SISRA Online

[rpwillis]

(You have no idea how idea how safe I was playing my Google search to find the correct spelling of paedophile lol)

 

Oh the irony of misspelling criminal next to it!

[matt40k]

Hahaha

[DBMan]

When considering an off-site solution I would need to cover the following points to my satisfaction before recommending it for further assessment:

 

- who has access to the data at the remote premises?

 

- are the servers/storage in a shared server room, and if so which other companies staff have access to the server room?

 

- are all staff properly vetted? (should cover evryone with access to server room)

 

- how is the data secured during transmission, capture, processing and reporting?

 

- how is the data backed up, how often and where are the backups held?

 

- how quickly can it be restored and how can I prove this?

 

- what if the internet connection at there end is lost...are we toast?

 

- how can the results be warranted as accurate against my SIMS data given that no direct access to SIMS data is possible for comparisons?

 

- what happens to the data if the provider goes bust/loses interest/gets taken over etc?

 

- who owns the intellectual property if the firm goes bust – it there any escrow covering this?

 

- can I obtain explicit permission from each data subject before I send their personal data to an off-site company? Can I justift the time required to get this permission?

 

- why are they not a SIMS partner…if they can’t/won’t pay £5k to become one do I want to send them my sensitive data?

 

- price per pupil per year (must be LOW)

 

- length of contract (I avoid multi-year lock-ins as requirements change and suppliers should fight for my money!)

 

As well as technical, DPA and data security issues, I would also look into any company that I was considering sending sensitive data to:

 

- how many staff and their roles i.e. if the main techie leaves where does that leave us...stranded?

 

- when was the company founded?

 

- who are the directors?

 

- what is their track record in this field?

 

I’d much prefer a SIMS-based solution that leaves the data where it is and uses the capability we’ve already paid for, backed by a company like Capita that’s been trading for more than a year or two.

 

One of the ex-Business Objects consultants I bumped into recently pointed me at this from CACI which may be more my style:

 

CACI - Education

 

He says he worked on it a few years ago and that it runs against SIMS data without the need for exporting data and all the issues that brings.

 

Anyone used it???

 

I also hear from the same fellow that there is a SIMS-based enhanced reporting capability about to be announced by some ex-BO bods.

 

Competition is always healthy imho :-)

[ChrisH]

I have just been asked to look at this as well. Has anyone else got any comments on this?

[SISRAOnline]

I have just been asked to look at this as well. Has anyone else got any comments on this?

 

Chris, feel free to register for a free no obligation demonstration of SISRA via our website: SISRA ONLINE : WEB BASED EXAM RESULTS ANALYSIS : HOME - we won't bite, honest!

 

The demonstration will give you a very good feel as to how easy the service is to use.