Sponsor News and Announcements

[sakhgar]

Since launching the UK’s first AI powered MIS at BETT this year, Bromcom developers have been working on exciting new ways for artificial intelligence to be integrated in the system. More than just a chatbot, our vision is for it to be an indispensable personal assistant, able to help interrogate data, generate insights, and all the heavy lifting that until now has taken significant time and effort. Take a look at what Bromcom AI can already do, and a sneak preview of what is coming soon… Know Your School Better With Bromcom AI | Bromcom Cloud MIS

 

Is Bromcom AI actually working/gone live with internal data? I have enabled it but when I ask it a question about school data (e.g what rooms are free period 5?) it continues to just think. Very excited to get this up and running!

[sakhgar]

7 weeks into Bromcom now and staff are loving it! Yes there are some small performance issues but the ability to EASILY enter data and then track behaviour data is a such a help in our school. We're coming round to the first round of reporting using Bromcom and am hoping it is just as easy to use and pull Marksheets!

[Redwinegirl]

Hi - we were the same after been bitten previously by moving to Progresso (in the very early days of Progresso!) and having to roll back. All staff were nervous (especially me as I'm responsible for many of the aspects of the software!). We learned a lot from the failed Progresso migration and needed to make sure any new package was fully fit for purpose. Very glad we made the move and didn't take long to get all staff happily using it - even those initially opposed to the change.

[ashleighbrown]

Cloud MIS isn’t only about anytime and anywhere access, but about the ability to develop and improve solutions with agility. Phil Wainewright, CEO of Procullux Ventures, has produced a video exploring the developments in cloud technology in the past few years, and explains why not all MIS are able to deliver the same benefits to users. Check it out, and let us know your thoughts: Procullux Ventures: Cloud computing and the schools MIS market | Bromcom

[ATTACH=CONFIG]70309[/ATTACH]

This was a really interesting insight into how far cloud computing has come in the past couple of decades - it's astonishing to me that some MIS still haven't moved forward from the first phase of cloud application offerings despite how far cloud services have actually come since then, especially since other sectors seem to have had no issues in keeping current. Although I do agree with some of the other comments about performance of core functions and reporting speed needing to also be a priority with development, I also am very intrigued to see how Bromcom AI will develop in the coming months. When I first heard it was in the works I was initially very apprehensive, particularly about all staff having access to such a powerful tool but after familiarising myself with it more I'm definitely coming round to the idea and of course Bromcom roles and permissions can be used to only enable it for the staff we want to have access to it, so it will be very interesting to see how it develops!

[Bromcom_mark]

David Moran, former CEO of one of the biggest MATs in the country, has written a white paper on the importance of flexibility and configurability in an MIS. David provides some insights and examples, drawing on Corinium MAT as a case study, and their experience to date:

 

The selection of the right Management Information System (MIS) is a pivotal decision that can significantly impact the daily operations and long-term success of a school or academy. Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and individual schools often engage in extensive evaluations and comparisons when considering different MIS solutions. Feature checklists, technical specifications, and sales pitches are just some of the aspects that weigh into the decision-making process. However, as many institutions have discovered, there is often more to an MIS than what meets the eye in the initial evaluation.

 

The story of Corinium Education Trust provides an enlightening case study. The trust, comprising a secondary school and three primary schools, embarked on a journey to enhance its MIS by transitioning from SIMS to Arbor. The decision was made with optimism and expectations of improved efficiency, streamlined processes, and better data management. However, the trust soon found itself facing challenges and limitations within that were not apparent during the selection process... Read more

[sefton]

There seems to be a trend by the forum sponsor to try to slag their competitor off rather than accentuating the positives of their own product. I fear they have misjudged their audience on this forum.

[sakhgar]

To be honest I don't think the sponsor is rubbishing their competitors and are merely stating facts through a case study. At my school I was also faced with the task of choosing between Arbor and Bromcom (which wasn't easy). Ultimately you had to see past the Arbor sales person who was quite secretive with his pricing and kept forcing my hand in order for him to reveal details. I am grateful that I had insight via other schools who went with Arbor and could see its floors which then lead me to ultimately go with Bromcom. At the end of the day you're putting your trust in an organisation who will be managing the heart of your school (The MIS). You don't really want to turn around after one year and then move again to another MIS because the system cannot meet your needs!

[sakhgar]

This was a really interesting insight into how far cloud computing has come in the past couple of decades - it's astonishing to me that some MIS still haven't moved forward from the first phase of cloud application offerings despite how far cloud services have actually come since then, especially since other sectors seem to have had no issues in keeping current. Although I do agree with some of the other comments about performance of core functions and reporting speed needing to also be a priority with development, I also am very intrigued to see how Bromcom AI will develop in the coming months. When I first heard it was in the works I was initially very apprehensive, particularly about all staff having access to such a powerful tool but after familiarising myself with it more I'm definitely coming round to the idea and of course Bromcom roles and permissions can be used to only enable it for the staff we want to have access to it, so it will be very interesting to see how it develops!

