Our latest #FinnemoreFireside is with Izzi Dorrian and Ed Butcher, founders of the brilliant Habitude workflow platform for MATs, designed to solve slow, unreliable or lost admin by connecting people, platforms and data into trackable workflows.

Both Izzi and Ed are from an educational background themselves and it’s a really insightful discussion including:

• The significance of education and why both are involved in the field.
• Importance of stability: Emphasis on understanding policies and processes, especially in times of frequent policy changes.
• Recruitment and retention: Highlighted the challenge of administrative hassles, compliance, and the need for strategic recruitment and onboarding processes.
• MATs’ future challenges: Discussion on the evolving landscape of MATs, the importance of infrastructure, and the need for a clear vision.
• Role of technology: Exploration of the role of technology in MATs, potential improvements, and challenges in adapting to different MAT structures.
• Openness in data: Advocacy for open data among edtech companies, with a focus on collaborative efforts for better data flow and management in MATs.

Continuing our series of edtech thought leader interviews, I recently caught up with Martin Hall, Senior Product Manager for MIS at RM.

Having spoken with almost all other major MIS suppliers in England, I’ve been wanting to speak with RM on their plans for the Integris solution for a while. RM Integris is the second-largest MIS supplier in England in terms of market share, and RM also offers an ecosystem of other school management solutions which work alongside their MIS, including their own finance solution.

In part 1 of this fireside chat, we discuss:

• How RM has changed over the years, having started as a couple of people building servers in their garage to becoming a global education company
• The 3 key pillars of business for RM, and their plans to invest in their Integris MIS and finance solutions
• How customers expectations have changed, and how RM works with them to allow them to focus on students’ progress – the most important thing
• Where RM are currently with their Integris MIS: how it works with RM Unify, what’s their partner strategy, plans for growth into new system areas (such as HR, compliance, safeguarding, etc.) and also into new phases and markets
• Their approach to future development

In part 2 we cover:

• RM’s focus on the MIS market and current competitor solutions
• What makes RM Integris different
• How the market might change in the future given recent consolidation and acquisitions
• How support has changed, especially as businesses such as SBS and Strictly Education have been acquired by one owner
• The role of LAs v the new role of Trusts: how MATs act and work differently, using data centrally and intelligently

Finally, in part 3 I ask:

• Where does Martin see the MIS market going in 5-years time?
• Can and should data be used to inform policy?
• How does RM work in partnership with schools and academies?
• How can edtech suppliers get better at delivering disruptive, and is this a good thing?