[sims] SIMS Demo

[wwood]

Hello,

 

As a school, we would really like an MIS system that is directly installed onto computers instead of cloud based and through a web browser, much like SIMS. Please could anybody help me look into this such as if there is a SIMS demo anywhere or any other MIS systems that are not cloud based and must be installed onto a computer itself. We do have a very basic SIMS program which only allows you to take the register but it is a standalone application which just helps you get the feel of SIMS, preferablly we would like a demo which has more functions and options of SIMS available as the one we have now, as I said, strictly only allows register taking and all the other buttons are fake and do not work.

 

Thank you so much,

 

WWO

[Norphy]

I mean this with the greatest of respect but I have to ask - why? Why on earth would you want that? Putting aside SIMS’s horrible, outdated interface for a minute, SIMS is a massive time sink. It’s a piece of software that’s updated frequently, it’s big, it’s complex and frankly it’s not that reliable.

 

Keeping the server up to date is close to a full time job in itself, then having the hassle of keeping the clients up to date as well is huge. There are entire companies out there dedicated to supporting SIMS and SIMS alone because the support that Capita (or whatever they call themselves) now is so poor. Getting data out of it and into tools like PowerBI is also a challenge.

 

The only reason I can think of to not use a cloud system is if you have a poor internet connection. Having a cloud system accessed through a browser means you have to do nothing to maintain the system itself, plus these systems have none of the legacy cruft SIMS has. I would urge you to think very carefully about installing SIMS and I would also ask, who actually wants this? Has your school specifically said that they want clients installed on each workstation?

[Aprice]

I think you might struggle here. I can't see any player in the MIS market that would start developing a desktop app solution now, Even SIMS seem to be taking the direction of moving towards web apps (or have at least suggested that they are doing this component by component).

 

SIMS market share is plummeting, that alone would make me nervous about investing in a declining product. A radical redesign of the product if it ever comes is likely to make it web based, which is apparently not what you want. The alternative option see for SIMS I can see is that it eventually gets to the point where the customer numbers no longer justify the continued development and support operations that keep it going.

 

I'd suggest having a look at the following blog:

https://bringmoredata.blogspot.com/

Edited November 28, 2023 by Aprice

[Roberto]

I did some work with a group who had written a custom ‘on prem’ MIS system for a college (@norphy yes that one. Well sort of.) and considered making a vastly improved and rearchitected version for sale but there was no market for it. Not enough people want this to make it viable and you don’t want to be out there relying on custom code by yourselves. Edited November 28, 2023 by Roberto

[JSmithBHS]

I would seriously consider all MIS’ - what are your reasons for wanting an mis with a full client interface?

 

Even Sims is heading towards being cloud based, I imagine you’d have at least a decade before sims get their act together at the current pace.

[kennysarmy]

Checks to make sure it's not April 1

[bknaggs]

Checks to make sure it's not April 1

 

I had a similar thought.

 

Seriously though ESS are likely to be your only option for any form of SIMS demo.

[jthompson]

Yep, SIMS would almost certainly be the only MIS with an on-prem desktop app option these days, but even they are unlikely to be offering it in that form to new customers now. Since it was bought by ESS, the business has been geared around shifting everyone to SIMS Connected, with a view to ultimately going cloud-native, so I suspect as anew customer they'll just be offering you SIMS Connected. At which point the properly cloud-native competition seems like an easier choice.

 

SIMS isn't well-loved on these forums, and is unlikely to be any IT bod's first choice. Most of us using SIMS in some form are likely doing that because our schools have a long history of using it and it's therefore deeply embedded into workflows throughout the organisation.

[supportman]

This has to be a joke Either that or the Sims marketing department is getting pretty desperate