mcpman

Hi Frankie, I have used both SIMS and CMIS you know my view on SIMS support above and CMIS support was not much better. The CMIS did have Eportal for use by the staff to access pupil data but the printing from this web page in the form of lists was bad. This meant you had to use the facility admin software and this was very complicated and confusing for teachers compared with SIMS which does have a nice interface. As you can tell I am now working closely with the HEBRON.Net team as one of the partner schools to help them develop HDN for the independent schools market. It is easy to use and works well. We signed up to the Hebron.net product just over a year ago and a lot of progress has been made. I am now confident to recommend the product to anyone. Things are going from strength to strength with HDN; we will switch over completely to HDN from this September. I am just waiting for the timetable module due to be launched to partner schools by the end of next month for testing. The Exams module is working well and there are even improvements being written into the next build to speed up entry as a result of our testing. We are migrating to the fees module for billing next week. The support has been superb. On the two occasions I needed support Hebron connected in took backups of the database worked out a fix within 2 hours and then dialled back in and fixed our data for us. I am lucky I could carry out this side of things myself but if you have this kind of support then it really takes the pressure off and allows me to get on with the things that really matter supporting the students.

Hi, Yes a backup would have restored it back but the error was in the database and the support team did not advise a restore. To continue using a database with errors would surely be unwise as then any data you add may be lost? I have now received a solution and am in the throws of carrying it out. Thank You

Hi Phil, As you can see from below the Severity states Entire System is unavailable and was logged on February 6th. In fact I logged this the week before but your system could not handle the error notes I posted into it and so corrupted the case log. This is only a minor issue the fact that we have had no Sims for over a month is disgusting. I will be advising my Finance Manager to seek compensation for this loss of service. This only strengthens my argument to move away from SIMS as Capita has clearly forgotten its main priorities. Customer Service and its inability to provide it. I have used Sims from the early days when it was Dos and was one of the first schools to move to the .Net platform. I find it amazing that even after 5 years you still cannot offer a quality service when the system fails. I have removed some details but have included the case reference ID 0702-109104 and a log so other viewers can see the problems with Capita support. Case Details C9104etails of Issue 0702-109104 Site name: Issue type: Customer Case Contact: Condition: Open Product: SIMS .net Installation & Upgrade Your ref: Severity: Entire system unavailable Currently: with the Development Escalation Team Description: Upgrade Error Solutions Tried Unsuccessfully: Status: Solution in progress Notes: Upgrade error Your database has been restored correctly and can be used normally. The error reported was Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'pk_adm_visit_school_representative'. Cannot insert duplicate key in object 'adm_visit_school_representative'. The SQL Batch which caused the error was : -- DO NOT CONVERT ANY DATA IF THE DATABASE IS AN OFFLINE DATABASE ------------------------------------------------------------------ if exists (select 1 from sims.db_version_info where offline = 0) begin -- TJF BEGIN Reg Fees \ Deposits ------------------------------------------ -- sims.adm_application_transaction_type-- ------------------------------------------ if not exists( select 1 from sims.adm_application_transaction_type) begin SET IDENTITY_INSERT sims.adm_application_transaction_type ON insert into sims.adm_application_transaction_type ( lookup_value_id ,code ,description ,external_code ,display_order ,system ,active ) select lookup_value_id ,code ,description ,external_code ,display_order ,system ,active from sims.ra_application_transaction_type SET IDENTITY_INSERT sims.adm_application_transaction_type OFF end Issue History Activity Date: 23/02/2007 11:44:53 Communication Type: E-mail Activity by: Denise Green Customer Update Please note that the attached case is with the Escalation team for cases needing attention. However we currently have a back log of cases which we are working through as quickly as we can. I will be tracking the progress of your case and will contact you with information, as it becomes available. Please contact me if you have any further queries about this case. Kind regards Denise Green Escalation Administrative Assistant 01234 832119 Activity Date: 13/02/2007 16:00:14 Communication Type: Phone call Activity by: Ric Carson BA Commnet with helpdesk Activity Date: 13/02/2007 14:35:19 Communication Type: Contact Activity by: Eric De Souza ESCALATION SUMMARY Error when trying to upgrade sims.net. Client has nothing under visit just in interview. -------------------------------- error ----------------------------------- Upgrade error Your database has been restored correctly and can be used normally. The error reported was Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'pk_adm_visit_school_representative'. Cannot insert duplicate key in object 'adm_visit_school_representative'. The SQL Batch which caused the error was : -- DO NOT CONVERT ANY DATA IF THE DATABASE IS AN OFFLINE DATABASE ------------------------------------------------------------------ if exists (select 1 from sims.db_version_info where offline = 0) begin -- TJF BEGIN Reg Fees \ Deposits ------------------------------------------ -- sims.adm_application_transaction_type-- ------------------------------------------ if not exists( select 1 from sims.adm_application_transaction_type) begin SET IDENTITY_INSERT sims.adm_application_transaction_type ON insert into sims.adm_application_transaction_type ( lookup_value_id ,code ,description ,external_code ,display_order ,system ,active ) select lookup_value_id ,code ,description ,external_code ,display_order ,system ,active from sims.ra_application_transaction_type SET IDENTITY_INSERT sims.adm_application_transaction_type OFF end Activity Date: 12/02/2007 15:59:17 Communication Type: E-mail Activity by: Eric De Souza DATA REQUESTED Dear Les, Regarding the above case, the symptoms described in your case indicate that we require your latest data to investigate this issue further. At this stage, I can only apologise for the problems but please be assured that once the data comes in, I will endeavour to find out the cause of the problem. Please find below instructions on how to upload your database to our ftp site: 1) Copy your database files (.mdf and .ldf files or .bak file) from C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$SIMS\Data or D:\ depending on your server setup. Put them on a zip file, please use your school name and case number to name the file. 2) Go to our ftp site (below) and upload your data. If asked the user name is: incoming and the password is: data. Alternatively please put your data onto a CD and send it to us. Our address is: FAO: Eric De Souza Capita Education Services 5 Mercian Close Watermoor Cirencester GL7 1LT Please ensure that any data sent to the helpdesk via FTP is also zipped and password protected. Due to a recent security incident at a Capita office, can I ask that if you need to send data to us in the post, the envelope is clearly marked with the case reference number and your LA/School name. Any items received and not displaying this information may be delayed in processing or rejected. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, but I hope you understand our reasons for this action. Kind Regards, Eric De Souza Software Support Analyst Capita Education Services Independent Schools Division Tel: 01285 647500 Fax: 01285 647599 [email protected] Activity Date: 12/02/2007 15:55:57 Communication Type: Phone call Activity by: Eric De Souza information received have nothing under visit just interview Activity Date: 12/02/2007 11:03:25 Communication Type: E-mail Activity by: Eric De Souza solution sent Dear Les, This problem happens when a person is scheduled to attend an R+A meeting more than once with the same role. Could you please check all R+A meetings/visits to ensure that each person is down as being an attendee only once. Please let me know how you get on Kind Regards, Eric Activity Date: 06/02/2007 09:45:34 Communication Type: Web support Activity by: Les Baker Case logged by customer through WebSupport System Generated Activity Tuesday, February 06 2007 09:45:33 by Les

