An on-premises school MIS
Most school MIS systems keep your records on the supplier’s servers. PMC People is an on-premises school MIS: it runs on a server in your school, your trust or a hosting company you choose, so your pupil and staff records stay with you.
What on-premises means
With an on-premises school MIS, the software and the database run on a server you control. You decide where it is, who can reach it and how long data is kept. Staff use it in a web browser as they would any other system, in school or, if you allow it, from home.
It isn’t a step back to the days of software installed on every PC. PMC People is a modern, self-hosted school MIS that installs with one script, updates itself with one click and backs itself up every night. It just does all of that on your server rather than ours.
See what a school MIS does, and the school modules that make PMC People one.
Why schools choose an on-premises MIS
- Your records stay with you
- Pupil, staff and safeguarding records are on a server you control, not shared with other schools on a supplier’s platform.
- Encrypted and audited
- Sensitive details such as medical notes, NI numbers and bank details are encrypted, and every change goes in a tamper-evident audit log.
- Backups that are tested
- Encrypted backups every night, a test restore every week, and an optional second copy on your NAS or elsewhere.
- It keeps working when the internet doesn’t
- Registers and records work over your own network. The licence checks in with us once a day, with a generous grace period if your connection drops.
- Updates with one click
- New versions appear in Admin > Updates, signed by us. Your system checks the signature, backs up first, and puts things back by itself if an update fails.
- You choose where it runs
- A server in school, in your trust’s data centre or with a UK hosting company: the same software, wherever suits you.
A parent portal without opening up your server
Parents use the portal from home, so it has to be on the internet. The PMC Portal gateway puts it there without putting your PMC People server there too.
- Your server stays private
- The gateway goes on a small server of its own, in your DMZ or the cloud. Your PMC People server connects out to it, so you don’t open any way in from the internet.
- Only the parent portal
- The gateway passes on parents’ requests and nothing else. Staff pages can’t be reached through it.
- Nothing stored on it
- The gateway keeps no records, and every message between it and your server is signed.
- Simple to set up
- An installer sets up the gateway and its certificate, and shows a pairing code to enter in PMC People.
Questions about an on-premises school MIS
What server do we need?
A Linux server or virtual machine, in school or hosted. The installer sets up everything else. We can do the install with you over a call.
Who looks after it?
Your IT team or IT support company looks after the server; PMC People looks after itself, with nightly backups, weekly test restores and one-click updates. Support from us comes with your licence.
Can staff use it from home?
Yes, if you allow it: it depends on how your network is set up. Staff can sign in with their school Microsoft 365 accounts, and two-step verification is required for roles such as HR and admin.
Does on-premises help with school data protection?
It gives you control: where the data is, who can reach it, and retention rules that delete personal data when it’s no longer needed. You’re still the data controller, as with any MIS.
See PMC People running
Take the guided tour through a fictional school, or apply to be one of our beta schools.