WE ’ D SEEN THAT MANY

SCHOOLS WERE

STRUGGLING WITH LEGACY IT BUT DIDN ’ T HAVE THE IN-HOUSE RESOURCES TO SUCCESSFULLY

MODERNISE AND TAKE

ADVANTAGE OF NEW TRENDS WHILE ALSO

ENSURING A FULL TIME SERVICE .

Do you need to get permission to use the data from pupils and parents or is it just from the school ?

No – since we are gathering data directly from schools ’ MIS , it is already covered by their agreements with pupils and parents .

When did ONTO form and what gap in the market did you see ?

The ONTO Group was formed in 2019 to plug a gap in the market for business support solutions in the education sector , providing managed services for everything from mock exams to timetables . We also provide data consultancy for areas such as personnel and pupil analysis , as well as data services and Power BI services .

Essentially , we ’ d seen that many schools were struggling with legacy IT but didn ’ t have the in-house resources to successfully modernise and take advantage of new trends while also ensuring a full time service . Our support helps schools navigate a new path past legacy IT systems and in-house IT teams , saving time and money as well as eliminating problems like IT downtime and term-time-only contracts .

We typically save schools £ 5,000 to £ 8,000 a year – which , especially given the budget cuts on education – can alleviate significant pressure . We also save schools a lot of time previously spent managing data in-house , and our industry knowledge helps them to stay on top of emerging trends .

After the pandemic , what is your most popular service ?

Timetabling and data management services , such as analysing data like parent questionnaires and year-end close-down procedures , are among our most popular core functions .

Although schools were forced into staggered start and finish times during the pandemic , many of them have now developed a taste for them and chosen to continue scheduling in this way . Having navigated this difficult period without IT staff on site , many schools are now more open to using remote managed services in general , as they are confident that data services can happen remotely – they don ’ t necessarily need an IT expert physically sat in the school building .

Why did ONTO select Quadient ?

We chose Quadient because its customisable , modular Impress platform could automate access to the schools ’ data , removing the need for slow , manual data collection and enabling us to produce bespoke timetables rapidly .

The technical services team at Quadient was brilliant during the consultation process – they listen to what you need and design a service to suit your situation . Education is a very niche business area and no two schools are the same , but Quadient ’ s technical expertise and the adaptability of Quadient Impress enabled us to produce timetables that are unique to each school .

Were you already working with the schools which used your services during the pandemic or did schools seek your services ?

It ’ s a bit of both . We were already working with many schools pre-pandemic , and those naturally benefitted from our work with Quadient . However , during the pandemic we also hosted webinars on timetabling which , in combination with word-of-mouth from those we were working with , helped spread the word and caused a lot of schools to seek our data services .

What does the future hold for ONTO ?

The ONTO Group has grown more than 120 % in just a year . To keep pace with the rapid growth of our business , we want to use AI and automation to become more efficient , save costs and cement ourselves as a leader in data management for schools .

Part of this will be gaining the maximum value from our existing tools . For instance , at present we use Quadient Impress for a specific tailored purpose but are looking to expand our use of the platform , as we know it has a much wider function , powering all kinds of multi-channel document delivery . As our relationship with Quadient evolves we look forward to exploring how Impress can automate manual processes to eliminate mistakes and speed up work with key documents including invoices , notifications and letters . �

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