I have an idea for schools and am curious what you think

Hey folks:

I see a lot of schools are starting to use cloud based software to track student progress, as well as manage internal staff processes. However, one aspect that gets me quite uncomfortable is the idea of storing student, or other confidential data on cloud servers. It's a huge risk to put your students' private information on a third party server that is not in the school's control.

So how do you provide the benefits of a cloud based solution to the school, without giving up the control of the students' personal data?

Here's my idea:

• Have a cloud based solution that is run on a server that is physically located on the school campus
• When the school signs up for the service, a small server with the software preinstalled is sent to the school to be "plugged in"
• This server runs the cloud based software for the school, and stores all the data specific to that school on that server -- the data never leaves the school except for backups
• Access to the software is only possible from within the school's network
• Updates to the software are delivered automatically through the internet -- the school doesn't need to do anything to install updates
• Unlike traditional software packages, all computers in the school can instantly access the software through a web browser -- even from their phones. No computers need to install any software to use the software.
• Backups of the data are sent to an encrypted service, providing "end to end" encryption. That is, the data is encrypted before it leaves the school, and the backup service provided doesn't know what the data is because it's all encrypted.
• Or, backups can be done by the school itself in a more traditional manner. Backups are physically taken offsite by a staff member of the school.

With this structure, the personal, private data of the students can be safely added to the software, knowing that the data never leaves the school. The school enjoys streamlined processes because they are using the cloud based solution that can be updated remotely and all computers in the school see updates immediately, without any school staff having to perform the update (it's done remotely).

Anyway, I wanted to get your thoughts on this kind of idea. Does it seem reasonable? What aspects am I missing from the scenarios I've outlined above? Would you be interested in such a product?

Thanks!

Submitted January 19, 2019 at 12:29PM by garfonzo http://bit.ly/2FCaRNS