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TomBusfield

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  1. TomBusfield
    Thanks! Glad all is working well for you! Happy to help. Tom
  2. TomBusfield
    Hi Im very happy to help as much as I can, though I do want to immediately caveat that mileage may vary based on your set up, licensing and in house expertise (often set up relies on a willing and cooperative IT dept). Key points to look into is Virtual Machines and On-Prem Gateway. Both are now fairly well supported on the Microsoft help forums, but I can also answer any more specific questions you might have. From there, you then need to decide what your aim is, if simple data retrieval. If you hope to interact bi-directionally, looking into REST might be worth considering early too? Thanks, Tom
  3. TomBusfield
    Hi I missed out on the one most recently unfortunately because of a clash, but I do try to attend. I’m only 3 years in at this school (and iSAMS), and so in-part hunting for answers and part perhaps offering ‘fresh-eyes’ to some of the challenges we face, hoped that any community building would be a positive contribution. A community circular sounds great, unless we’re observing the North-South divide, would be happy to patch in? Perhaps drop me a DM so we can exchange email? Thanks, Tom
  4. TomBusfield
    Hi Have you much experience working with Power BI? If you are currently on-prem, you should be able to set up your semantic models quite straightforwardly via PowerBI desktop. Just keep an eye on permissions and data access as there is a temptation to ‘bung in all the data’, especially when you’ve got fairly free-reign over it, and end up a little loose on your DM protocols. Migrating to cloud does create some hurdles, primarily because of IP restrictions on the iSAMS DB, but the VM hosted locally as an On-Prem Gateway is a pretty bulletproof work around for most applications. If you’ve got any specific questions about setting up or getting started, do reach out! Thanks Tom
  5. TomBusfield
    Hi and welcome! You are amongst friends here then, as we’re all hoping to strengthen community external to iSAMS moderated meet ups. Feel free to introduce yourself and any challenges or successes you’ve had recently and I’m sure everyone will help pitch in with ideas and support! Thanks, Tom
  6. TomBusfield
    No, it’s the ‘value the skills your team brings and reduce arbitrary tasks’ methodology. Over the last two years, we’ve tripled the size of our team and are now engaged in projects across the entire business. While staying grounded is important, I’d encourage you to avoid getting locked into the ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ mindset—something I’ve seen all too often in this industry.
  7. TomBusfield
    We leverage a range of bespoke automations and integrations, and just within my team, the savings in junior admin salary time on now-automated tasks already exceed the service's total cost. Naturally, your mileage may vary. It’s true this could be an expensive "sit on a shelf" novelty if underutilised, but when implemented effectively, achieving a positive ROI with this system feels far more attainable than with many of the bolt-ons we’re typically offered.
  8. TomBusfield
    Fairly recently, Schools can sign up (and pay for the priviledge) for access to the Dev resources and ability to request REST tokens for internal use - the cost is fairly low and would allow you to develop write back solutions off platform. Perhaps worth speaking with your iSAMS AM if you haven't already? Thanks Tom
  9. TomBusfield
    Hi, My apologies - will reach out soon. Thanks Tom
  10. TomBusfield
    Hi both, We're iSAMS hosted too - you can work around these limitations using a On-Prem Data Gateway direct to the SQL. Direct write back can also be achieved via REST. You'll need to pay for the privilege, but with the enhanced API access, you can generate your own token for REST giving you full write access.
  11. TomBusfield
    Hi NewAgeCol, We faced a similar challenge due to restrictions on IP addresses and security considerations, especially with multiple assets in different locations. Here’s how we worked around it: Virtual Machine Setup: We set up a virtual machine on our server to act as an on-premises data gateway. This allows secure and consistent connectivity to our SQL tables. Direct SQL Connection: The virtual machine connects directly to the SQL tables, pulling the data required without manual intervention. DataFlow in Power BI: Using Power BI DataFlows, we aggregate and transform the data from SQL into a semantic model. Scheduled Refresh: In Power BI settings, we configured a refresh schedule to ensure the data stays up-to-date without manual effort. This approach has worked seamlessly for us, ensuring secure and automated data updates. If you’d like, I can share more details about setting this up or any challenges we encountered along the way. Best, Tom
  12. TomBusfield
    Thank you for your message, and it’s great to see your proactive approach to taking on iSAMS data management! While I’m not best placed to offer detailed advice, I’d recommend focusing on: Understanding iSAMS Basics – Familiarise yourself with key modules and workflows like reporting and timetabling. Developing Data Skills – Strengthen your Excel skills and explore tools like Power BI for advanced reporting. Preparing for Challenges – Pay attention to iSAMS quirks, especially in reporting and timetable setups. Learning Additional Tools – Consider tools like SQL or Power Automate if your role may require them. This thread is focused on November roadmap updates and I wouldn't want to derail the OP aims for this thread, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on my separate thread aimed at networking with other iSAMS professionals. I hope it'll be a great place to connect and share insights: Networking Opportunity for iSAMS Schools – Let's Connect! Looking forward to your contributions there!
