PhilNeal

SIMS Primary is big bang but we'll control schools uptake. Options & Exam Analysis will work on 7 & 8. T6 will work with 8 with a replacement planned for 18/19. We don't have a sunset date as yet for SIMS7 & we're still working on pricing.

There's a portal that allows schools to migrate automatically

@Michael - as I said - this is not SIMS7 in a browser. The database structure has been completely rethought to support change requests that have been implemented. We are definitely not plonking the existing database into Azure!!

I don't think so

@FN-GM we're still on SQL Server. Dependencies on MS products at school end are removed you can use Google or MS for mail, WP etc.

It's in Azure but you can use a wide variety of browsers. Not sure about IPv6 but I would have thought that was a given?

@FN-GM we'll have to agree to disagree but at least we're not going down the same route!

@FN-GM is only hosted by us unless you are a country. I didn't want to recreate SOLUS 4!

@mjk - yes. What is making you doubt it? It's all available in 7 and will continue into 8.

@vikpaw all confirmed & thanks. Perpetual licences on local servers allow you to continue to use the software for ever without paying any more to the software vendor; data in the cloud is potentially very volatile. It is therefore important to avoid lock-in and be sure you have enough time to switch supplier if it becomes necessary.

@Michael "I think it was clear SIMS8 wasn't going to be SIMS7 in a browser for a long time. It would be totally unusable on a tablet or phone. The .NET/MS SQL technology can still be delivered in the background, however the user interface would have to change." Yes the interface has changed to support tablets etc but it's the fundamental concepts that I was referring to - it's this that will make the most difference. @minimoo we're not supporting private clouds except for countries. We started with the intension of supporting private clouds but with the development of ~20 micro-services, reporting warehouse etc. we moved away from that idea. There is a flow from engineering, through staging with auto-tests to deployment. We didn't want to re-invent SOLUS.

@Jehanzeb - lots of questions! The security issue is taxing us - do we insist on login in again after inactivity or not? The school & the MIS provider is responsible for ensuring that sensitive data is protected. Getting a secure but non invasive approach is an issue & advice very welcome. I feel that some education is required with staff as fines are eye-watering. With regards to change requests we take them seriously - proof of the pudding, I'm afraid you will have to wait and see as talking about them is promotion. With regard to "modules" we try make them seamless but we need to be sure that third parties can compete with us. High contrast screens - don't forget that many of our users are older. (Even Sky had to provide a high contrast menu in a recent update!!) As for too much text - you're probably referring to the Options screen - it has been extensively tested by students choosing their own courses. They managed fine!! It's responsive so will perform properly on tablets & is finger friendly.

I've had confirmation back that we haven't made changes that would adversely affect use of 2010. Problems that affect use of 2010 won't get addressed however.

I'll check for you but I would not expect everything to start going wrong. What this normally means is that we take it out of our test matrix not that we've coded things differently.

"@Michael I'm just curious really @PhilNeal - why are Capita (the biggest MIS provider) the last to the table?" Getting timing right on a change of this magnitude is hard. Pearson were first into the cloud but went too soon and exited the UK MIS market because the technology just wasn't ready. Judging by comments on this web site there are others that entered too soon as well. There is churn in the market so whilst we lost some schools last year a number of state schools moved to SIMS from other suppliers so there are interesting dynamics in the market. Site rules means I cannot market but hopefully the mods will permit this comment - we are not building SIMS7 in a browser; this is a fundamental rethink taking account of input from our users.

@minimoo it is as you say preparing schools for use of these in 2018. Options has been on trial since Nov 16 in around 20 schools comparing results with the 7 program. Exam Analysis is being written now - again we'd expect trial schools to be x-checking outputs with 7's outputs this year.

His children are at the school now!

Bromcom renewed their partnership arrangement this week!!

@zag - you'll have Options 8 this May and Exam Analysis later this year. Both of these have been designed for dual 7 & 8 use. Three years ago you'd have had SSRS which would have been a bad move!!

@Michael - this will be a slow reveal!

It's an HTML5 front end. It already works on Edge. It doesn't rely on any MS products at the front end.

Restful APIs are already with TPs for read. Write APIs will be available by June. End users to follow.

@mjk - it runs on a variety of browsers.

@Michael the pilot is just expanding - we'll limit the uptake through to early next year - no more than 500-1000 schools to be sure that we've got the scaling right. I'd expect uncontrolled adoption from BETT18. The press release is really about starting communications - up until now we haven't said much. You'll get a good idea of the way it all looks from Options 8 which will be released to all schools this May.

@Michael it will take a while to move all customers to the next gen & we're not rushing to move customers at a rate that makes them feel uncomfortable. After a pilot period it will be up to customers when they chose to make the move - there is a portal that allows them to migrate in their own time. First and foremost we are an educational company - the cloud is not our #1 worry - school improvement is. We can provide MATs with the data they need today through cloud solutions that draw data from local installations. We have been working on getting the right solution in 8 for quite a while - we've thrown away a lot of approaches such as SSRS which has cost us time but we'd rather produce something that our schools love using. Proof will be in the pudding but I'm delighted with the reactions we're getting. Press release tomorrow - although this is the start of the process.