Michael

But it could simply mean the battery you're connecting has some power stored within it, and is typical behaviour. If the UPS worked before with flat batteries (just running off the mains), then I suspect it could be one or more of the batteries.

The UPS should still start up, it simply means whatever's plugged into it will have little/no redundancy if the mains drops. The fact you have 18 x batteries, I suspect it could be one of the connections that's not working, if they're in a series.

The MSI would be for the clients, not the server instance. I use plenty of applications like this - one example is NetSupport DNA - MS SQL database/console, then the MSI deployed to clients. It's perfectly do-able.

If you rename the SIMS folder within Program Files (x86) and then re-install as new, does this help?

I personally think Solus 3 is somewhat over engineered for the purpose. If every software vendor did this, it'd be an absolute nightmare. This is why MSIs have been deploy-able since Windows 2000. Being able to deploy in an active session is useful (to a point), but considering everything else is an MSI and requires a reboot, it makes no difference anyway. At least Capita aren't going to re-invent Solus 4 which is good news. As for Capita only hosting SIMS, I can see some truth to that. I know that schools turning into Academies have to buy their license direct from Capita and not the LA - whether that's still the case for support who knows - possibly not, as there are many third parties out there offering support. Legally every MIS provider must give a copy of the database to pass on to your new provider, as the data belongs to the school. Any idea of a lock in or charging schools is simply going to go down like a lead balloon.

I suspect SIMS8 will have an API, but I suspect it'll be the same/similar process to SIMS7 - at a cost, but then at the same time I'm sure Capita want to include more tools which puts less of a need for third party products in the first place. Other/existing cloud providers have done exactly this, so I'd expect Capita to do the same.

@minimoo - I know for a fact Bromcom's API is free, so it's just a case of signing up to be a partner. I'm speculating this would apply to anyone - another company or the school themselves if you're smart enough to code and tap into the API. Most other providers charge for such a privilege... so again it's something worth thinking about. Most providers will migrate you for free as part of the process, but then training costs also need to be factored in, as well as support on general.

If that's the case, then why does SIMS7 not have a timeout or locking feature? You can't just presume everyone locks their Windows PC. I've seen other providers provide numerous choices in terms of security, so I don't think it's taxing at all. Probably the logical thing to do is to specify some defaults and allow schools to configure to their requirements. Surely this is what it's all about... you can't set the same for all school regardless, it's all about flexible choices. To put it another way, every school uses Assessment tools, yet no two schools output in exactly the same format. It's all about offering flexible tools to do what schools want.

Yes it's inevitable that some companies will 'try' and enter a market and not succeed (whatever the reason) - technology, marketing, cost or simply technical/development problems or lack of features. You can't deny there are now approx 15 MIS providers which wasn't the case 15-20 years ago. Proportionately Capita lost more schools last year than gained - again whatever the reason, so yes the market is changing, but the point is it's been changing for quite some time. 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. There are too many extensive menus in SIMS7 that simply wouldn't work on a tablet. You don't have the same accuracy as you do a mouse.

But also the reality is other MIS companies were quicker to market and have a more complete 'feature set' than the SIMS current offering. I don't think the largest user base is relevant - every school 'core' MIS requirements are the same. It's just some schools use the available options more extensively. Going cloud is just a natural progression, given that I'm old enough to remember MIS systems unique to the Office, but then suddenly it all branched out into the Classroom and more. And again ironically, the majority of schools I've seen typically all have 'bolt-on' Assessment tools and a high percentage of these are web based. Unfortunately I think it's a case of Capita maybe being a little too complacent and now they're playing catch up. If I'm wrong then Capita would have released a cloud offering years ago, or alternatively a hybrid, so at least Teachers can take the Class register nice and easily, but instead you still need the same full fat product installing regardless what it's used for. This is where Advanced Learning got the formula right - CMIS for Office use and e-Portal for Classroom use. They've clearly understood the requirements better and it's 110% easier to place a shortcut on everyone's desktop, rather than deploy the client to every machine that requires it.

As others have stated, unfortunately timescales are disappointing and although the screenshots look promising, there isn't anything I can see we can't get today. It's a bit of dejavu really - which is why the majority of Birmingham schools (at the time) moved to Facility CMIS; because SIMS.net was very late to the table. Schools got fed up using a DOS module and needed something more robust. Now of course it's a completely different situation and schools can and will look at other options (whatever their reasons) - cost, functionality, ease of use etc... I'm just curious really @PhilNeal - why are Capita (the biggest MIS provider) the last to the table?

There's a 'lovely' setting in Windows 10 1511 and later, whereby the system manages the printer default and will ignore your GPP printer default. There's no Group Policy, but a GPP regedit does the trick. Have a look here.

Not really I disagree - it's simply Capita throwing their hat into the ring. If the school requirements change, that should be the priority. Waiting another 12 months for a product is somewhat limiting your scope. I'd use the opportunity to look at other providers whilst your school make a decision. Schools already do this for a range of procurements... I see no reason why MIS systems should be any different. It's actually really good news for schools, as there's a lot more choice. Although Capita are not going to force schools to upgrade (as per Phil's contribution further up), it's inevitable that Capita will discontinue SIMS/FMS in their current forms at some point. Developers are going to be concentrating more so on the new product offering, rather than old. It's just business sense.

Ok if Capita think that's the right approach.

Three screenshots available here, if you scroll down. First impressions good, but not that dissimilar to other providers being perfectly honest.

To be fair, all major browsers now support HTML5, so I don't consider this the issue - IE, Edge, Chrome, Safari (iPads) and Firefox. The issue is definitely time scales in my view.

At least you're honest, I appreciate that... but at the same time it tells me SIMS8 is still a long way off being adopted. Realistically it's still years away and I think ICT wise a lot will happen in the next two years - Academies being one and secondly reducing costs and improving provisions from the existing choice of cloud MIS systems available today.

Thanks for your response Phil - I thought the pilot was over? If you're launching/announcing a product, then surely it should be ready for whoever wants to adopt it in the next few months for example? Is it a fair assumption the additional pilot could be another 6-12 months? I totally agree with you, this isn't just a shift to the cloud exercise, it's also about improving the existing provision. I look forward to the announcement. Some screenshots would also be advantageous for all concerned

Typically if a RAID driver's missing, this'll cause the install to fail. It could also be the wrong driver that's installed, causing it to fail later during the install.

The main concern I have with SIMS8 is I'm sure it'll be very good, but unfortunately it'll probably take Capita years to get through all existing customers to convert them to SIMS8. In the meantime the whole Academy agenda is fast gaining pace and a cloud MIS of some capacity is a must yesterday. Surely Capita must acknowledge this?

There are ways around it, so no, it's not secure. I suspect if you have remote backup that this will offer a form of encryption.

Last I used one, the web interface was painfully slow. Not sure if this has been addressed since. Performance wise (WiFi) it's very good.

Yes, but also you can include Microsoft Office, Google and even Classic Shell ADMX templates

Always the latest (as above), even if you're still running 1511, it won't do any harm to have 1607 policies in place. The important thing is it'll still all work

I've had some strange issues whereby Windows 10 32Bit will 'sometimes' switch to US-English, but then Windows 64Bit doesn't seem to have this problem.