Bromcom
 |
 | |
| Formerly | Shoebox Ltd. (July–Nov 1986)[1] |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Technology company |
| Founded | 24 July 1986 |
| Founder | Ali Guryel |
| Headquarters | , England |
| Website | bromcom |
Bromcom Computers plc is a British technology company, based in Bromley. It provides schools, colleges, local authorities and multi academy trusts with Cloud MIS (management information software) and Finance software.
Bromcom is used by schools in Telford & Wrekin,[2] Ark Schools,[3] the Harris Federation and West Sussex.
History
[edit]Bromcom was founded in 1986 by computer scientist Ali Guryel as a private company serving business-to-business alongside sister company Frontline Technology Ltd.[4]
Bromcom's first product in the early 1990s was the EARS (Electronic Attendance Registration System), a software package designed to replace paper registers, which was shown on the BBC's Tomorrow's World in January 1994.
In 1999, consultancy firm Capita did not cooperate with Bromcom's request for improved interoperability with their SIMS system: Bromcom complained to the now defunct Office of Fair Trading (OfT), who sided Bromcom in that Capita was required to offer interoperability.[5] Later in 2020, it was involved in legal disputes with United Learning over claims of a breach of contract.[6]
In June 2000, Bromcom launched a 'Parent Portal', MyChildAtSchool.com,[7] to enable pupil's parents to access information about their child's academic performance via the internet.[8] This innovation led to Bromcom receiving a Queens Enterprise Award in 2001, with a mobile app later being developed for android and iOS devices.
After initial works in 2004, 2005 saw Bromcom launch their own MIS system into the market. Bromcom then became the first company in the UK to create a fully cloud-based MIS solution in 2011, which is now used in thousands of schools and education establishments across the UK.
In March 2012, a new framework agreement was created in a £575m deal with the Department for Education. 18 suppliers were appointed under the new framework, including Bromcom, Capita, Serco, and RM plc. The agreement was set up by the Government Procurement Service on behalf of the DfE.[9]
The Covid-19 pandemic saw Bromcom switch to fully remote operations for the first time in its history, which led to a period of growth where the company grew from 120 to 180 employees. The company now employs nearly 250 staff across the country.
In 2020, Bromcom was involved in legal disputes with United Learning over claims of a breach of contract. This culminated with the high court ruling in Bromcom’s favour in December 2022. After finding that United Learning acted unlawfully, it was determined that Bromcom would have won the 57-school contract in question, had it not been for the breaches found. In line with Bromcom’s motivation in bringing this case to light, it has pledged to donate 50 per cent of any damages recovered, after accounting for costs and expenses, to education charities and awareness campaigns for best practice in public procurement, including fair competition and open systems.
In March 2022, Bromcom entered a partnership with West Sussex County Council to provide MIS and Finance software to their 200+ maintained schools.
In 2022 and 2023, Bromcom were voted as the Megabuyte Best Performing Company of the year, with innovation and the company’s forward-thinking nature regarded as key factors. 2023 also saw Bromcom become the UK’s first MIS provider to create and offer a built in AI chatbot, Bromcom AI. Bromcom AI has helped schools with thousands of queries, with further developments currently underway.
In 2024, Bromcom announced a partnership with the Education Authority (EA) Northern Ireland to provide Cloud MIS software to 1100 schools across the country. The goal of the project is to provide high quality, sustainable, core education technology services to schools and to ensure that they are appropriate to meet the current and future needs of school children, young people, teachers, school leaders, parents, and guardians in Northern Ireland.
References
[edit]- ^ "BROMCOM COMPUTERS PLC overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 24 July 1986. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Telford and Wrekin- TED Tenders Electronic Daily". ted.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "ARK Schools - TED Tenders Electronic Daily". ted.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Frontline Technology Ltd". Frontline Technology. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Capita denies overcharging by £75 million". Reuters. 6 December 2009.
- ^ "United Learning embroiled in £2m legal row over move to cloud". Schools Week. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Net access to pupils' records". BBC News. 25 June 2000. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
- ^ Judith Judd (14 June 2000). "Parents get Net access to pupils' classwork". The Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Gill Hitchcock (28 March 2012). "Department for Education signs £575m schools ICT deal". Government Computing.
External links
[edit]- Truancy cut by computer revolution — BBC News