ESS SIMS 3 Year Contracts

[Ditto]

In the spirit of Christmas, I think we do need to point out the silver lining for SIMS - they no longer need to worry about the Competition and Markets Authority treading on their toes

[Gussie]

ParentPay’s move to a 3 yr renewal is causing a headache for school leaders Edited December 21, 2021 by elsiegee40

[msi_school]

You don't know our staff

 

That being said, I know most would relish the opportunity to have something that would work on a phone or at home but that we've decided to wait for now. No doubt there will be some outcry from those stuck in their ways but the way I see it is that it's almost 2022, things change, the world of teaching, the ICT systems in use and how they all integrate with the curriculum and in a pastoral sense too is an ever evolving landscape that teachers (and support staff) need to evolve with alongside.

 

Things change every day in education, new methods, new processes, new courses and new subject to name a few. When the IT department make a change you get push back which is why this needs SLT support, it won't make the noise stop but it will make the staff use the new system.

[jemal]

Has anyone who's sent notice to ESS to terminate their contract had any confirmation in writing yet that they've acknowledged the termination request? I emailed ESS in November, had a salesman call up early December from a mobile phone, went through the motions about why we're leaving, and was told we would be getting confirmation back about the cancelation, but not heard anything since. Chase up emails to the annual entitlement address haven't resulted in anything either apart from the automatic reply of allowing them 2 days for a reply.

[FragglePete]

I e-mailed them several weeks ago for our account manager to phone me. Had confirmation that he would but have heard nothing, zip, nada. Looked up his details on Linked In, and from what I can see he works as a contractor not for ESS themselves. Go figure.

 

Pete

[DavidYoung]

Sorry for not updating before Christmas. We tried to give our notice but were told by our account manager at ESS that, in line with the email sent at the start of December which had the 'Next Steps' section that we did not need to give notice before the end of December or even at all.

 

· If you wish to renew your SIMS contract on the new basis of a three-year term, we have asked that you inform us by 31 December 2021, but you do not have to. You can renew at any point up to or including 31 March 2022 or indeed any point thereafter. It is up to you.

 

· If we don’t hear from you by 31 December 2021, we will invite you to confirm certain details, including your pupil numbers, via the Portal by 1 February 2022. If you don’t update these details, we will assume they are unchanged. We will then issue an invoice for the relevant amount on or around 1 March 2022. Although we will issue you with an invoice, it will not mean that you are committed to renewing for the three-year term. To renew requires your express consent, which you can give via the Portal, or in writing, or by email to [email protected] or by paying our invoice.

 

· If you choose not to renew your Annual Entitlement agreement it will expire on 31 March 2022. If you subsequently renew, any new agreement will be backdated to 1 April 2022 and will ensure that you receive all software updates that have been issued since the expiry of your previous agreement.

 

 

I did want to just double-check that we wouldn't inadvertently be tied into the new contract and our account manager confirmed that their original position was to automatically move everyone on to the new contract but that this had changed:

 

I can assure you that no contracts will auto-renew, and although all schools who have not given a decision by the end of February will receive an invoice, there is no legal obligation for you to sign these new agreements.

 

I suspect this is was in response to the threat of legal action.

 

So we have not confirmed our notice and I will do this once we have a new supplier in place before the invoice gets raise in February.

[paulkerton]

So where is everyone with this currently? I'm guessing alternative suppliers are rallying together post Christmas break ready to push on with migrations starting from next week!

[mthomas08]

So where is everyone with this currently? I'm guessing alternative suppliers are rallying together post Christmas break ready to push on with migrations starting from next week!

 

Our PO order is being sent over today and once that is done, the ball will surely start rolling.

[ABR82]

gone and done. Awaiting the start of our migration process. Though I have plenty of other stuff to do in the coming days so I'm quite OK with not having heard anything post christmas!

[Primus]

We're all done, as a MAT we're all migrated to Arbor, we kicked off the process before the SIMS renewal information hit and we're relatively small (3 secondary, 2 primary) but it was quite straightforward, even with migrating schools from 3 different existing MIS.

[Wubbalubbadub]

So where is everyone with this currently? I'm guessing alternative suppliers are rallying together post Christmas break ready to push on with migrations starting from next week!

We awarded Arbor the tender. 22 schools. 4 Secondary.

 

Waiting to hear back about the migration process.

[supportman]

We moved to Bromcom last year. Very happy with the change and it was much easier than anticipated.

[PrimaryNetMan]

Had already begun moving 3 Primaries over to Arbor prior to the SIMS announcement. The once piece of advice for migrating is make sure everyone involved with attendance is up to speed ready for the go live date.

