[sims] Sims Hosted or not to Sims Host

[jtoland]

Hi Guys

we have just had a governess meeting last night and they think we are paying to much for Sims support from a company.

We are currently paying around £6000 a year for sims and its support i was wondering if it would be cheaper if we went with sims hosted as they take care of any technical stuff aswell.

i just wanted peoples options on what they have in place and what they think we should do

Thanks

JT

[vyperz]

i wasn't aware there was a hosted SIMS option. I think if you are getting support from Capita then that's about the correct price. The only hosted SIMS I am aware of is SLG but i could be wrong.

[localzuk]

That yearly license cost sounds about right (that isn't just for support though usually, it includes the ongoing updates cost).

 

Capita do offer a hosted SIMS option, but that won't reduce your costs, it'll add to them as you'll still have the support and license costs on top.

Edited June 12, 2015 by localzuk

[jtoland]

Ah ok thanks

[snagrat]

I'm not sure if they cover your area but Scomis is Devon do a very good SIMS Hosted solution. They do work all over the country so don't assume they are too far away

http://www.devon.gov.uk/scomis-simsterminalserver

[Banjo]

Are you buying from the LA or Capita at present as otherwise you would have two invoices, one for annual maintenance (Capita) and the other from your SIMS support team?

[jtoland]

Well its a company called one education and as far as we know its sold threw them

[Damon]

You need to do some more digging as to who you're paying the license (annual maintenance) to. The LA can usually offer a discount as they have bulk bought via CAPITA. Unless One Education were formerly the LA team, I doubt you will be paying the license fee to them. Comparing SLA costs from different SIMS Support teams isn't black and white. You need to look at what's included, what they can offer and the quality of their service. Without any idea of the size of your school, whether that includes the annual maintenance and what services you're receiving, it's hard to say whether you're paying over the odds.