IRIS SOFTWARE LIMITED

IRIS Reach

IRIS Reach is a cloud-based multi-language communication and engagement platform for schools. Reach provides the functionality to manage everything from email to SMS and social media. It makes parent communications easier, faster, and more effective. The app can be school branded, with instant translation.

Features

  • SMS, Email, and In-App communications from school to parents
  • Customisable MyEd mobile app for parents
  • Two way communications for SMS, Email and In-app
  • MIS Integration to read and write data from MIS system
  • Translation of messages into 40+ languages
  • Attendance messages and management with marks writeback
  • Form manager to create, send and receive answers from parents
  • Arrange, book and collate parents’ evening appointments – including video
  • Digitally send out reports, exam timetables and exam results
  • Create and send microsites to share newsletters

Benefits

  • Centralise parent engagement, making everything easier for staff and parents
  • Strengthens home/school partnerships
  • Streamline processes and reduce time-consuming administration
  • Streamlines parent’s evenings with a fully digital process
  • Eliminates paper-based communications from schools and homes
  • Reduces supplier and print related costs
  • Facilitate a cashless school environment

Pricing

£1,667 a licence a year

  • Education pricing available

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at BidTeam@iris.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

8 1 6 9 9 1 1 0 9 1 0 5 6 5 5

Contact

IRIS SOFTWARE LIMITED Bid Team
Telephone: 0344 225 1525
Email: BidTeam@iris.co.uk

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
What software services is the service an extension to
IRIS Ed:gen
Cloud deployment model
Private cloud
Service constraints
None known
System requirements
  • Web browser for school application
  • IOS 11 +
  • Android 4 for parent app

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Any new ticket is responded to within 10 minutes to confirm the ticket has been created and advising the user of the ticket reference number.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
None or don’t know
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
Web chat
Web chat support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support accessibility standard
None or don’t know
How the web chat support is accessible
Not applicable
Web chat accessibility testing
None
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
Our support KPIs are: 90% of inbound calls answered within 30 seconds. 88% of tickets resolved within 48 working hours (tickets worked in order of priority), 92% ticket satisfaction
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
A full implementation and training service is provided by our team to ensure smooth onboarding
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • Other
Other documentation formats
Online help hub
End-of-contract data extraction
Data is extracted via a CSV export
End-of-contract process
The account is closed, all retained data is securely removed.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
Application to install
Yes
Compatible operating systems
  • Android
  • IOS
  • Linux or Unix
  • MacOS
  • Windows
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
Responsive platform so the layout adapts to the screen size
Service interface
Yes
User support accessibility
None or don’t know
Description of service interface
Service cloud
Accessibility standards
None or don’t know
Description of accessibility
Not applicable
Accessibility testing
None
API
No
Customisation available
No

Scaling

Independence of resources
Infrastructure is built to withstand loads over and above normal usage, especially around snow day communications.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
No

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
Government security clearance
None

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
United Kingdom
User control over data storage and processing locations
No
Datacentre security standards
Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
Protecting data at rest
Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
Equipment disposal approach
In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Users can export their data via CSV exports of reports
Data export formats
CSV
Data import formats
CSV

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
TLS (version 1.2 or above)
Data protection within supplier network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Other
Other protection within supplier network
All data is encrypted at rest and hosted in Tier 4 data centers with strictly controlled access.

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
99.9% uptime
Approach to resilience
Backup data centres are in place to take over if an outage occurs
Outage reporting
Monitoring software alerts our teams, if an outage occurs we have a Critical Incient team to manage communications to customers

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Username (email) and password with optional 2FA
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
At least 12 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long supplier audit data is stored for
At least 12 months
How long system logs are stored for
At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
No
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
No
Cyber essentials plus
No
Other security certifications
No

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
No
Security governance approach
We have a team dedicated to the review and update of all security standards
Information security policies and processes
IRIS has a suite of internal policies and procedures, including but not limited to:
IRIS Group Data Protection Policy V3
IRIS Information Security and Acceptable Use Policies Summary V3
IRIS Data classification and handling policy
Personal data incidents reporting procedure
Engineering Personal Data Breach Policy

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
An internal Change review board reviews and approves each change to our software
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
Internal and external PEN tests are completed annualy to determine any vulnerabilities
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
Mulitple software continually monitors our environment with alerts to the relevant people in place.
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
In line with IRIS incident management policy and procedures.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Social Value

Fighting climate change

Fighting climate change

IRIS exist to simplify the lives of businesses, schools, and organisations, by providing software solutions and services that enhance operational compliance, efficiency, and accuracy, empowering the users of our technology to look forward with certainty and confidence. We aim to offer our solution in the most sustainable, environmental-friendly way.
Initiatives to deliver additional environmental benefits in our contracts include:
- Delivery and implementation of software remotely, where appropriate, reducing carbon emissions created by various methods of transport
- Online training videos and content, no paper documentation needed

We have established our goal to become carbon neutral by 2030 and an action plan is in place, with steps including:
- supplier sustainability reviews
- using low energy office equipment
- committing to a laptop reuse/recycle scheme

We employ 1900+ staff, actively seeking out ideas and opinions from staff as to ways we could decrease our environmental impact and work in more sustainable ways.

Our IRIS Green Group, comprised of staff across the business, identify, share, educate and promote environmental awareness within the company, encouraging the adoption of green initiatives and targets to help influence both IRIS, its employees, its outputs, and its culture in lessening our environmental impact. Initiatives include:

Employee education. IRIS regularly promotes ways to positively impact our environment whilst reducing carbon emissions, including:
- Reducing monitor brightness from 100% to 70% can help reduce emissions by 20%
- Turning computers off at night, reducing energy consumption
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle – donating or selling old belongings
Supplier contracts. Commitment to responsibly choosing suppliers and partners, each subject to strict due diligence assessment on several subjects, including green credentials.
Giving back days. We encourage all employees to partake in three fully paid Giving Back Days, to do charitable activities in their communities or for our customers.

Pricing

Price
£1,667 a licence a year
Discount for educational organisations
Yes
Free trial available
No

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at BidTeam@iris.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.