[sefton]

Had our first training session with Arbor yesterday for moving our MAT over during the February HT.

[Jace58]

Changing to Arbor (Secondary); staying with current support provider.

 

Initial meetings etc last term, paperwork signed and sent off in December, migration to be completed by April; awaiting next instructions!

[reedstec]

Changing to Arbor (Secondary); staying with current support provider.

 

Initial meetings etc last term, paperwork signed and sent off in December, migration to be completed by April; awaiting next instructions!

 

Is that April date based on your contract end, or their earliest availability?

[Jace58]

It's based on our contract end, so is effectively a final deadline. There will be lots of training and preparation going on in the meantime.

[localzuk]

So from what I can tell, just from the few posts on here, ESS seem to have lost at least 65 schools through this. More than likely more (those that don't post on Edugeek).

[supportman]

So from what I can tell, just from the few posts on here, ESS seem to have lost at least 65 schools through this. More than likely more (those that don't post on Edugeek).

 

Still a very small amount in the grand scheme of things.

 

It really suprises me so many people simply sat back and renewed for 3 years with a legacy software company that has an inferior product and has had for a few years now.

[DBR99]

That's our view, too. We can't sensibly conduct a MIS review alongside everything else we've already planned for the year, so we'll renew. If the product becomes unusable during the 3 years, if no development happens, or if ESS lock us down to Parent Pay bolt-ons not our own choice, we will take the financial hit and walk away mid-contract. It hurts to plan that with public money, but it seems better than making a hastily-thought-out move now or staying tied to a bad product for 3 years. We've changed mid-term on other products before, when things changed internally or a particularly good competitor product arrived.

 

We've also taken that view. We've had our SIMS remote hosted by SCOMIS for the last 2.5 Years, it works. We dont have to worry about Solus and patches and staff can access via RDP from anywhere. Our SLT reviewed MIS systems prior to switching from old individual servers and LA support and didn't like either Arbor or Bromcomm. I've discussed and we'll review in 18-24 months and if ESS haven't delivered (which I guess is quite likely!) then we'll go through a proper evaluation/tender process. Personally I'd be worried of making a hasty swop, not from a technical POV, but in the learning curve for key staff like the Data Manager, Attendance Officer, Exams Officer etc when they are already at full stretch. Have to say though, this has been so badly handled by ESS - why not leave the annual rolling contracts and offer a sizeable discount for signing up for 3 years?

[enjay]

Interesting curve ball thrown here, as the Deputy Head is on the verge of signing with Edulink who currently only feed data from SIMS.

[localzuk]

Still a very small amount in the grand scheme of things.

 

Not really. Especially as they got rid of the "you must cancel by Dec 31st" thing. 65 schools just from half a dozen people who post on here is a lot. I'd hazard there are a significant number more jumping who just don't use Edugeek.

It really suprises me so many people simply sat back and renewed for 3 years with a legacy software company that has an inferior product and has had for a few years now.

Some people fear change.

[mthomas08]

Interesting curve ball thrown here, as the Deputy Head is on the verge of signing with Edulink who currently only feed data from SIMS.

 

Bromcom and Arbor will most likely have this setup soon (both seem confident in time for March 31st).

Edited January 7, 2022 by mthomas08

[supportman]

Personally I'd be worried of making a hasty swop, not from a technical POV, but in the learning curve for key staff like the Data Manager, Attendance Officer, Exams Officer etc when they are already at full stretch.

There is absolutely no need to be worried, our key staff had dedicated 2hr webinars for their particular areas from a Bromcom training lady who was familiar with Sims as well. They were up and running as normal by lunchtime on the first day. We had similar fears when we moved but it turned out to be nothing, It actually made me change my view on some of the staff that I thought would be difficult or stuck in their ways, all credit to them for adapting.

 

Have to say though, this has been so badly handled by ESS - why not leave the annual rolling contracts and offer a sizeable discount for signing up for 3 years?

 

Because ESS are now owned by private equity and their sole purpose in life is to extract every single penny from their new asset. Locking schools in who are a little slower on moving is a clear business decision to maintain their market share. Some schools might not move now, but over the years I think it will become apparent thats its impossible to "fix" sims into a modern MIS. All the while native cloud competitors will surge ahead, meanwhile schools are locked into very long contracts and simply unable to move without wasting public money on duplication.

Edited January 7, 2022 by supportman

[Theblacksheep]

Bromcom and Arbor will most likely have this setup soon (both seem confident).

 

Although I'm not sure why you'd need it with Bromcom, other than service continuity.