  13. TomBusfield
    Hi A_Castro, It's great to hear you're looking to expand your use of Power BI and streamline workflows—definitely a step in the right direction! We’re currently at a pivotal stage in our development, with several key Power BI integration projects actively underway. These aim to extend reporting capabilities far beyond what iSAMS offers, venturing into business and commercial forecasting alongside academic analysis. Access to our database via SQL has been instrumental in driving this progress, and we opted not to use the iSAMS 'Central Share' package. From our perspective, it offers limited functionality and is more suited to newer developers or those just beginning to explore Power BI. Shifting the organisational culture to embrace technology has been a significant focus for us. While we're still on the journey, we've seen promising changes in attitudes and are now driving wider integrations, including exploratory projects around AI and predictive analytics. On the subject of iSAMS admin features, I share your interest. We've found that tools like the Daily Bulletin, News, and Calendar don’t fully meet our needs, especially compared to the efficiencies possible with external integrations. However, the forthcoming portal system raises an interesting question: will this design shift increase reliance on integrated platform features? I also wonder how systems like Evolve will integrate into this framework, as their compatibility with front-of-house systems isn't immediately clear. I’d love to hear more about your journey as your projects develop. It sounds like we're tackling similar challenges—happy to share insights along the way!
  14. TomBusfield
    I must admit I was fairly unimpressed with today’s roadmap update from iSAMS. These sessions increasingly feel like marketing opportunities dressed up as roadmap updates. None of the user concerns seem to have been meaningfully addressed, and the brief smoothing statement about reporting felt more like a placeholder than an actual commitment. It’s frustrating that anything requiring attention is consistently pushed to “future updates,” which comes across as a stalling tactic while iSAMS decides its next steps. That said, I’d be really keen to connect with other iSAMS schools to share successes and ideas. We’ve had a fantastic couple of years, including developing fully in-house Power BI reports that integrate all aspects of student data from iSAMS and our collegiate systems. We’ve also introduced AI tools to make data queries more accessible for staff, which has been transformative. If you’re interested in networking, I’ve started a broader thread here: Networking Opportunity for iSAMS Schools – Let’s Connect. I’d love to hear about your successes, challenges, and thoughts on how we can work together as a community!
  15. TomBusfield
    Hello everyone, As an iSAMS user, I've noticed how valuable it can be to connect with others in similar roles across different schools. Whether it's sharing solutions to common challenges, discussing best practices, or simply learning from each other's experiences, there's a lot we can gain from networking as iSAMS users. To that end, I’d like to open this thread as a space for all of us to share ideas, ask questions, and collaborate. Whether you’re from a school just starting with iSAMS or have been using it for years, your input is welcome. Here are a few suggestions for how we could use this space: Share tips and tricks that have worked well in your school. Discuss issues or challenges you’re facing and get feedback. Explore how other schools integrate iSAMS with third-party systems like CPOMS, GL Assessments, or Power BI. Discuss upcoming updates or features and how they might impact us. Connect to explore joint projects or solutions (e.g., Power Automate flows, SQL queries, custom reports). To kick things off: What’s one feature or integration of iSAMS that’s been a game-changer for your school? Is there a particular challenge you're currently facing that others might be able to help with? Let’s make this a valuable resource for everyone! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and connecting with you all. Best regards, Tom Head of Data & Systems Queen Ethelburgas Collegiate, UK (Feel free to share your role/title so we can learn a bit more about each other!)
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