 

Totally agree with the video. We have had to move twice due to MISs shutting down because they could not keep up. SIMs are an example of MISs having to adapt allowing better access remotely. Cloud computing will open the doors to AI integration and are already making integrations such as Google classroom so much more easier!

 

Of course performance will need to be invested in to ensure success.

[supportman]

To be honest I don't think the sponsor is rubbishing their competitors and are merely stating facts through a case study. At my school I was also faced with the task of choosing between Arbor and Bromcom (which wasn't easy). Ultimately you had to see past the Arbor sales person who was quite secretive with his pricing and kept forcing my hand in order for him to reveal details. I am grateful that I had insight via other schools who went with Arbor and could see its floors which then lead me to ultimately go with Bromcom. At the end of the day you're putting your trust in an organisation who will be managing the heart of your school (The MIS). You don't really want to turn around after one year and then move again to another MIS because the system cannot meet your needs!

 

We had a similar decision although iSams was also a consideration back then as well. Price wasnt a huge decider for us as each supplier will usually match at least for the first contract. I wanted the best system.

 

I think the thing that swung it for us was the integration with cashless catering as well as the superior MCAS parent portal app in Bromcom. I know now that arbor has caught up with the cashless stuff but I still think their parent app is lacking having seen them both side by side.

[sakhgar]

We had a similar decision although iSams was also a consideration back then as well. Price wasnt a huge decider for us as each supplier will usually match at least for the first contract. I wanted the best system.

 

I think the thing that swung it for us was the integration with cashless catering as well as the superior MCAS parent portal app in Bromcom. I know now that arbor has caught up with the cashless stuff but I still think their parent app is lacking having seen them both side by side.

 

That's exactly what the other schools told me about the Arbour parent app when I was making the decision. They said the app was quite basic and was limited in what it could show parents. They also mentioned performance on some Android phones. When I visited a neighboring school they showed me the MCAS app and through a member of staff who had a child at the school. It was a complete game changer for us and was one of the reasons we moved forward with Bromcom.

Edited November 24, 2023 by sakhgar

[CullenL]

Generally Bromcom works well for our school. The cover module has glitches though that have not been addressed since we migrated to Bromcom over a year ago. We are a large school, and Bromcom doesn't work well with our split breaks/lunches. In cover the ability to see staff timetables and groups is great, but then producing your own bespoke report really takes some getting used to. The online community is great, although you get a quicker response from the facebook group!!

[Bromcom_John]

I would come on here a lot more and extol the virtues of our own product but honestly I still haven't got my head around the fact that, since we took on the sponsorship, I can

So many years of having to tread carefully ere my account get slapped by the mods!

[Bromcom_John]

Generally Bromcom works well for our school. The cover module has glitches though that have not been addressed since we migrated to Bromcom over a year ago. We are a large school, and Bromcom doesn't work well with our split breaks/lunches. In cover the ability to see staff timetables and groups is great, but then producing your own bespoke report really takes some getting used to. The online community is great, although you get a quicker response from the facebook group!!

 

I am aware that a overhaul of Cover is on the cards within the dev roadmap. It has been working in its current form for quite a few years, so is due some TLC

I recommend that anyone interested take a look at the following link..

https://whatsnew.bromcomcloud.com/

Have a look through recent developments and also, I think you might be able to take a look at a few upcoming ideas.

Unfortunately you'll be too late for the quarterly release webinar, I think those took place yesterday.

[supportman]

I am aware that a overhaul of Cover is on the cards within the dev roadmap. It has been working in its current form for quite a few years, so is due some TLC

I recommend that anyone interested take a look at the following link..

https://whatsnew.bromcomcloud.com/

Have a look through recent developments and also, I think you might be able to take a look at a few upcoming ideas.

Unfortunately you'll be too late for the quarterly release webinar, I think those took place yesterday.

 

How's the new timetable stuff coming along?

[vikpaw]

I would come on here a lot more and extol the virtues of our own product but honestly I still haven't got my head around the fact that, since we took on the sponsorship, I can

So many years of having to tread carefully ere my account get slapped by the mods!

@Bromcom_John - if it makes you feel more at home i can offer free slaps

[Bromcom_John]

How's the new timetable stuff coming along?

 

Looking good from what I have seen.

The team presented their preliminary release a couple week back and it was well received.

So look to see stage 1 out before the end of the year, just don't quote me as I am not in that decision pipeline

[Bromcom_Support_2]

Weekly Roundup Time!

 

Let's take a quick look back at the things we have been up to this week..

 

Monday

 

 

Tuesday

 

 

Wednesday

 

 

Thursday

 

[Bromcom_Support_2]

Exciting times at Bromcom! 🚀🚀 As we gear up for the festive season, we're delighted to share the fantastic developments coming to our Management Information System (MIS) in 2024, thanks to your invaluable feedback!

