Your Management Information System is critical to the successful running of your school on a daily basis. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that you are using the best solution for your school’s individual needs.
Despite this, many schools are hesitant to make changes to software systems, even when there might be a better option available. The migration process can seem daunting and puts too many school leadership teams off making the big decision.
There are a lot of misconceptions about the MIS migration process. Whether you’ve had a poor experience previously, or have simply never been through software migration yourself, it’s important to note that switching MIS doesn’t need to be stressful.
At iSAMS, we work with you to build a bespoke migration and change management plan that suits your school and your individual needs. We never want to leave you in the dark, and work with schools to ensure maximum confidence in any software migration.
That’s why we’re keen to dismantle some common myths around the MIS migration process and help you to make the right software decision for your school.
- Migrating your MIS takes too long
- A software migration will disrupt my school
- Staff will find the switchover too challenging
- We won't be able to access the data that we need
- Migrating to iSAMS is easier than you think
1. Migrating your MIS takes too long
There’s no one blanket time frame for a full MIS migration for every school, since every school has different amounts and types of data within their existing systems. They might also use more than one system for their data management, and they may not be integrated.
There are a variety of factors that can impact the length of time that a software migration takes for your school. Even if you are using a cohesive and integrated system, the status of your data is also critical to the efficiency of the migration process.
Generally speaking, migrating to iSAMS takes around 3-4 months for our schools. However, this can be longer or shorter depending on your requirements. The cleaner your existing data, the quicker we can switch you over to our MIS. If you require assistance and advice regarding data cleaning for iSAMS, you can get in touch with your project manager anytime.
Ultimately, we’re keen to get you working with iSAMS on a daily basis as quickly as possible. Our support and implementation teams can help you with any questions to make it as smooth as possible.
2. A software migration will disrupt my school
As stated above, we aim to have all software migrations completed in a matter of months in order to minimise disruption. However, the key to ensuring that switching software impacts your school life as little as possible is timing.
We agree that an entire school data and software migration could be disruptive if carried out in the middle of the school year, when there is most demand on your MIS and other systems.
We recommend using school downtime, such as the summer break, to make large changes like a software migration. This means taking the time to consider your use of your systems throughout the school year, identifying areas for improvement, and getting the ball rolling before the end of term. This way, you can be up and running with confidence once your students and staff return!
We know just how important your student’s uninterrupted education is to your school. iSAMS is keen to work with you to find the ideal time to migrate your MIS, and we’ll never rush you for a decision.
3. Staff will find the switchover too challenging
It’s true that change management can be one of the most challenging parts of an MIS migration. Ultimately, your staff need to be able to use your new system every day in order to benefit from the switchover as much as possible. Without staff buy-in, migration is an unnecessary disruption to your school.
The key to successful implementation is staff training, a tailored change management plan, and effective problem solving.
Prior to making a decision, identify the problems that each department is facing every day. They may already be discussing these with you, but take the time to understand each staff member’s needs. Once you understand the challenges, you can begin to discuss solutions.
Each department needs to understand why the migration is necessary for them in order to feel positively about a change like this. Solve their specific problems.
Once you have initial investment from the other departments, it’s important to ensure that they stay invested. Consistent training around the new software is key, from implementation to regular training sessions around new features. Ensure that each staff member can get the absolute maximum out of their preferred solution.
iSAMS offers a range of training options, including initial training sessions for your school departments, to a bespoke e-learning platform for top-up training. Train your staff in a way that suits them with the help of our migration and implementation teams, iSAMS support, relevant support documentation, and iUniversity.
4. We won’t be able to access the data that we need
Switching your school software isn’t a blanket process. Each school has different needs and a variety of data access requirements. That’s why our implementation and project management teams will never take a blanket approach.
We have over 1,300 schools using iSAMS every day worldwide. They have access to all of the data they need on a daily basis, thanks to a migration process that prioritises data.
Transparency is key during a project like an MIS migration. Identify the key areas of data that are most valuable to your school, and work with your project managers to ensure that this data remains as accessible as required within your new software.
It’s also important to note that many old technologies or legacy systems store large quantities of unnecessary data. You might have data stores that you never use, or even know what is contained within. Migrating your MIS is an excellent opportunity to clean your data and drill down into the information that you actually need – and remove the clutter.
Migrating to iSAMS is easier than you think
The team at iSAMS want to ensure that every migration is as smooth as possible, regardless of which system you’re currently using. We work with your data managers and administration teams to understand what you need to get out of iSAMS and implement a migration plan to suit your school.
We continue to provide training as needed for any department to ensure that you can always get 100% out of iSAMS. Your dedicated Customer Account Manager is available any time, once migrated, to answer any questions or help you find the resources that you need.
iSAMS is completely cloud-based and secure thanks to Azure servers, enabling a completely remote migration. We want to work with you to find the right time and process for a seamless switchover.
Interested in learning more? Watch an iSAMS MIS demo below.