Digital transformation in the AI era - Empowering School Communities to Work Smarter, Connect Better, and Achieve More

Hello and welcome! As co-founder of Apprau, I’m excited to share the story behind why we exist and what drives us. In this inaugural blogpost, I’ll speak candidly, from both the heart and firsthand experience, about the unique challenges Australian Independent Schools face in an era of relentless technological transformation.

The truth is, standing still is no longer an option. "Wait and see" is a luxury schools can’t afford. Outdated, rigid, and siloed systems simply can’t keep pace with change, let alone empower schools to thrive in the AI era.

My hope? That principals, executives, business managers, and IT leaders or anyone committed to the future of education, will find actionable insights here to future-proof their school’s management and technology ecosystems.

The Pace of Change in EdTech is Unprecedented

If you feel educational technology (EdTech) is evolving at breakneck speed, you’re not imagining it. In just a few years, schools have vaulted from traditional classrooms to remote learning, and now into the AI era. The pace of change today is astonishing. As renowned futurist Bernard Marr observes, “the pace of change today means that what we learned one day might be redundant the next [1].” Technologies like Generative AI, Hyperscale Cloud Computing, and Low-Code Platforms are already here and evolving at a rapid pace.

This transformation brings incredible opportunities: personalised learning, efficient administration, and data-driven insights. But for school leaders, it can also feel overwhelming. One principal recently told me, “A decade ago, ‘EdTech’ meant a computer lab, interactive whiteboards and Excel. Now it’s AI tutors, predictive analytics to track student performance and wellbeing, and cloud SMS platforms.” The question isn’t just how to adapt, it’s how to do so without risking stability, privacy or security.

And the stakes are high. Aon’s Independent Schools Risk Report highlights technology’s double-edged nature, naming cybersecurity a top concern as schools digitise [2]. A single breach can disrupt learning and erode trust overnight.

The reality? Digital transformation is no longer optional, it’s strategic. The true challenge lies in adopting innovation intentionally, with the right foundations to thrive in this new era.

Stuck with Legacy Systems and Siloed Solutions

One major hurdle I’ve seen independent schools struggle with is the tangle of legacy systems and fragmented software solutions they’ve accumulated over the years. Many schools are running on a decades-old Student Information System (SIS), the central database for student and academic records, that was deployed long before terms like “Cloud” or “AI” were in our vocabulary. On top of that, there might be separate systems for finance, another for enrolment, another for timetabling, another for consents, another for managing fees or payments, perhaps a learning management system, and countless spreadsheets filling the gaps. It’s not uncommon to find staff juggling multiple different applications just to get through the day’s admin tasks. Does this sound familiar?

The problem with this patchwork approach is fragmentation. The systems often don’t talk to each other, forcing staff to manually duplicate data entry across platforms. For example, when a new student enrols, the admissions officer enters their details into the enrolment system or a spreadsheet, then re-enters the same data into the SIS, then the finance system for billing, and so on. This is time-consuming and error prone. In fact, many older school management platforms operate in silos, resulting in fragmented data and additional administrative effort. Some school registrars maintaining separate spreadsheets to reconcile discrepancies between systems. It’s frustrating and inefficient.

What about the legacy SIS itself?

These older systems might have been reliable workhorses in their day, but technology has moved on. Today, they present a host of challenges:

