One of England’s biggest academy trusts has settled a three-year legal battle, ending the latest high-profile spat in the £200 million management information system (MIS) turf war.
Technology company Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools, previously called Academies Enterprise Trust, after missing out on a £2 million deal to supply its MIS.
Schools Week understands the contract – which was for 57 schools – was awarded to Arbor, one of Bromcom’s biggest rivals.
But today, Bromcom and Lift confirmed they have ended the dispute “on confidential terms”.
Ali Guryel, Bromcom’s managing director, said: “We weren’t driven by financial gain, but by a passionate commitment to raising awareness of best practices.”
“In fact…we agreed not to seek our costs from Lift Schools in the settlement.”
James Browning, the trust’s chief operating officer, added: “We recognise Bromcom’s concerns and appreciate its focus on best practices.”
It is the latest in a string of legal cases involving the company. About 11 years ago it took high court action against Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire councils.
It also fought United Learning in the courts after the trust signed a multi-year deal with Arbor, thought to be one of the largest contracts of its kind.
Ministers handed the MAT £1 million to take on the challenge in a bid to protect the wider academy sector as the company had “a history of litigiousness”, trust correspondence with the government said. United Learning lost.
It all comes amid seismic change in the MIS sector, worth about £200 million.
Following the emergence of cloud-based providers, the market share for SIMS – which has long dominated the MIS world – fell below 50 per cent, analysis by the Bring More Data blog shows.
