Potential move from SIMS to Isams - have you done it?

[Max_Power]

Morning,

 

I work for a large independant school and we are looking at a potential move from SIMS to iSAMS.

 

We are doing a large compare / questions document for the two companies based on what we do at the moment and where we want to go with our MIS over the coming months and years etc.

 

I would like to know though how people found a migration from SIMS to iSAMS? Easy, hard, time taken, issues etc etc? Also how much data you had in your SIMS database, i imagine if you only used it for contact numbers then it would be easier to migrate than one used for reports, exam results and attendance etc.

 

Any advice would be of great use.

Thanks in advance

[GREED]

Good luck Max_Power make sure you keep us up-to-date on how it goes will be a useful record for all.

[ianhabs]

I also work for a large independent school but I am not sure it is possible to sum up our migration from Sims to iSAMS in a word. It took a great deal of planning and took about 3 months including installation and purchasing and setting up the equipment. The biggest advantage in the process was it forced us to look at what we wanted to use our MIS system for and to prioritise our developments. They were very helpful as data migration between systems is never easy.

We focused around our reporting system, sharing assessment and reporting with the parents. As a result we were able to achieve 91% of parents using the system.

We moved 3 years ago and haven’t really looked back. Nothing in ICT is perfect but staff use the system and it is easy to talk to iSAMS.

Happy to talk further.

Ian

[Max_Power]

Hi Ian,

Planning and preperation are obviously key to a smooth transition. We use SIMS quite alot (Student reports, attendance, Exams, parent access etc) and therefore any migration would have to include this data so that we can refer back. I have spoken to a couple of schools that have made the move but their use of SIMS was minimal to say the least and i dont think that their migration can give an accruate account of what it was like to move.

 

I am also keen to hear from people who have done the reverse and have gone from - iSAMS to SIMS and the reasons for that.

 

Thanks in advance

[ianhabs]

Happy to discuss further in more detail. How would that be easier for you?

Ian

[Anjelica]

As one of the largest schools in Oxfordshire we are consulting on the possibility of moving to Academy status. We have been using SIMS since God was a little girl but today I was asked if there was a better MIS out there and how easy would it be to convert to something new (retirement certainly looks good at this point). I'm now expected to come up with costs, converstion suggestions etc etc at the drop of a hat. Is anyone able to offer tips having looked over to the other side of the fence? Do we have to have an MIS? I'm not suggesting we go back to paper registers and mark books etc but what happens if you can't produce things like the School Census in the required format or offer access to parents. Can anyone tell me how much Capita have charged them when they have converted to Academy?

 

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Sivadam]

As one of the largest schools in Oxfordshire we are consulting on the possibility of moving to Academy status. We have been using SIMS since God was a little girl but today I was asked if there was a better MIS out there.....

 

Has this question been answered then for your situation?

 

Simply from your post, it looks like it has been posed and then a decison automatically made (without answering the question!) that you will move! I would resist any such move unless a thorough analysis has been made of any new system and a thorough comparison made against SIMS. Costs must be weighed against functionality! It's also a crazy time to move when new functionality such as SIMS Discover is just around the corner!

And have you contacted Capitaes directly to find out any costs for conversion to Academy re. use of SIMS?

 

If Phil reads your post then I am sure he will respond!

Edited January 5, 2011 by Sivadam

[Anjelica]

No, no decision has been taken to definately change (as far as I know). There would have to be massive cost savings, I'm assuming, but now the question has been asked I have to look into it. I have asked Capita about costs but our situation is complicated by the fact we are supported by our LA at the moment and the school is talking about a move away from there too.

[Sivadam]

.....I have asked Capita about costs but our situation is complicated by the fact we are supported by our LA at the moment and the school is talking about a move away from there too.

We did just that, on my recommendation, a few years ago and it is one of the best decisions we made! We are still an LA School apart from this!

[scholarpack]

Do schools have to relicense SIMS if they change to an academy? Seriously?

[Sivadam]

Do schools have to relicense SIMS if they change to an academy? Seriously?

It isn't as bad as it sounds the way you put it, but of course they do, no matter what MIS they have - their establishment number will be different!

Edited January 6, 2011 by Sivadam

[scholarpack]

Of course! Anyone knows a new establishment number cost thousands of pounds...

[Sivadam]

Not sure about that! Nothing about the cost on this thread as far as I can see!

Angelica has asked users here, who have gone thro' the process, what the cost might be!

