VSWare - A new MIS for the UK

[GREED]

Anyone interested in another MIS offering?

 

Lets hope they have more luck than the previous foreign entrant to the UK market! (Those that know me know the irony there!)

 

Time to Overhaul MIS? | UKEdChat.com - Supporting the #UKEdChat Education Community

[CAM]

All the flash stuff on their website killed my browser tab. I had to abandon viewing it. :/

[GREED]

Lets hope their actual product doesn't do the same!

 

To be fair it isn't their site.

[featured_spectre]

If that website is anything to go by, I'd rather drink vinegar through my eyes!

[CAM]

No, I clicked through to their site with the full screen video of a child with a cape and lots of flashy expanding boxes and image slidehows.

 

http://www.vsware.co.uk/ (I dub thee Angelfire 2.0 until you make it readable if you are watching this thread guys. ).

Edited May 9, 2014 by CAM

[gazskeltz]

What a rubbish web site.

 

Gave up

[X-13]

The site is fine on my phone...

[kinster]

The site looks good

[pete]

Listing the ability to do DFE returns using the MIS as a "benefit" troubles me. It's a pretty basic requirement that I'd expect from any MIS.

 

I'd also suggest that if they really need to fill my screen with a video, they might pick teachers being able to write reports quickly and then relaxing in the beer garden with a pint as a better selling strategy.

Edited May 9, 2014 by pete

[Michael]

It loaded fine in IE10, however I must admit - it's not exactly how you'd expect an MIS system to sell itself. I think the website developers to re-think their strategy.

 

Although the key points are good, this is what I'd expect from every cloud MIS system. I genuinely think that if any of these new cloud MIS systems wants to take over the world (as it were), you should be able to buy a license directly online and just get on with it. You can do this with a good percentage of cloud based solutions these days.

 

None of the MIS providers publically publish their prices on their websites - makes you wonder why?

[matt40k]

Guess again, look at the G-Cloud, I've found two so far:

 

Integris G2 | CloudStore | Gov.UK

Arbor Education Adaptive Management Platform | CloudStore | Gov.UK

[GREED]

Although the key points are good, this is what I'd expect from every cloud MIS system. I genuinely think that if any of these new cloud MIS systems wants to take over the world (as it were), you should be able to buy a license directly online and just get on with it. You can do this with a good percentage of cloud based solutions these days.

 

Sure... if you can then get your data across and into it... and train your staff up.

[pete]

**Waits for @Michael to realise he's volunteered as a human SIMS > Cloud conversion routine**

[Michael]

**Waits for @Michael to realise he's volunteered as a human SIMS > Cloud conversion routine**

 

Well detaching and re-attaching the database should be straight forward, but you're right, no MIS system translates perfectly to another. This is why migration tools should be made available to submit data to the cloud securely.

 

As to whether I'd volunteer - probably not, I'm by no means an MIS expert.

[kinster]

Well detaching and re-attaching the database should be straight forward, but you're right, no MIS system translates perfectly to another. This is why migration tools should be made available to submit data to the cloud securely.

 

As to whether I'd volunteer - probably not, I'm by no means an MIS expert.

 

You going to write and export/import script?

[Michael]

You going to write and export/import script?

 

No - but if an MIS provider seriously wanted the business, they'd make many available for all the more commonly known MIS systems. Otherwise how can you expect to get any customers if you can't migrate existing data?

 

For example in Birmingham, when a good percentage of schools migrated from the original DOS version of SIMS to Facility CMIS, I suspect migration tools were provided.

[kinster]

No - but if an MIS provider seriously wanted the business, they'd make many available for all the more commonly known MIS systems. Otherwise how can you expect to get any customers if you can't migrate existing data?

 

For example in Birmingham, when a good percentage of schools migrated from the original DOS version of SIMS to Facility CMIS, I suspect migration tools were provided.

 

Agree, I asked about them in one of the threads but didn't get much of an answer.

[Michael]

Agree, I asked about them in one of the threads but didn't get much of an answer.

 

Which is just silly really... unless by chance you're a completely brand new school with nothing to convert? Probably less than <1% of all schools out there are completely new.

 

You also need to think long-term and say if you were dissatisfied with company A as a cloud solution, how easy would it be to migrate to company B's cloud solution?

 

You'd of thought this is where Government/Councils/the DfE or other would step in and specify a standard to adhere to. Schools then have a free market to pick and choose.

[sparkeh]

No - but if an MIS provider seriously wanted the business, they'd make many available for all the more commonly known MIS systems. Otherwise how can you expect to get any customers if you can't migrate existing data?

 

For example in Birmingham, when a good percentage of schools migrated from the original DOS version of SIMS to Facility CMIS, I suspect migration tools were provided.

I suspect that if an LA signed up to move the majority of its school to a new system, the provider would move Heaven and Earth to migrate the data. Maybe not so much for individual schools?

[Michael]

I suspect that if an LA signed up to move the majority of its school to a new system, the provider would move Heaven and Earth to migrate the data. Maybe not so much for individual schools?

 

Depends how you look at it - SIMS is SIMS, no matter which school or LA to the best of my knowledge. The OS and SQL version are irrelevant really, so long as they fall into the 'supported' category. Once you have a set of tools for a particular MIS, it should in theory just work.