Hi Maplay, I would have a serious look at Hebron.Net the product is shaping up nicely now. I have used Serco’s Facility CMIS and SIMS.Net. I still have SIMS in use for NOVAT and Exams but all went wrong in February. I logged a call with Capita on 7th Feb and sent data when requested 2 weeks later and guess what! STILL NO FIX. Thank God for Hebron.NET. I know that I have great support at the end of the phone. I have had only one problem with the database during the last 12 months which was fixed in hours. They dialled in took backup of data analysed it and fixed problem. That’s right I had nothing to do now that’s what I call support. http://www.hebron.co.uk

Hi ShorehamGeek, I believe the Assessment package works well I know schools that are using it. We have just started to input our curriculum and will be running it for the reports at the end of next term. We couldn’t start earlier as we had some issues in the way we do things. I wanted to change our coding to match the DFES standards. I couldn’t be doing with teacher names for classes, when they leave it means more work. I want Hebron.NET to pick up the students for each class like 10MA1 for maths and just add the teacher to the classes. If they then leave I just change the staff member. This was not being done like that when I arrived. I also wanted the curriculum years from 1 to 13. I do not see why people insist on making things hard. If we want to buy some learning software I want to be able to export and import our data straight into the new package with minimum work. As for fees we are using the Double First package from Hebron. Does exactly what it says on the tin. The new Hebron.Net fees package is out but like any new software it will take time to iron out any bugs. We all do things differently and so it must be almost impossible to make software bug free just look at Microsoft. I have met with all the team at Hebron and was very encouraged to see the commitment they have to their customers. They have a great software development team based in house in Yeovil. I think this will be Hebron’s year. I remember singing up to the Sims.Net package and after the first year when we did an end of year it lost all the attendance for the whole school year and we had to re-enter it. Not bad in a school with 1800 students. I have not had any problems like this with Hebron. In fact just upgraded yesterday to Hebron.net 2.7 on the server and that’s it. The workstations upgrade themselves when staffs run Hebron which takes an extra couple of seconds on the first login. We have been a Hebron.Net user for 12 months now.

Yes I am using Hebron.Net. In the last 12 months it has come a long way. We were and still are SIMS users in the fact that we use it for EXAMS and Timetable but that’s only because Hebron had decided to improve and rewrite the Timetable module and is due for released end of March 2007. I have just waited over 2 weeks after logging call for Capita to even look at our database. My Exams officer is going spare and has resulted to entering the exams data directly with the boards. He was reluctant to use the Hebron module as he hasn’t had training yet but I have just had a look and it seems to work. It does need to have the entry of candidates screen improved to speed up the process of entering them. Hebron is adding some extra functionality into the Exams module to speed this up. I don’t know when this will be completed but sooner the better as I can dump SIMS finally. The Quickest fix from Hebron was 2 hours I won’t even bother grading Capita. I think Hebron will be the one to watch. NOTICE THEY DEMONSTRATE IT ON THE NEW VISTA. Yes it is truly Microsoft.Net compliant.