 

Expanded Development Capacity:

 

In the upcoming year, we're increasing our software development capacity by 20%! This means more innovative features and improvements, ensuring our MIS remains at the forefront of technology to meet your evolving needs.

 

New features:

 

Your requests haven't gone unnoticed. We are introducing web-based timetabling, a central record hub, and new dashboards in Vision. And that's not all – our Finance module is now equipped with three-year budgeting, offering you comprehensive financial management capabilities.

 

Growing Customer Service Team:

 

To elevate your experience, we're increasing our Customer Service Team's headcount by approximately 25%. Expect even swifter and more effective support, making your interactions with Bromcom seamless and satisfying.

 

Don't hesitate to reach out for any support or assistance. Our dedicated team is ready to help you unlock the full potential of Bromcom's features and capabilities.

 

https://bromcom.com/contact-us

[supportman]

Weekly Roundup Time!

 

Let's take a quick look back at the things we have been up to this week..

 

Wednesday

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]70504[/ATTACH]

Very much enjoyed the Chelsea event, although somehow I missed the mince pies??

 

Great to hear from Fergal about the new stuff coming in 2024. It pretty much covered all my top major gripes, specifically: MCAS iPad specific app, cloud timetabling and merge contacts.

 

Also fantastic to hear you are working through the ideas backlog, this should have been done sooner though

 

Lastly the efficiency and speed project sounded very promising. Thanks for listening to us customers.

 

Since I'm here, I'd love to see improvements in Room and Equipment bookings with full calendar views and easy 1 click booking....

[Bromcom_Darren]

Very much enjoyed the Chelsea event, although somehow I missed the mince pies??

 

Great to hear from Fergal about the new stuff coming in 2024. It pretty much covered all my top major gripes, specifically: MCAS iPad specific app, cloud timetabling and merge contacts.

 

Also fantastic to hear you are working through the ideas backlog, this should have been done sooner though

 

Lastly the efficiency and speed project sounded very promising. Thanks for listening to us customers.

 

Since I'm here, I'd love to see improvements in Room and Equipment bookings with full calendar views and easy 1 click booking....

 

Thank you for coming it was lovely to see so many Bromcom customer collaborating together and engaging with the presentations. It's the kind of event the BromCommunity wants to host more of throughout 2024 and beyond. Let us know via the Community what you want to see presentations on and what topics you would like to see covered.

 

On the above note, if there are still any Bromcom customers that haven't as yet joined the Community, please do drop me an email to [email protected] and an invitation will be sent to you.

 

https://community.bromcomcloud.com/auth/login

 

Thanks

Darren Moody

Community Manager

[Bromcom_John]

Looking good from what I have seen.

The team presented their preliminary release a couple week back and it was well received.

So look to see stage 1 out before the end of the year, just don't quote me as I am not in that decision pipeline

 

and release one of the new web timetable has in fact hit the cloud!

It is very much a first release, lots of stuff to come down the pipeline (Auto scheduling etc.)

Took me around 30m to get my head around it without reading the manual (I'm stubborn that way)

Reported a couple of nice to have to the team that are not there at the moment, only to be happily informed that they are all already on the roadmap but that auto scheduling was the priority for release 2.

[supportman]

and release one of the new web timetable has in fact hit the cloud!

It is very much a first release, lots of stuff to come down the pipeline (Auto scheduling etc.)

Took me around 30m to get my head around it without reading the manual (I'm stubborn that way)

Reported a couple of nice to have to the team that are not there at the moment, only to be happily informed that they are all already on the roadmap but that auto scheduling was the priority for release 2.

 

Thats awesome, its no mean feat to write a timetable app!

 

My timetabler is always moaning that things are too automated and he wants granular control. He does have a brain the size of a planet though

[sefton]

Thats awesome, its no mean feat to write a timetable app!

 

My timetabler is always moaning that things are too automated and he wants granular control. He does have a brain the size of a planet though

 

We're all control freaks.

[Bromcom_Support_2]

At Bromcom, we believe that having an MIS that places students, staff and data at the core of your operations is pivotal to your school’s success. However, finding yourself connected to a contract that doesn’t align with your needs puts you at an disadvantage.

 

ESS has written to schools who signed a 3 year agreement from 2022-2025 and invited them to renew and enter another 3 year agreement, with the prospect of increased annual costs if they don’t.

 

 

We don’t believe schools should feel pressurised into making a decision that may not be in their best interests. Other options are available. To find out more, check out our latest news article here.

[Bromcom-PR]

🎄✨ As sponsor of Edugeek’s MIS Forum, wishing you a Merry Christmas from the Bromcom family! 🎅🎁

 

As the year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for your continued support. May this festive season bring you joy, warmth, and moments of togetherness with your loved ones.

 

Thank you for being a part of our journey. We look forward to another year of growth and success together