 

I can see that the licences might have to be bought again though by the 'new' establishment, as well as the Maintenance costs having to be paid for, for the following year. It isn't the same as just moving Support from LA to Capita (relatively cheap!)

Edited January 6, 2011 by Sivadam

[skunk]

We have not moved to a new MIS but I hadn't heard of iSAMS until today, does it look like a product that can take over the funcionallity of SIMS (which is reasonably good) with an intuative integrated admin and user interface (which does not exist in SIMS).

 

Any ideas of the cost of the iSAMS?

[skunk]

I see it is for independant schools, ho hum.

[Sivadam]

.... SIMS (which is reasonably good) ....

reasonably good ????

Now that is a description I definitely have to disagree with! Did you mean to type "very good"?

Edited January 6, 2011 by Sivadam

[skunk]

No, there are too many obvious problems with the software for it to rate a very good. I think reasonably good is a generous rating. I hold dear to me the idea that the reason so many things are not fixed/improved is that Capita are secretly developing a killer MIS in the background and leaving us only the crumbs until we are so hungry we will pay through the nose when they drop it on us.

 

Sorry this has gone way off topic.....won't interject again.

Edited January 6, 2011 by skunk
Off Topic

[GREED]

No, there are too many obvious problems with the software for it to rate a very good. I think reasonably good is a generous rating. I hold dear to me the idea that the reason so many things are not fixed/improved is that Capita are secretly developing a killer MIS in the background and leaving us only the crumbs until we are so hungry we will pay through the nose when they drop it on us.

 

Sorry this has gone way off topic.....won't interject again.

 

I don't think that is the case, I genuinely believe that they have so many areas of expansion at the moment they are spreading too thinly to make improvements where needed, as you have mentioned. If you look at all the new features and apps and modules they have built in the last two years. I think once the mobile apps take off and are integrated in normal day to day use, there will be room for reflection and getting the niggles working right.

[Sivadam]

No, there are too many obvious problems with the software for it to rate a very good....

If you post some of your 'obvious problems' here or (preferably) on SupportNet then maybe you would get some help in solving them from other SIMS Users.

Or you might actually pursuade me that they are major issues!

 

 

I assume that this thread is linked with the thread on SupportNet that I have also contributed to re. costs etc!

Change to Academy Status - Databases (30015)

Edited January 6, 2011 by Sivadam

[Sivadam]

OMG!

 

I have just noticed that I have a Green square again.

 

I need a couple of new controversial SIMS quotes/threads so I can get back into the Red again! I have a reputation to maintain!

[Anjelica]

Gosh, it's the first time I've heard of anyone wanting to be "in the red". Still, if that's what you want I'm sure can manage it Sivadam ;-)

[Sivadam]

Gosh, it's the first time I've heard of anyone wanting to be "in the red". Still, if that's what you want I'm sure can manage it Sivadam ;-)

It's quite a long story if you have not been following my posts for the past months. Basically I have waged a campaign against some threads and posts that were attacking SIMS for no good reason and often doing so based on inaccurate facts or lack of knowledge. Indeed, some of the threads that used to appear from first time contributors, did look very 'suspicious'. There are relatively few of those appearing at the current time!

 

Some Users do not like the way I do this and I get 'reported'. I refuse to report those that come back at me in an inappropriate way and I respond openly in the forums, not a very popular way of doing things apparantly. For over 4 decades of working in schools I have always criticised and praised people directly and never 'gone behind their backs'. I will not change now at such a 'mature' age!

 

So my reputation is usually Red, unlike my rep in SupportNet which you are obviously aware of! My reputation here is based on just a few threads despite the fact that I have given help to many SIMS Users in the vast majority of threads I have ever contributed to (as anybody can verify if they do an advanced search on all my posts.) It seems that upsetting people counts far more here than helping people does! But my rep here simply does not bother me as long as people still respect me on SupportNet!

 

By the way, I sent you a PM re the issue in this thread!

Edited January 7, 2011 by Sivadam

[Anjelica]

And more power to your elbow!!

[GREED]

OMG!

 

I have just noticed that I have a Green square again.

 

Your welcome

[EdWhittaker]

Do schools have to relicense SIMS if they change to an academy? Seriously?

 

Indeed they do; something which was criticised in the Becta 2010 report. They saw little justification for it and recommended legislation to stop it. Several of our customers have 'acadamised' (is that a verb?), all we had to do was simply change the establishment number and name. We certainly did not try and rip them off for another licence fee.