge) for access to the Dev resources and ability to request REST tokens for internal use - the cost is fairly low and would allow you to develop write back solutions off platform.

 

Perhaps worth speaking with your iSAMS AM if you haven't already?

 

Thanks

Tom

 

Almost a grand a year is not what I would describe as low, especially to edit your own data!

[TomBusfield]

Almost a grand a year is not what I would describe as low, especially to edit your own data!

 

We leverage a range of bespoke automations and integrations, and just within my team, the savings in junior admin salary time on now-automated tasks already exceed the service's total cost. Naturally, your mileage may vary.

It’s true this could be an expensive "sit on a shelf" novelty if underutilised, but when implemented effectively, achieving a positive ROI with this system feels far more attainable than with many of the bolt-ons we’re typically offered.

[bald_pig]

We leverage a range of bespoke automations and integrations, and just within my team, the savings in junior admin salary time on now-automated tasks already exceed the service's total cost. Naturally, your mileage may vary.

It’s true this could be an expensive "sit on a shelf" novelty if underutilised, but when implemented effectively, achieving a positive ROI with this system feels far more attainable than with many of the bolt-ons we’re typically offered.

 

Oh, the "cut staff to pay for things" methodology. No thanks!

[TomBusfield]

Oh, the "cut staff to pay for things" methodology. No thanks!

 

No, it’s the ‘value the skills your team brings and reduce arbitrary tasks’ methodology. Over the last two years, we’ve tripled the size of our team and are now engaged in projects across the entire business. While staying grounded is important, I’d encourage you to avoid getting locked into the ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ mindset—something I’ve seen all too often in this industry.

[dcraggs]

Hi,

 

We are new to ISAMS (Last 5 months). Would be very interested in discussing the building of a community to discuss developments. International based school.

[molitor]

Hi Tom, I'd be interested in finding out some more details. We currently have on-prem iSAMS and are considering moving to iSAMS cloud. From your list we have 1 & 2 setup already, but I'm interested in how you do 3 & 4, especially the semantic models.

[Danp]

Hi Tom, I look after 6 schools using isams and working on the migration for a 7th school.

 

Have you attended a local isams user group meeting recently? They are very useful, I was at the south west one yesterday and it's great to meet with other schools. Last year's event we shared email addresses and the group of us email every few weeks.

[carloslazaro]

Hi Tom,

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Your approach using a virtual machine, direct SQL connection, DataFlows, and scheduled refresh sounds very promising.

 

I'm particularly interested in learning more about the specifics of your setup. Would you be willing to share some more details?

 

Any insights you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks again for your willingness to help!

 

Best regards,

Carlos

[email protected]

[TomBusfield]

On 16/12/2024 at 06:15, dcraggs said:

Hi,

 

We are new to ISAMS (Last 5 months). Would be very interested in discussing the building of a community to discuss developments. International based school.

Hi and welcome! 
 

You are amongst friends here then, as we’re all hoping to strengthen community external to iSAMS moderated meet ups. 
 

Feel free to introduce yourself and any challenges or successes you’ve had recently and I’m sure everyone will help pitch in with ideas and support! 
 

Thanks,

Tom

[TomBusfield]

On 10/02/2025 at 13:32, molitor said:

Hi Tom, I'd be interested in finding out some more details. We currently have on-prem iSAMS and are considering moving to iSAMS cloud. From your list we have 1 & 2 setup already, but I'm interested in how you do 3 & 4, especially the semantic models.

Hi

 

Have you much experience working with Power BI? 
 

If you are currently on-prem, you should be able to set up your semantic models quite straightforwardly via PowerBI desktop. 
Just keep an eye on permissions and data access as there is a temptation to ‘bung in all the data’, especially when you’ve got fairly free-reign over it, and end up a little loose on your DM protocols. 
 

Migrating to cloud does create some hurdles, primarily because of IP restrictions on the iSAMS DB,  but the VM hosted locally as an On-Prem Gateway is a pretty bulletproof work around for most applications. 
 

If you’ve got any specific questions about setting up or getting started, do reach out! 
 

Thanks

Tom

[TomBusfield]

On 11/02/2025 at 15:23, Danp said:

Hi Tom, I look after 6 schools using isams and working on the migration for a 7th school.

 

Have you attended a local isams user group meeting recently? They are very useful, I was at the south west one yesterday and it's great to meet with other schools. Last year's event we shared email addresses and the group of us email every few weeks.

Hi

 

I missed out on the one most recently unfortunately because of a clash, but I do try to attend. 
 

I’m only 3 years in at this school (and iSAMS), and so in-part hunting for answers and part perhaps offering ‘fresh-eyes’ to some of the challenges we face, hoped that any community building would be a positive contribution. 
 

A community circular sounds great, unless we’re observing the North-South divide, would be happy to patch in? Perhaps drop me a DM so we can exchange email? 
 

Thanks,

Tom