Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools after missing out on a £2m deal to supply its MIS.
On Friday (20th) School Week published the outcome of legal proceedings between Lift Schools (formerly Academies Enterprise Trust – AET) and Bromcom, as below……
One of England’s biggest academy trusts has settled a three-year legal battle, ending the latest high-profile spat in the £200 million management information system (MIS) turf war.
Technology company Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools, previously called Academies Enterprise Trust, after missing out on a £2 million deal to supply its MIS.
Schools Week understands the contract – which was for 57 schools – was awarded to Arbor, one of Bromcom’s biggest rivals.
But today, Bromcom and Lift confirmed they have ended the dispute “on confidential terms”.
Ali Guryel, Bromcom’s managing director, said: “We weren’t driven by financial gain, but by a passionate commitment to raising awareness of best practices. In fact…we agreed not to seek our costs from Lift Schools in the settlement.”
James Browning, the trust’s chief operating officer, added:
“We recognise Bromcom’s concerns and appreciate its focus on best practices.”
It is the latest in a string of legal cases involving the company.
About 11 years ago it took high court action against Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire councils.
It also fought United Learning in the courts after the trust signed a multi-year deal with Arbor, thought to be one of the largest contracts of its kind.
Ministers handed the MAT £1 million to take on the challenge in a bid to protect the wider academy sector as the company had “a history of litigiousness”, trust correspondence with the government said. United Learning lost.
We asked Bromcom’s Ali Guryel for comments on Schools Week’s claim that Bromcom being litigious and provided the following quote for WhichMIS:
“At Bromcom, we lead by example, championing transparency, best procurement practices, fair competition, and open systems in education. Our legal actions, like those against the United Learning Trust and Lift Schools, aren’t about financial gain, but about raising awareness of practices that benefit everyone: students, educators, and the system itself.
Referring to legal cases 11 years ago and claims of Bromcom being litigious are totally unfair, especially considering the clear evidence of market’s stagnation 11 years ago and the reasons. This stagnation happened because Local Authorities (LAs) were renewing SIMS software maintenance contracts year after year over 15 to 20 years rather than going through new procurement, especially when cloud-based MIS were being offered by other suppliers. The DfE/Becta Report 2010 highlighted that this practice was non-compliant.
In fact, the difficulties the schools market experienced in recent years with ESS SIMS, their unwelcome practices like imposing short-notice 3-year contracts and legal threats using SIMS SQL backup in migration, are the price schools, LAs, MATs, and the market in general are paying as a consequence of LAs’ non-compliance 11 years ago – something Bromcom was fighting against.
Therefore, Bromcom should be praised for what it was trying to do 11 years ago and in the recent years to stem out from the schools market any unfair practices surrounding procurement, competition and open systems, rather than criticized unfairly.”
It all comes amid seismic change in the MIS sector, worth about £200 million.
Following the emergence of cloud-based providers, the market share for SIMS – which has long dominated the MIS world – fell below 50 per cent, analysis by the Bring More Data blog shows.
https://bringmoredata.blogspot.com
The full statement is below:
Lift Schools (formerly known as Academies Enterprise Trust) and Bromcom Computers Plc (Bromcom) make the following statement in connection with the claim brought by Bromcom against Lift Schools arising from Lift Schools’ award of a contract for schools management information systems to Arbor Education Partners Limited via the G-Cloud 12 Framework Agreement.
Lift Schools and Bromcom have now agreed to settle the claim on confidential terms. Lift Schools acknowledges that Bromcom has acted reasonably and cooperatively in negotiating a mutually acceptable conclusion to the dispute and that Bromcom’s motivation is to ensure that schools receive the best service at the best price and that they do so through procurement routes that afford equal treatment and transparency to participants in the market.
Lift Schools acknowledges that the provision of a schools management information system is a crucial element in running a modern school and that generally it will be important to evaluate the quality of competing solutions on the market rather than solely the price when procuring to ensure that solutions are fit for purpose.
Lift Schools continues to take steps to ensure that its schools benefit from best-in-class support, resources and technology.
Lift Schools looks forward to evaluating the bids of any qualified supplier who chooses to participate in any future procurement for management information system services when the current contract expires.
Ali Guryel, Managing Director at Bromcom, says:
“At Bromcom, we are dedicated to leading by example, advocating for transparency, the best procurement practices, fair competition, and open systems within the education ecosystem.
In 2003, Bromcom achieved a significant milestone by securing the first-ever voluntary assurance for the provision of APIs to third parties in the EdTech market from the Office of Fair Trading. This breakthrough opened up opportunities for ‘bolt-on’ products and benefited the entire industry.
Our legal action against the United Learning Trust led to a judgement that not only vindicates our position but also offers valuable lessons for the education ecosystem.
It was found that accepting a rebate from a bidder (Arbor, in this instance) offered from an unrelated contract was unlawful in that case.
“Throughout our legal challenge to Lift Schools’ procurement process our unwavering focus remained on driving positive outcomes in the sector. We weren’t driven by financial gain, but by a passionate commitment to raising awareness of best practices that ultimately benefit everyone: students, educators, and the education system as a whole.
In fact, as testimony to our dedication to this mission, we agreed not to seek our costs from Lift Schools in the settlement. This wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about taking a stand for what we believe in, and increasing awareness of best procurement practices.
“These steps, as with any others we have taken in recent years are testament to Bromcom’s long-standing crusade advocating for transparency, best procurement practices, fair competition, and open systems in the education ecosystem.”
James Browning, Chief Operating Officer at Lift Schools, adds:
“At Lift Schools, we’re driven by a belief in an entitlement for excellence and doing everything we can to ensure that every child has an excellent education, in every classroom, every day. Like Bromcom, we believe transparency and responsible procurement are fundamental to an effective and efficient education sector, in which everyone is focused on doing the right thing for children and young people. While legal proceedings can be divisive, we recognise Bromcom’s concerns and appreciate their focus on best practices.
“Throughout this process both parties have acted with respect towards one another and in good faith throughout. Lift Schools’ unwavering focus has always been on serving teachers and our pupils, and we will always do what is in their best interests.
“Moving forward, we’re committed to open dialogue and collaboration. We value Bromcom’s perspective and welcome the chance to work together, alongside other industry leaders, to establish robust, ethical procurement standards that benefit everyone.
“Furthermore, we encourage fair and transparent practices free of incentives which risk compromising transparent and impartial evaluation. Lift Schools remains dedicated to continuous improvement, transparency, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with all involved to achieve the best possible outcomes for our students.”
