The implementation of a new technology can be a daunting process for a school to undertake.
Before embarking on a digital transformation journey, schools must first measure their annual budget, research and vet all vendors and solutions on the market, then consider their options for support.
A successful transformation can only result from a clear direction and strategy that aligns with school needs, regulators and all stakeholders involved within the process.
So, how can Local Support Teams help schools when migrating to a new MIS?
Local Support Teams play an active role in supporting schools to achieve their goals.
Educators want to gain more access to data and perform analysis while reducing administrative workload. The great benefit of a good support team is that it can assist in doing just that.
However, for operations to run smoothly, support teams must have a good knowledge of the technology they support.
Today, there’s a myriad of solutions on the market for managing school information and data. More and more schools abandon older on-premise management systems in favour of new, more flexible and adaptable cloud-based alternatives.
Although necessary and driven by new demands, the move to more modern technologies often leaves schools in the position of having to switch support providers or look for assistance from the same vendor that provides them with the MIS.
Many schools value their relationship with their local support provider. These bastions of expertise have supported them for years, building a great understanding of how their school works and what they wish to achieve. To lose access to this could be highly detrimental and a barrier to moving MIS.
Choosing the right technology for schools and local support teams
Given the challenges discussed, the right choice of partner should depend on the ability of the vendor to provide the following:
- A cost-effective solution for the school;
- An accreditation scheme for local IT teams;
What does a cost-effective solution mean?
A cost-effective solution is a product that will save you money over time.
While seemingly cheap licence agreements that do not integrate different functions may initially seem attractive, they will present additional costs in the future. While seemingly cheap licence agreements that do not integrate different functions may initially seem attractive, they will present additional costs in the future. Additional bolt-ons, administration, maintenance and updates will have to be financed, and the total cost will increase significantly.
This is particularly true for older on-premise school systems, which are not designed to support more recent functionalities and are slow to adapt.
Cloud-based solutions offer much greater flexibility and reduce the need for costly add-ons.
Having asked schools to calculate indicative costs of data analysis by senior leaders within primary schools, Bromcom has found that the production, manipulation and analysis of performance information would take days and could be costing institutions up to £12,000 per annum.
Which MIS vendors offer an accreditation scheme for local IT Teams?
Although MIS platforms have gone a long way into modernisation, not many vendors provide accredited training for local IT staff.
Bromcom wants to break this trend and work closely with local IT support providers.
It is why the new scheme has been updated and revamped to fit new training demands in line with the latest technology updates.
Through the scheme, IT professionals have the chance to upskill and gain more experience in their trade. In doing so, they will be able to support more schools, gain a competitive edge and boost their own chances of employment and income.
Bromcom is working with numerous accredited local support centres across England and Wales. Initially the 30-day test drive is available via the following centres:-
Trainees will learn how to set up the new MIS platform, manage and support every function.
Bromcom’s 30-day test drive for schools
As part of the scheme, schools can get in touch with one of the listed support teams and request a 30-day Cloud-MIS test drive.
The support team will then take a backup of the school’s Management Information System and upload it to the Bromcom portal.
All data is migrated into Bromcom and can be accessed and used by the school, providing them with a realistic and practical experience of how the software would work in their environment.
For instance, teachers will be able to explore our analysis tools such as the attendance and behaviour dashboards, report templates and so on.
The 30-day test drive is offered to all schools, including those which are not situated in the listed localities; they can simply select their local team or one they want to work with, or contact us directly.
