For many independent schools, SIS selection has reached a critical point. This year, a growing number are comparing Compass Education and Veracross , which is interesting because the two systems come from entirely different worlds and weren’t designed as direct competitors at the end of an SIS evaluation. Context: Two Systems, Two Origins These systems matured in very different environments for very different purposes. Compass grew up inside public education. Its ecosy

Here’s the paradox: The easier it is to leave your software, the more likely people are to stay. When customers know they are free to...

Many people do not fully understand what an enrolment system actually does. There is a general sense that it helps manage prospective...

Earlier this year, Carey Baptist College in Western Australia was informally recognized by Veracross for the quality of their SIS...

SIS implementations are complex, at times difficult and ultimately immensely rewarding. The journey can be rocky. At times you might feel...

You will not fully understand all of the strengths and weaknesses of a SIS products when you evaluate it. SIS products are enormous, and...

Yesterday's Approach to SIS migration: Australian, independent schools are facing a real challenge with the rollout of Student...

Before we start, this article is about consultation, not consultants . Consultation is the process of engaging stakeholders, gathering perspectives, understanding risks, and building support for change. Whether you use external consultants in Hawaiin shirts or not is a separate discussion. Most school project failures are not caused by technology. They are often caused by people. More specifically, they are often caused by getting consultation wrong. Having worked on dozens o

I have to look back many years. Back when a single question could bring an entire office to a halt: “Hey… who has that document open?” Then the scramble would begin. People would check shared drives. Someone would walk down the hall. Someone else would yell across the office trying to find the person who had the file locked. Once the person was found, one of several things might happen. They might get chastised. They might get a few dirty looks. Or everyone might simply accep

When integration becomes practice In the Golden Path Part 4, the focus shifts from selecting systems to finding balance and flow in how information and data move between them. This phase is less about adding new tools, and more about improving visibility, easing access to information, and getting the most from what is already in place. At this point, integration stops being a design exercise. It becomes practice. Reflecting on the Golden Path Looking back, much of the origina