• Maintenance Headaches: Legacy SIS platforms often require on-premises servers and special expertise to maintain. No. lifting and shifting the on-premises servers to cloud infrastructure is not going to solve the problem. As the systems age, finding technicians who can support them becomes harder (or more expensive). Schools end up spending an inordinate amount of time and money just keeping the lights on. Older systems frequently exhibit sluggish performance, cumbersome upkeep, and poor integration with modern technologies, impeding institutional efficiency and growth.
• The Real Cost of Outdated Systems: There are hidden costs to clinging to old systems, not just in upkeep, but in lost productivity. Outdated software can dramatically drive up the total cost of ownership. You might pay licensing or support fees for features you don’t even use. Meanwhile, staff are wasting hours on manual processes that a modern system could automate. Over time, those costs and inefficiencies stack up.
• Security Risks: Perhaps most worrying, legacy systems often lack modern security safeguards, leaving them vulnerable to data breaches and unauthorised access. Think about the sensitive data schools hold; personal details on students and families, medical info, academic records. If the vendor has stopped providing regular patches (common with end-of-life software), each passing day could open new vulnerabilities. In a time when cyberattacks on schools are rising, running an unpatched, out-of-date SIS is like leaving the front door unlocked. In addition, when your data is spread across many siloed tools, it’s harder to secure. IT staff have to manage multiple logins, permissions, and backup routines, which increases the chance of something slipping through the cracks. Schools with “a highly fragmented environment” find it a challenge to manage cyber threats across so many platforms, a situation that “leaves schools vulnerable to critical incidents” [3].
• Lack of Agility: An often overlooked issue is how inflexible legacy systems can be. Want to add a new field to capture an emerging piece of data? Sorry, that might require a vendor customisation (if it’s even possible). Need integration with a new online learning app or a parent communication tool? Your old SIS likely wasn’t built with modern APIs to plug in easily. Schools end up contorting their processes to fit the software, rather than the software adapting to support the school. And when you have multiple systems, introducing any new initiative (say, a new AI tool for learning analytics) becomes a project of coordinating many moving parts, if it can be done at all. This lack of adaptability is frustrating when innovation is needed. Recently, I was in a meeting with an SIS vendor.  I was representing an Independent School I am supporting. After waiting more than two weeks to get a meeting, the vendor mentioned that a relatively simple feature request, ‘likely’ be added to the backlog, ‘may not be’ exactly what you are after and ‘may be’ delivered in 6 months but ‘no guarantees’. Unfortunately, the school had to live with what they have and the opportunity to provide a better user experience was lost.

In short, outdated, siloed, and rigid systems are holding our schools back. They drain resources, pose risks, and prevent schools from taking advantage of new opportunities. This is exactly the pain point that inspired us to create Apprau. We kept seeing talented educators and administrators limited by their tools, when they should be empowered by them.

Laying the Right Foundation with Microsoft’s Cloud

So, how do we solve this? While there’s no single silver bullet, we firmly believe that any school’s digital transformation must start with the right foundation. Are you a ‘Microsoft School’? Then you are already on the right track. For us (and our partner schools), that foundation is the Microsoft Cloud, essentially, leveraging Microsoft’s enterprise-grade cloud platforms (Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, etc.) as the backbone of school IT. Let me explain why we chose this path, and why we think it offers independent schools a future-proof base to build on.

First, a bit of context: Microsoft is the world’s largest cloud technology platform provider with key offerings such as Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Platform, Dynamics 365 and customisable AI-powered tools such as Copilot.  Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure is the same technology trusted by banks, governments, and millions of businesses around the world. The scale and investment behind it are massive.

Fun facts:

• Industry-leading Adoption
  
  • Over 95% of Fortune 500 companies trust Microsoft Azure, demonstrating unmatched enterprise confidence and scalability.
  • Over 97% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Microsoft Power Platform with 45 million monthly active users.
• Massive Security Investment
  
  • Microsoft invests over $4 billion annually in cybersecurity and employs approximately 34,000 full-time security engineers, ensuring robust, proactive protection [4].
• Extensive Global Infrastructure
  
  • Microsoft Azure spans 200+ data centers across more than 60 regions worldwide, including 4 Azure regions in Australia, 2 in Canada, 2 in UK, 2 in Japan, 1 in New Zealand, 1 in Singapore, 10 in United States and more new data centers in construction including middle-east [5], providing unmatched reliability, compliance, data sovereignty and low-latency performance.
• Unparalleled Intelligence and Innovation
  
  • Processing 78 trillion security signals daily and tracking over 1,500 threat groups, Microsoft's AI-driven analytics proactively safeguards your digital assets [4].
• Unified Cloud Platform
  
  • Seamless integration across Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and advanced AI solutions enables simplified operations, streamlined productivity, and accelerated innovation.

