5 Reasons A Hosted School Management System Makes Sense For Schools

Your school management software is your school’s engine room, so choosing whether to host it on-premises or in the cloud is a significant decision. Hosted school management systems (SMS) are becoming more popular as decision-makers see the value in shifting from traditional, server-bound solutions to flexible, internet-based platforms.

This blog explores five reasons why a hosted school management systems is a smart choice for schools in 2025 and beyond.

Managing your school’s SMS on site requires a large initial and ongoing investment in IT infrastructure. These servers and data storage facilities are expensive to buy, require regular maintenance and upgrades, and should be replaced every 3-5 years.

With a hosted school management system, the software provider takes care of the IT expenditure and complex technology tasks. Schools pay a subscription to use the platform and can scale up or down as required, eliminating SMS-related capital expenditure and providing cost certainty. In this way, using a cloud-hosted school management system will strengthen your school’s cash flow management.

With cyber threats continually on the rise and the education sector a popular target for cybercriminals, it’s crucial that schools protect sensitive student, family and payment information with robust data security measures. While some schools have the expertise and resources needed to manage this in-house, most are unable to provide an equivalent level of security to cloud-based solutions.

A hosted SMS is one of the most secure ways to collect and store data. Platforms like FACTS School Management offer multiple layers of security to keep your school’s information safe, ensure only authorised users can access the system, and proactively monitor for unusual activity that may signal a cyberattack. FACTS is hosted on Microsoft Azure and is protected by Cloudflare.

Transitioning to a hosted school management system relieves pressure on your IT department. With specialist external teams handling server maintenance, upgrades, security patches, backups and monitoring, your IT resources can prioritise more strategic tasks. Rather than getting bogged down in the day-to-day of infrastructure management, they can focus on opportunities to leverage technology to drive efficiency and boost learning outcomes across your school.

Cloud-based school management software lets staff, students and families access information from anywhere, anytime, via a secure login.

Whether teachers are writing reports from home, taking attendance remotely during an excursion or camp, or checking a student’s medical information during an offsite swimming carnival, they’ll have access to up-to-date information, and their changes will be reflected in the system in real time. Likewise, students can access homework, assignments and study materials wherever they are.

One of the most significant advantages of a hosted SMS is its scalability. As your school grows or needs change, cloud-based systems can flex to accommodate more users, faster bandwidth, or greater data storage requirements.

By paying only for the services and resources your school needs right now, you can avoid spending more than necessary on systems and equipment to support future needs, such as growing enrolments.

Hosted school management systems like FACTS offer a flexible, secure and scalable solution to schools looking to reduce the cost, complexity and risk of their operations. By choosing a cloud-based SMS, schools can spend less time and money managing complex IT infrastructure and focus instead on elevating the education experience.