Poll: In your current MIS, what is the biggest reason you might consider changing?

[GREED]

I had a rather interesting chat with a school yesterday, prompting me to ask this question:

 

In your current MIS, what is the biggest reason you might consider changing?

[CyberNerd]

Cost of MS licensing and the fact that SIMS is utterly useless for BYOD.

[GREED]

Cost of MS licensing and the fact that SIMS is utterly useless for BYOD.

 

You were too quick I was still creating the actual poll!!! But cheers anyway!

[plexer]

Where's the we're being forced to change to something option?

 

Ben

[azc]

We moved from Capita UNIT-e to Corereo REMS about 18 months ago, and it hasn't made many people happy at all.

[pete]

I'd agree on the cross-platform support. Specifically a cross-platform WebUI included, not as an add-on, with decent fallback modes for mobile clients. By all means have a fat client for heavy lifting, but if I want to mark Jenkins absent, give him a detention or lookup his Mum's phone number, all I should need is a recent web browser that supports SSL.

[3s-gtech]

As above. If SIMS was browser based, it would open things up so much. Would also make upgrades, SOLUS etc so much simpler - one server doing everything.

[Rawns]

How about adding 'Painful to upgrade' to the list?

[LosOjos]

Better assessment and a decent web front end, if not completely web based (though not necessarily hosted, in fact the option to keep it in house would be a definite plus)

[GREED]

Where's the we're being forced to change to something option?

 

Ben

 

I did think that after I posted Ben, but to be fair right now we would know who that is!

[GREED]

How about adding 'Painful to upgrade' to the list?

 

Lacking modern features?

 

Doesn't take a master to work out what system you have

[matt40k]

SIMS is utterly useless for BYOD.

 

Would you really want staff to use their own devices to access sensitive data? I know at work they're looking at it, but it means they can remotely wipe your entire phone\tablet remotely. Get the web\cloud argument, but not heard the BYOD one!!

[GREED]

Would you really want staff to use their own devices to access sensitive data? I know at work they're looking at it, but it means they can remotely wipe your entire phone\tablet remotely. Get the web\cloud argument, but not heard the BYOD one!!

 

No, but surely with BYOD being a mainstay of education today a system should be able to accommodate this? Whether it be cloud or other security method.

[matt40k]

Whether it be cloud or other security method.

 

Doesn't matter if it's "secure", it's only as secure as the weakest point, with BYOD, the device would be the weakest point. If I am allowed to connect using my personal equipment, how would you cope with the fact I've got a guy in china watching my screen and my keystrokes, I'm not saying it doesn't happen with work kit, it just at work, they'd come take it off me and deal with it. They can say, hey, you can't install that, your can't disable that, you need that installed. If it's my kit they'll have to give me kit to use and block my device... which isn't BYOD.

[CyberNerd]

Would you really want staff to use their own devices to access sensitive data? I know at work they're looking at it, but it means they can remotely wipe your entire phone\tablet remotely. Get the web\cloud argument, but not heard the BYOD one!!

 

It sort of happens with Citrix/rdp access or products like emerge anyway - the data doesn't live on the device, it still lives on a server. Granted someone could screenshot the data and then 'loose' it on a bus or copy it to the internet, but that can happen anyway.

Besides I can remotely wipe staff ipads and androids if I want :-)

 

My main gripe is that there are many more complicated products than a database frontend that are already written for multiple operating systems (I never though the Citrix receiver could be HTML5, but it is now!) There is no need to without re-write for Mac,iOS,Android (multiple versions), Linux, Windows 8, WindowsXP, Windows7,64bit 32bit bit blah blah blah. Why do companies seem to think it is still acceptable to write for one platform? just to cut costs on developers because they can only find old hat .net people?

[matt40k]

I don't have a problem with the 1 platform point, it makes sense. Master one platform rather then not actually working 100% in a number. Some of the software I use I have to flick between IE, Chrome and even Firefox and don't even get me started on Java!! Most schools are a Microsoft based, SIMS is in most schools - makes sense, I actually know only 1 school that isn't mostly Microsoft, they run Macs and have RDS server, but I doubt they do it for any other reason then "they" like macs. Educational MS licensing is peanuts for what you get, if you look at linux with proper support it's absolute bomb, Oracle even work. If your not a Microsoft school, don't use SIMS. Simple. Bit I never got was, most schools will have a good internet connection now or could at least get a good connection - ie throw a bit of extra cash at it rather it being cheaper to relocate the school - why isn't Capita pushing for Azure and letting the others pick up the 2% or whatever that still have poor internet, rather then lagging behind letting the cloud MIS take over? Sure @GREED is moaning

 

Citrix\rdp is, yer... a total arse, even Capita have said it before, it's not really design that way, but it works. It's a utter waste really, they really need to proper web version of SIMS, even cut down - and not SLG! - I really wish they never allowed it. Emerge is a much better idea - if only they didn't charge so much for so little!!

[CyberNerd]

problem is that every year we are bringing in more and more devices.

