[sims] Sims Connected & 3rd party integrations - does it work ?

[pooley]

As per title.

 

We are going over to Sims Connected after Christmas, our LA currently host Sims but are pushing everyone over to Connected.

 

We have a number of 3rd party links, some via Wonde and some via software running on a Sims server as a connector.

 

Does sims connected support 3rd party integrations? Any caveat?

 

Thanks

 

Si

[mitchell1981]

It's currently the same as what you have now. One server running as a connector server on a VPN to ESS.

 

Just received the following email from ESS, so it looks like Sims Connected is about to change in some way, but reading this, the Third Party Connector stuff will stay the same:

 

 

Dear ....

 

Starting from July until October 2023, we will be making some service improvements to your SIMS Connected hosting environment, to migrate you onto ParentPay’s new tried and tested private cloud solution. This new environment will provide you with improved performance and stability on SIMS.

 

First, there's some checks you need to do

 

To schedule the switch for your school you will need to confirm the following:

 

• The URL https://connected02.sims.co.uk is in your school’s proxy whitelist. If it is whitelisted the SIMS login page should load as normal, as shown below. If you do not get this login screen please contact your IT team to request the whitelist of the URL https://connected02.sims.co.uk

 

 

• Your 3rd party connector needs to be running a minimum of Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019. If you are not currently on this version, you will need to upgrade your server before being able to migrate. Your IT provider should be able to assist you with this.

[ALittleFish]

With ESS/SIMS Connected, you will have a 'Third Party Connector' (TPC) setup on a server/workstation at the school to handle any 3rd party integrations.

 

It will be best installed onto a Virtual Machine, so you can migrate it across to other physical hosts when/were required.

 

VPN link is installed onto the device to link with the ESS network. Local SIMS client is installed on the device for third party applications to sync data from, everything else from your 3rd party links work the same.

The DB details (Server & DB Name) will be listed in the connect.ini file as usual, and just need copying across into the required apps.

 

Staff SIMS Users will have 'SIMS ID' logins to log onto the SIMS Connected platform, but third party apps will retain just the standard System Manager logins.

 

The SIMS Client will be updated automatically via the Third Party Connector, (Runs a separate service to update the SIMS client) but sometimes you may need to restart the device if the client fails to update correctly.

 

Troubleshooting is typically just checking that the VPN Services are running and checking that the SIMS Client is working as normal. Otherwise you can log a support ticket with ESS.

(We did recently have a school migrate and the 3rd party connector took about 2-3 weeks for them to fix an issue with before it was working, but that does seem to be an outlier.)

FMS:

Any schools using FMS, and use the Budget interfaces to sync with 3rd party budgeting tools, will also need the Third Party Connector installed on a workstation for the Finance Team to use.

The Finance team could log onto the Third party connector (TCP) for this, but it may be best to have a separate TPC installed on one of the Finance workstations instead of needing them to remote onto another device just for the budget interface.

 

On-Boarding

Make sure to note on the on-boarding forms any how many Third Party connectors you need installing. They will usually allow 2 installs during the on-boarding stage.

They may charge for additional TCPs, if you need more than the 2 included.

 

New Third Party connectors:

If you re-image or replace a machine with the TPC installed, then you'll need to log a new install with the ESS 'Professional Services Team' which will charge for each new TCP you need installing.

(I think around £350-£400 per install, so worth trying to avoid re-installs if you can.)