FAQs |
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What does Xporter actually do?
Groupcall Xporter is a software tool that enables scheduled, automated collection of data from your school MIS system and offers the option to have this data automatically or manually transferred to the location of your choice.
Do I need any additional hardware?
Groupcall will work on the same computer as your existing administration system. No dedicated hardware is required with the exception of a connection to the Internet.
The connection could be a dial-up connection on a modem, an ISDN modem (or router) or a broadband connection.
It can be installed on a user workstation or on a fileserver that may be shared between many users.
What if my system is 'Standalone'?
If your infrastructure dictates that your MIS data be isolated from external sources, Groupcall Xporter can still extract the data you require and produce reports within a local destination, which can then be manually transferred to your desired location.
Is it secure?
Groupcall Xporter benefits from RSA secured encryption, rendering the information useless if it were to find its way into the wrong hands. Each data report (including School name, LEA code and DfES number) can be transferred to a pre-defined location (e.g. corporate network/Intranet) or sent via MAPI or SMTP to a pre-defined e-mail address in the definition file. Each report can have a different location or email address. The Xporter is compatible with AVCO Anycomms and can trigger an Anycomms data transfer automatically, if required. Data reports can also be compressed and encoded with a password which is specified by the LEA and stored in the definition file.
What type of data can I extract?
Any number of reports can collect data at different frequencies to automate data collection.
The Xporter has been used for the following data collection tasks:
Report Current Pupils on roll
Leavers Report (since last leavers report)
Monitor any changes to standard pupil data
Xporter runs in each school to extract the required information from the MIS system and deliver it securely and in a uniform format to the LEA.
Xporter can also be used to synchronise data between 2 systems within the same environment. Why spend time manually replicating data, when this task can be performed quickly, accurately and scheduled to take place when you may be away from your desk.
Do I have to extract the same data every time?
Groupcall Xporter has been uniquely designed to provide you with the capability of extracting multiple sets of data from multiple locations and for your convenience these can be specified within their own individual jobs, which can in turn be scheduled to run with their own date and time parameters.
Not only can each job consist of multiple tasks, but each job may be written by different departments who may require different data in a different format. These can all be easily specified and manipulated to allow you to obtain exactly the information you need, when you need it.
Who is using Groupcall Xporter?
Groupcall Messenger has been provided to LEAs and schools throughout Europe, would you like to join the UK's leading provider of Data Exchange Software within the Education sector?
Where is the software installed?
Groupcall Xporter is a windows application which is installed in each school, which then performs jobs as defined in a definition file. The LEA is provided with an application which edits these definition files called the Definition Editor. One definition file can be prepared and copied to any number of schools.
How is the software installed?
We will help guide you through the installation process. We have remote support facilities that allow us to connect to your individual sites to ensure that the application has been correctly configured to ensure the successful extract of your data and delivery to its intended location.
How is the software maintained?
Groupcall Xporter benefits from an Auto Update mechanism that allows you to take advantage of any enhancements made to the operation of the software and also to any configuration changes that you make to the reports that you require, once installed, you can almost sit back and wait for the data to be delivered.
The auto update facility can be completely managed by our team of experienced staff, who will lead and direct you to ensure that the service is running as smoothly as possible, and ensure that the data collected reaches the correct place at the correct time.
