Integration: Take 2

There was considerable response to my SIS blog post from Monday, in the form of comments and through other channels. The responses suggest that I need to clarify some points, and Newschoolyard may need to rethink some others.

Newschoolyard is in an enviable position. We have an absolutely clean slate in an industry where we are anything but newcomers. This is a rare opportunity. Our strategy is to provide a service that fills a clear need--that need being an extremely affordable CMS powered website that is all about schools. We are overwhelmed with the response from schools clamoring for such a service. And it's not just about price. I'll be posting on our powerful social media integration and SEO capabilities in coming days.

Being an open source shop allows us to set an industry-altering price point and also to be nimble; we can respond quickly if schools point us in the direction of a need that we have not addressed. Which brings us to SIS integration. Our three-word mantra is excellent affordable functionality. We worry that the human resource costs required to provide deep integration with any number of SIS platforms will push us out of the affordability realm. As I wrote in the previous post, "we are eager to partner with companies who provide such integration as a third-party layer of added value for those schools who demand it. Conversations on this last point are in progress on multiple fronts." For our initial launch then, we are happy to work with such schools but the integration layer will be outsourced to established companies who will set their own price. Our system does, by the way, include API utilities for such meat-and-potato tasks as admission inquiries, community member profile data, and calendar synching. And as mentioned previously, we are incorporating SSO protocols to "integrate" with existing SIS web interfaces.

Going forward, our promise is that we will respond to the needs of schools to the extent that our mission allows us. We are asking for input from those on the front lines to tell us what these needs are, and we thank those of you who have already done so. We look forward to hearing from the rest of you.