“We used to be uncomfortable about moving sensitive information electronically, so we always worked onsite. Now we work remotely because we’re confident in the security of the technology.” Darren Cole, Project Manager, Target Tracker Part of Essex County Council, Target Tracker develops software for schools. Its Primary Target Tracker application—which provides information to support learning—ran on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software. To stay ahead of its competitors, Target Tracker rebuilt the solution using SQL Database in Windows Azure. The firm now has an application that scales to meet the needs of thousands of schools in England and overseas. Business Needs Essex County Council is among the largest local authorities in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Formed in 1999 as part of the council’s Schools, Children, and Families directorate, Target Tracker produces software that supports around 5,000 subscribers across many local authorities. It plays a vital role in raising children’s achievement levels. More than 2,000 schools in the U.K. have adopted the Primary Target Tracker solution. This helps them to support each child’s learning with the right teaching, and identify issues or trends in the classroom. It provides access to critical information, such as teacher assessment and test results. Nigel Green, Business Development Manager, Target Tracker, Essex County Council, says: “A head teacher would use the application to identify the progress of children in a particular year. An assessment coordinator, on the other hand, would use it to assess the effectiveness of a particular intervention programme.” Schools are subject to regular and vigorous inspection by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted). Green says: “Primary Target Tracker helps schools meet Ofsted requirements to understand children’s progress and quickly identify and resolve any gaps in learning.” Darren Cole, Project Manager, Target Tracker, Essex County Council, says that the organisation has always sought to be highly innovative in its use of technology. This, and an increase in market competition, inspired it to re-develop Primary Target Tracker, which ran on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software. Cole says: “Each school’s data was stored locally, so users needed to carry information on memory sticks if they wanted to access it outside the school. We wanted to update our application to reflect the very latest in IT—the use of the cloud to store data.” Solution The Target Tracker team considered a few different options, including Amazon Web Services, but found they couldn’t meet the application’s exact needs. First, it was vital that the solution could support extreme fluctuations in activity. Cole says: “Towards the end of the academic year, for example, there’s a significant spike in demand for information as schools examine their end- of-year data. Schools then have their Customer: Essex County Council Partner Website: www.targettracker.org Customer Size: 12,000 Country or Region: United Kingdom Industry: Government—Local government agencies Partner: Target Tracker Partner Profile Part of Essex Country Council in the United Kingdom, Target Tracker produces software that supports schools across many local authorities, helping them raise children’s achievement levels. Software and Services Windows Azure − Cloud Services − SQL Database Technologies − Microsoft .NET Framework 4 For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies Windows Azure Partner Solution Case Study Schools Adopt Innovative Cloud Solution for Secure Access to Critical Data