What this means for schools is that by using the Microsoft cloud, you’re piggybacking on a platform that is enterprise-grade by default, scalable, secure, reliable, and continuously evolving.

In practical terms, using a modern cloud foundation provides several key advantages:

• Robust Security & Compliance: Microsoft’s cloud is protected by thousands of security experts and meets global standards like GDPR and the Australian Privacy Principles. With built-in encryption and threat protection, it offers the same enterprise-grade security trusted by Fortune 500 companies, far beyond what any individual school could replicate.
• Scalability and Reliability: Remember the days of worrying if your server can handle the load of report cards week, or if you need to buy a bigger hard drive for the school database? With cloud services, those worries fade. Solutions such as Apprau’s School Management solution, built on Platform as a Service (PaaS) platforms like Microsoft Power Platform, scales effortlessly as your school grows, no servers, no capacity planning. With enterprise-grade uptime, redundancy, and built-in resilience, downtime is minimised. One less headache (or ten) for your IT staff!
• Unified Ecosystem (No More Silos): The Microsoft Cloud ecosystem, from Entra ID (for identity management) to the Microsoft 365 apps teachers already use, is designed to work together. By moving school management onto this ecosystem, you get one source of truth for data and a consistent user experience. For example, with a unified platform, a student’s data lives in one secure cloud database (say, Dataverse/Dynamics 365) but is accessible as needed in Teams for class collaboration, in SharePoint for reports, in Power BI for analytics, in Power Pages portals for parent engagement and so on. Integration is baked in, not an afterthought. This drastically reduces the need for double entry and manual syncing. When your finance system, your SIS, your communication tools and compliance systems are all part of one cloud platform, it’s easier to ensure they stay in sync and that everyone is on the same page.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: The phrase “future-proof” gets thrown around too often, but here it truly applies. Apprau’s School Management solution, built on Microsoft Power Platform, is a highly tailored solution for independent schools. School’s can plug their data and press play. I am sure all school leaders wish it is that easy but the reality, as they know from experience, is that each school has their own needs that require adjustments or enhancements to what’s in the box. Unlike platforms that other SIS or School Management products built on, the Microsoft platform is highly adaptable.  You can customise data models, automate workflows, and even build new apps (more on that next) without having to start from scratch. It’s not a one-size-fits-all product; it’s a toolbox and a foundation you can configure to your school’s needs. Importantly, Microsoft continuously updates its cloud services with new capabilities (for example, they’ve been rolling out features like integration of Microsoft Copilot across all Microsoft products). By being on this platform, schools automatically get access to the latest innovations as they come. In other words, when the next wave of technology arrives, your foundation is ready to adopt it rather than being a barrier. We saw this during the pandemic: schools already set up on Teams and cloud identities could transition to remote learning far more smoothly than those tied to on-premise systems.
• Enterprise-Grade Performance at Lower Cost: Moving to a cloud foundation can also be cost-effective in the long run. It might seem counterintuitive since enterprise solutions sound expensive, but consider the total cost: You eliminate many infrastructure expenses (servers, backups, upgrades) and replace them with predictable subscriptions. You also save on all the inefficiencies (staff hours, consulting fees to patch old systems, etc.). By simplifying and consolidating systems, schools often reduce their IT overhead. And because Microsoft offers education pricing and generous plans (like free Office 365 A1 for education, etc.), independent schools can often get enterprise software at a fraction of what corporate users pay. The value you get, in security, features, and support, far exceeds the cost, especially compared to patching together numerous smaller tools.

For these reasons, we believe the Microsoft Cloud is the ideal foundation for school management systems in this new era. It delivers the kind of reliability and headroom that lets schools focus on innovation, not infrastructure. At Apprau, we decided early on that we would build our entire solution on Microsoft’s cloud stack, Power Platform, Dynamics 365, Azure, Microsoft 365, rather than reinventing the wheel. This way, our schools benefit from that rock-solid base. As we like to say, why build a school on shaky ground when you can build it on bedrock?

