Rm Signs New Deal With World Leading Sif Technology Leader

RM Signs New Deal With World Leading SIF Technology Provider

RM, the largest company globally focused exclusively on education technology, today announced an important partnership with US technology provider CPSI to bring Systems Interoperability Framework (SIF) technology to schools.

The partnership will enable RM to draw upon the expertise gained through landmark SIF projects such Oklahoma State, the largest SIF implementation in the world. In Oklahoma, data relating to over 3 million students and education employees is managed using CPSI's SIF solutions.

"The investment in SIF leadership is part of RM's wider commitment to interoperability," according to RM CEO Terry Sweeney.

"As a company RM is focused on ensuring that its technologies are interoperable with a range of platforms globally, allowing Education Departments, schools and other institutions relying on RM technology to avoid expensive interoperability problems. We are delighted to have been able to establish a partnership with CPSI. This new partnership brings together two market leaders in education management technology," Mr Sweeney commented.

RM Asia Pacific Managing Director, Nathan Turner, said the commitment to SIF is particularly important in the Australian market.

"SIF has become a significant area of focus for Australian Governments. RM supports governments' efforts to ensure systems interoperate effectively now and in the future and sees SIF as a prerequisite for large-scale deployments."

"As an organisation focused exclusively on education technology RM recognises that SIF and other open standards are critical if we are to further improve student outcomes through technology," Mr Turner said.

In the UK, SIF is endorsed by government and influential bodies such as BECTA as having proven potential to deliver benefits to schools, Local Authorities and Regional Broadband Consortia. Examples of early adoption are the completion of a BECTA-sponsored pilot programme in Birmingham and an implementation of a SIF-based solution in the South West Grid for Learning in which RM has played a pivotal role.

RM chose CPSI as its SIF partner because of its exceptional range of proven and scalable SIF solutions, and its position as the leading integrator of robust SIF solutions across schools, school districts and states in North America. The US leads the way in SIF implementations and, by joining forces with the leading K-12 education supplier, we're able to provide immediate scale and expertise in SIF to the UK market and worldwide.

"RM's technical integration and support capabilities underline RM's position as the UK's leading supplier of innovative IT solutions to education" commented Michelle Elia, CPSI's President. "Because of this RM is an ideal partner complementing CPSI's constant innovation in developing technologies and solutions that meet the ever-expanding needs of schools and states."

About SIF

System Interoperability Framework or SIF is an internationally recognised data standard for communication between diverse applications to interact and share data related to entities in the school and school-related administrative environment.

SIF is designed to:

* Facilitate data sharing and reporting between applications without incurring
expensive customer development costs;
* Enhance product functionality efficiently; and
* Provide best]of]breed solutions to customers easily and seamlessly.

About RM

RM is the leading provider of ICT software, services and infrastructure to schools, colleges and universities. Founded in 1973, RM has spent over 30 years designing transformational solutions for education that are based on the needs of teachers and learners in the classroom.

RM offers a whole host of education services, from award-winning hardware and software products to helping schools and jurisdictions develop long-term strategic ICT plans. RM strives to combine quality with innovation and has won many recent awards for its products and services, including four BETT Awards for educational software products.

For more information, please visit www.rm.com or www.rmap.com.au

About CPSI...

CPSI was founded in 1989 and is committed solely to K-12 education. CPSI has been a member of SIFA since 1999. CPSI's hallmark application, Visual CASEL, was developed specifically for schools with extensive input from teachers, technology coordinators and administrators. With the addition of several SIF based products, CPSI has proven itself in the industry as a developer of solutions for K-12 institutions.

For more information, please visit www.cpsiltd.com

For further information please contact:

Prue Bowley or Simon Jones
RM Asia-Pacific
E: [email protected]
T: (02) 9411 8114

SIF and Systems Interoperability Framework are trademarks of the Systems Interoperability Framework Association.

SOURCE: RM Asia-Pacific