Compass Education and TechnologyOne will supply school management software to more than 800 public schools after a previous contract failed to deliver.
East coast companies Compass Education and TechnologyOne have won contracts to supply school management software to more than 800 public schools in Western Australia.
The seven-year contracts have a combined value of $88 million.
The Department of Education has an option to extend for a further eight years, which would lift their combined value to $189 million.
The new contracts come seven years after the department awarded a $32 million contract to international company Civica to develop a schools management system for WA schools.
However it was forced to go back to the market one year ago after terminating the Civica contract.
The department selected Compass and TechnologyOne from 13 bidders.
Compass has won contracts to supply three packages, covering school administration, student administration and timetabling.
A fourth package, for financial management, has been awarded jointly to Compass and TechnologyOne.
Compass said its contracts were worth $9 million a year over seven years, for a total of $63 million.
ASX listed TechnologyOne did not disclose a contract value but based on figures published by the department, its package of work is worth $25 million over seven years.
Education department director general Lisa Rodgers said the tenders went through a rigorous and robust evaluation.
"The department is replacing the ageing School Information Systems, and the preference was for a commercial fit-for-purpose application," she said.
The new work represents a big win for Compass, which entered the WA market in 2019 and has already won contracts with 150 local schools.
The Melbourne-based company has been on a rapid growth trajectory after securing financial backing from private equity investor Advent Partners.
“We’re thrilled Western Australia’s Department of Education has chosen local technology providers to power its public schools,” co-founder and CEO John de la Motte said.
He said the tender process was one of the most stringent Compass had ever been involved in and included detailed analysis from independent subject matter experts.
Its software is used by more than 3000 schools and four million parents.
Brisbane-based TechnologyOne is one of Australia’s largest software companies.
It will implement its financial management and supply chain software to support the billing, finance, accounting, budgeting and management reporting function for the department and the state’s public schools.
“Our solution empowers more than 1.4 million students globally across K-12 and higher education, partnering with Catholic Education, and some of the world’s leading universities,” chief executive Ed Chung said.