Empowering Schools to Innovate with the Power Platform

One of the most exciting pieces of this modern foundation is the Microsoft Power Platform, a set of tools (Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio), that allows for low-code innovation. In plain terms, it lets non-developers (or “citizen developers”) create apps, design automated workflows, and analyze data with minimal coding. This is a game-changer for schools, which typically don’t have large IT development teams or budgets to commission custom software. With Power Platform, the people who understand the school’s needs best (teachers, admin staff, etc.) can be part of creating the solutions.

Don’t get me wrong. Low-code platforms are not the solution for all problems. Sometimes it is sold as a Swiss army knife where the customer can cut ropes with blades, tighten screws with the screwdriver, tweezer to remove splinters, or nail file to smooth rough nails.  Most customers don’t even know the names of the tools, let alone how to use it. Even with “citizen developers”, there needs to be appropriate governance, training, and close collaboration with IT teams to make sure the solutions are built following best practices. Microsoft Power Platform is so much more than a low-code platform. It comes with extensibility features for Professional Developers, such as Apprau’s Engineering team, to develop high-performance, robust, and secure solutions.

Let me give a tangible example, where Power Platform can be really useful for a “citizen developer” to build on top of Apprau’s School Management solution.

A Drama teacher would like a simple app to manage costumes and props for school productions. Unfortunately, Apprau’s School Management solution doesn’t have an App for that. But luckily, with Microsoft Power Platform, the Drama teacher can build one easily on top of the Apprau’s School Management solution leveraging existing datasets such as “Student”, “Staff”, and “Contacts”.  Create a new table to manage the costumes and props.  Automate return reminders via Teams and notify the Drama club captain of overdue items.

Can you think of more ideas?

We’re already seeing schools use these tools in creative ways. As one innovative district in the U.S. observed, “Power Apps and Power Automate are becoming increasingly impactful tools in how we digitize our processes, innovate around those new processes, and therefore better leverage the data. Having tools like that have been transformative for our work and how we support our schools.” [6]. This resonates strongly with our vision for independent schools: empowering you to tailor and extend your systems as your needs evolve. No more waiting on a vendor’s next release to get a feature you need; if there’s a unique requirement, you can likely create a solution for it on the Power Platform quickly and cost-effectively.

Apprau’s School Management Solution

At Apprau, we built our School Management solution natively on the Power Platform for exactly this reason. Out of the box, we provide a unified suite of school portals and apps (covering students, parents, staff, alumni etc.), but we encourage schools to make it their own. Because it’s built on a common data platform, adding a new app or automation is like adding another room to the same house, the underlying structure supports it. Schools can start with core modules (like student records, attendance, finance) and then gradually introduce new apps for things like alumni engagement or asset management, using Power Platform with their existing data. Apprau’s Engineering team has developed frameworks and templates that school IT teams can leverage to extend existing Apprau Apps in a supported way. That kind of agility just isn’t possible with monolithic legacy systems.

Perhaps just as importantly, involving educators in the creation of tech solutions fosters a culture of innovation. When teachers and admins realise “Hey, if I have a great idea to improve a process, I can actually build it (or work with the IT team or a partner to build it) on this platform!”, it changes the game. Technology stops being a barrier and becomes an enabler of continuous improvement. This is so crucial in education, where needs can change with every term or new curriculum or unforeseen events (like a pandemic or the rapid growth of Generative AI). An adaptable platform means your school can respond quickly and stay ahead of the curve.

Our Vision: Empowering school communities to work smarter, connect better, and achieve more

The rapid change in technology, the pains of legacy systems, the strengths of the Microsoft Cloud, and the power of low-code innovation, culminate in why Apprau exists. As an individual passionate about education, after working in the industry for over two decades, and recognised by Microsoft 7 times as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Business Applications, I co-founded Apprau in 2022 because I saw a gap (an opportunity) within the independent schools which I strongly believe I could fill.  Independent schools need a solution and a partner who can help them navigate this transformation. As a parent with two kids attending independent schools and a partner developing solutions for independent schools, I saw firsthand, what it is and imagined what it could be. Schools shouldn’t have to choose between sticking with outdated systems or being overwhelmed by the latest tech trends. We envisioned a middle path: bring the best of modern, enterprise technology to schools in a way that’s accessible, tailored, and supportive of their unique needs.

