LAEStratford Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 Dear MIS Users, We are in the process of choosing a new MIS System. Are there any recommendations as there are so many out there. The most common one seems to be SIMS, but if you had to choose one, which one would it be ? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Regards LAEStratford.
vikpaw Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 Oh boy. Can of worms! Well it depends on what you need, obviously mine is best (for me). If you're in the UK and a state school there are around 10ish to look at against your requirements.
LAEStratford Posted May 11, 2015 Author Posted May 11, 2015 Dear Vikpaw, Which one do you use and what functions of your job does it meet ?
matt40k Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 Vikpaw is an international school, his requirements are vastly different from a LEA maintained school in England. It'll help to explain what type of school you are. ScholarPack for example is a very good MIS system, but it's only for primary schools. SIMS .net is a very good all rounder, but it might not be as suitable as another MIS system if your a Google school with only Chromebooks. For a bit of general advise, @GREED site has a very good list of MIS systems and answers to some common questions, it also lists what schools are using based on the Census return - The Eduware Network | EDUcation aWAREness for Data Systems – Home of the MIS Challenge. 1
elsiegee40 Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 @LAEStratford what type of school are you at? Independent? Free/Academy? LA maintained? Is it primary, secondary, earoy years or a combination of all three?
GREED Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 Vikpaw is an international school, his requirements are vastly different from a LEA maintained school in England. It'll help to explain what type of school you are. ScholarPack for example is a very good MIS system, but it's only for primary schools. SIMS .net is a very good all rounder, but it might not be as suitable as another MIS system if your a Google school with only Chromebooks. For a bit of general advise, @GREED site has a very good list of MIS systems and answers to some common questions, it also lists what schools are using based on the Census return - The Eduware Network | EDUcation aWAREness for Data Systems – Home of the MIS Challenge. Thanks as always @matt40k
CAM Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Ask around your local authority to see what neighbouring schools use. You can bounce ideas around and support each other.
GREED Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Ask around your local authority to see what neighbouring schools use. You can bounce ideas around and support each other. The spreadsheet @matt40k references contains a breakdown of what is used in each LA and numbers of
LAEStratford Posted May 12, 2015 Author Posted May 12, 2015 Dear elsiegee40, We are a 6th form only 16-19, free Academy. Im looking at iSAMS, Capita-SIMS, Bromcom and Progresso, each of them claiming to do everything, so it is rather confusing at the moment.
elsiegee40 Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Dear elsiegee40, We are a 6th form only 16-19, free Academy. Im looking at iSAMS, Capita-SIMS, Bromcom and Progresso, each of them claiming to do everything, so it is rather confusing at the moment. And what Financial package do you use? Does it need to be able to communicate with the MIS?
vikpaw Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Dear Vikpaw, Which one do you use and what functions of your job does it meet ? We use DoubleFirst Engage now, with a few remnants of SIMS doing basic tasks for Fees, and FMS for finance. You can see more on my journey here http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/148000-end-era.html However, as Matt said, we're international and wanted independence coupled with configurability. With your UK shackles, you'd do better with one of the core big players, but it still depends on what you want and need, your user base, age of students etc. as above replies. This thread is still a great read for reference and particular the post i'm linking to has a link to external guidance. There are a few good documents on creating a list of requirements to help compare all offerings you look at. http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/76154-something-keep-eye-dfe-2.html#post811535 If you're looking to change, who you are currently with, could impact your decision to some extent depending on experience, ease of keeping old data versus migrating all to the new system. Boy are you in for some fun ahead
LAEStratford Posted May 12, 2015 Author Posted May 12, 2015 Dear elsiegee40, The financial package we use is called dimensions and does not need to communicate with MIS.
matt40k Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 iSAMS, Capita-SIMS, Bromcom and Progresso You'll be fine with any of those. With your UK shackles Eh?
LAEStratford Posted May 12, 2015 Author Posted May 12, 2015 Thats all good advice - thanks everyone !
CAM Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 The spreadsheet @matt40k references contains a breakdown of what is used in each LA and numbers of Whoops, forgot about that. I even put it into a fancy graph! :facepalm:
vikpaw Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Eh? Read that as meaning some kind or random Tory rule driven so-called "system".
matt40k Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 Read that as meaning some kind or random Tory rule driven so-called "system". LOL!!! Tory's have no idea what systems schools use, they most likely think they run the school on a spreadsheet! (~Waits for @PhilNeal to correct me~)
Griff Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 We have SIMS - ermm well yeah read the forum you should get a feel for it Ones I would look at; DoubleFirst Engage (saw at BETT looked very good and it appears to be a very dynamic team behind it really wiling to work with you) Integris G2 (used a lot in my local area) Ones I personally don't like: Bromcom
matt40k Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 @PhilNeal is a Tory? Never would have guessed. Unless they release who voted for who, which I don't see the problem with - we'll never know for sure. Was more referring to Phil being the guy who would know if he's company has been visited by MPs. So I'm interested in what conspiracy theories you have that the UK government somehow imposes on schools that would limit their choice of supplier?
dhicks Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 However, as Matt said, we're international and wanted independence coupled with configurability. To that list I'd add interoperability, especially with your VLE - you want your VLE to be able to read class lists and so on from the MIS and write things like grades back. 2
Stopfords Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 Hi, We changed our MIS to Bromcom this time last year and are very happy with it. The move was almost painless and the guys at Bromcom could not have been more helpful. Bromcom is a very progressive company and in the last year we have seen many improvements to what we though was already a very good product. They are always listening to their customers about how to improve the product. Highly recommended 2
Griff Posted May 13, 2015 Posted May 13, 2015 Hi, We changed our MIS to Bromcom this time last year and are very happy with it. The move was almost painless and the guys at Bromcom could not have been more helpful. Bromcom is a very progressive company and in the last year we have seen many improvements to what we though was already a very good product. They are always listening to their customers about how to improve the product. Highly recommended So progressive they don't regularly attend the BETT Show?
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