Last time I looked we had 60% Apple devices (6 out of 300 are school owned) on our wireless network and about 10% windows - and these are the ones that staff and students are bringing in. I'm quite surprised that we see so many Apple's - technically we should see more Linux than Apple if global marketshare was being properly reflected.

We don't really buy new machines (other than renewals) any more, yet people want to use more and more technology in the classroom. I can see a point where we are not 'managing' devices at all very very soon. It's just a reflection of the IT industry in general being played out in school.

 

The issue now is that we have hundreds of devices being used in school, yet the MIS system is tied to a particular vendor which is putting undue pressure on our financials. This in-turn is making the MIS system un-viable.

[matt40k]

That's really good, assuming that's not everyone using the free wifi rather then a expensive 3g connection to connect to Facebook!! If the staff are embracing being devices into the classroom rather battling against it, your one of the lucky few.

 

Regards to buying new machines, just replacing, that's good. It was never going to happen that everyone had a computer, in the real world, not all jobs needs a dedicate computer per person, people can share or use other devices - schools are the same. Phones and tablets just reduce the number for PCs needed, you don't need a PC to check facebook, you need a device with big screen and keyboard to write an essay (realistically), that's where the pc steps in. Phones and tablets will get more powerful, but you know what, you'll still need a pc, even if the only different between the pc and the phone is the screen size

 

Regards to you're finance point, the school IT budget is locked, it must be spent on IT, if your MIS cost is really that much, argue that it's not IT and it's an admin cost. The problem I've found is a lot of IT staff will cut corners - no we can't afford Emerge, but we can get RDS which will let staff use the ipad - which doesn't work as well (SIMS doesn't like being poke by human fingers, is soft and requires a mouses touch) rather then going no, we can't afford it, you need to find ££, more often then not, they "find" the money (I guess they look behind the heads chair maybe?) - I've even meet a few people who are very good at extract extra cash from the LA and even the DfE!!

[CyberNerd]

It's not so much the MIS cost that's the problem, it's the MIS + windows + MS CALS + SQL licenses where the costs start to add up dramatically.

[Roberto]

No, but surely with BYOD being a mainstay of education today a system should be able to accommodate this? Whether it be cloud or other security method.

 

How does putting something in the cloud help secure data once it's been pulled down to BYOD desktops? "Cloud" and "security" aren't like sprinkles on top of ice cream.

[matt40k]

It's not so much the MIS cost that's the problem, it's the MIS + windows + MS CALS + SQL licenses where the costs start to add up dramatically.

 

Really? I mean really, if you've got a Microsoft network, it's like what £1k for an extra Windows Server license and a SQL processor license. Or do you think you could remove microsoft completely? Is your curriculum side already done?

[GREED]

How does putting something in the cloud help secure data once it's been pulled down to BYOD desktops? "Cloud" and "security" aren't like sprinkles on top of ice cream.

 

So when I refer to cloud I mean a system that does not pull down data other than that that is currently being viewed. When I refer to security I mean one that is in line with banking security in terms of access and should it require downloading data then a method of remotely removing the data or removing automatically upon exiting the application.

 

At no point do I ever make light of security particularly on mobile devices it is always a delicate balance between accessibility and security, with the slide always falling on the latter where needed. 'Just' putting it in the cloud makes it no more secure.

 

You seem to have taken specific exception to this however?

[CyberNerd]

Really? I mean really, if you've got a Microsoft network, it's like what £1k for an extra Windows Server license and a SQL processor license. Or do you think you could remove microsoft completely? Is your curriculum side already done?

 

I haven't got a MS network - I have a TCP/IP network. Some machines have MS, some don't. More come in that don't than do.

This was my point, that SIMS makes BYOD very costly.

[matt40k]

Mmm, I don't think SIMS is the problem. BYOD is costly to manage full stop. It's like when staff have personal files saved on the works laptop, where do you draw the line to how much effort you spend recovering data.

 

Saying your network is TCP\IP is a bit of a weird statement, are you trying to say your network is basically just a network which connects to the internet and mix of stuff run over it? So it's a bit of hodge-podge of "things" so things are disjointed with a few things that cross over like email? So surely running an "Admin" network isn't that much, I mean you're looking at a basic server running as a DC and SIMS, a few office machines and maybe SLT, everyone else could use Emerge surely - or have they said hey we need Windows so lets go all Windows, Windows, Windows?? You've got a interesting network that's for sure, be interested to see your inventory and helpdesk data, defo sounds like "cloud" would be the answer, just I wouldn't want to be the guy who manages your network!! I like the BCSF style - "laptops broke, oh here take this one, it's the exact same only it not got a gapping hole in the screen"

[vikpaw]

I went for inflexibility - though it's a cross between that and lack of features, or at least the right features.

I was probably looking for unable to meet demands.

I would options for being forced to change like @plexer said and staff dislike of system, management dislike of system, also unable to support internally, and lack of available support. [N.B. Not personal issues, just thinking about schools i know ... ]

Actually, interoperability..?