Enterprise Data Access Released (beta)

Enterprise Data Access Released (beta)

3/28/2018

 

In November we announced a new module, “Enterprise Data Access” (EDA), intended to give SchoolInsight customers better access to data stored in our cloud.  Recently we’ve seen an increase in requests for data extracts and integrations with other systems, and wanted to better serve those needs. We discuss our goals nicely in the original news article:

Announcement: Enterprise Data Access (11/24/17)

 

We released a beta version of EDA, and it is available today.  New features include:

  • Save export templates
    Exports can now be saved as templates, and run later.  They it can be run manually or through the scheduler.

    Admin Main > Import/Export > Saved Export Templates

  • Self-service automated export scheduler
    We provide an interface for users to schedule automated exports.  Choose an export (saved export template or custom report), time, and destination.  This can be managed by admins with import/export permissions.

    Admin Main > Import/Export > Scheduled Exports

  • Export logging
    As exports run, logs are generated to help with troubleshooting.  This allows admins to see what was run, where the extract was sent, and whether it completed successfully.  This provides the ability to understand and manage the system.

    Admin Main > Import/Export > Scheduled Exports > View Log

  • Local SFTP server configuration
    After exports are generated, data files are pushed to an SFTP server.  While the destination can be any server, to be helpful we provide a local SFTP server that can be used (if your system prefers to pull files from us).  SFTP Accounts can be created online through our user interface. Once created they can be further configured with standard SFTP tools.

    Admin Main > Import/Export > CGS SFTP Account

  • IMS OneRoster exports
    An emerging standard for data exchange in education is IMS OneRoster.  Many “downstream” systems (library, transportation, etc) can be initialized by importing OneRoster files.  We implemented export of OneRoster 1.1 CSV files (the latest), which can be scheduled and pushed to an SFTP server.  As our customers add new systems to their infrastructure, we recommend choosing compatible systems for easy integration.  

IMS OneRoster Certified Products

For some time, we have supported automatic exports with an internal utility managed by our Technical Services Organization. In the near future, we will be migrating all existing automatic exports into EDA.  This will allow customer self-service access to view and interact with exports. There will be no need to call TSO about your exports, unless you have questions or need help -- which we’re always happy to provide.  We’ll send an email notification when your migration is complete.

 

Why did we mark EDA as beta?  Since the code is new and we’re planning on making considerable future investments, we thought beta made sense.  It’s also currently free for customers. Once it’s generally released, we’ll charge a separate subscription fee (similar in size to lunch, discipline, health records, etc). To communicate better with customers already doing automated exports, we added EDA to your 2018-19 order form at no charge.

 

As we look to the future, the next EDA project will build a framework for exporting any data from our system (rather than just the entities we support today).  Once it’s in place, we can work through adding entities to the new export mechanism. Look for this functionality to start rolling out in the coming months.

 

The Common Goal Team