At Apprau, we often say that we’re helping schools build a “future-ready” digital ecosystem. What does that really mean? In our view, it means a school’s technology is scalable, secure, adaptable, and centred on the people who use it. It means breaking down silos so that all your systems work in concert, giving you a 360-degree view of your operations and students. It means leveraging AI and analytics not as buzzwords, but as practical tools – for example, using data to identify a student who might be at risk of falling behind and nudging staff to intervene early, or automatically compiling compliance reports that used to take weeks of staff time. It means freeing up teachers and administrators from tedious tasks so they can focus on what truly matters: teaching, learning, and community. Ultimately, a future-ready ecosystem is one where technology amplifies your school’s mission instead of hindering it.

From day one, we chose to build on Microsoft’s platform because it aligned perfectly with that vision. Our solution consolidates school management into one powerful, unified platform built on trusted Microsoft technologies. In doing so, we help schools “maximize their existing Microsoft 365 investments, tailor the platform effortlessly to evolving needs, harness AI-driven insights, and achieve operational excellence, so educators can focus on inspiring student success.”[7] That quote might sound familiar, it’s essentially our mission statement. We live by it. We believe schools deserve more than siloed tools and generic software, which is why our approach brings together a unified suite of portals and applications for parents, teachers, students, and staff, to deliver a seamless, secure, and future-ready digital experience. This isn’t just marketing speak; it’s the “why” that gets us out of bed in the morning. We love seeing an independent school break free from the constraints of an old system and suddenly realise how much more they can do when their data and processes are unified and flexible. The relief on a business manager’s face when they discover they can get a report in seconds that used to take days, that’s what motivates us.

Our team is passionate about transforming education through technology, but always in partnership with the schools themselves. Independent schools are wonderfully diverse, culturally, pedagogically, operationally. Rather than force everyone into the same mould, our goal is to provide common foundations and building blocks tailored to independent schools (through the Microsoft cloud platform and leveraging our experience in working with independent schools) and then help each school assemble their ideal ecosystem. Think of it like building a custom home on a strong foundation; the foundation is consistent and solid, but the house can be tailored to the owners’ needs and style.

Before I wrap up, I want to emphasize the “era of AI” part of the story. We are truly at a tipping point with AI in education, from AI-driven analytics identifying trends in student achievement, to chatbots handling routine parent inquiries, to tools that help tailor learning materials to each student. But none of these advanced tools will work well without the right data infrastructure, security, and integration. That’s yet another reason we focus on the platform and ecosystem. If your core systems are ready and your data is in one place (and clean), you can plug in an AI solution and get real value. If not, AI could just become another siloed tool with limited impact. Our vision is that by laying the groundwork now (unifying systems on the cloud, digitizing processes, ensuring data quality), independent schools will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of AI innovations in a responsible and effective way. The fancy AI analytics tool that comes out next year? It will plug right into your Apprau/Microsoft ecosystem, securely accessing the data it needs to provide insights. The latest compliance requirement from the government? Your flexible platform can adapt to capture and report the needed data. This agility and future-readiness is what we want for every school.

Looking Ahead: Join Us on This Journey

I’ve shared a lot here, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! I’m incredibly excited about what the future holds for independent schools that embrace digital transformation. Navigating change isn’t easy, but with the right foundations and partner, it becomes an adventure rather than a burden. Apprau exists to be your guide and ally in this journey, helping you modernize at a pace that makes sense and ensuring that technology serves your school’s vision (not the other way around).

This is just the beginning of a conversation. Going forward, we’ll be diving deeper into specific pillars of school management and how they are evolving. In upcoming posts, I’ll explore topics like reimagining Student Information Systems for the cloud era, modernizing finance and fee management for efficiency and transparency, ensuring compliance and data security in an ever-regulated environment, fostering stronger community engagement through unified communication platforms, leveraging analytics for data-driven decision making, and harnessing AI in education in practical, impactful ways. Each of these areas is crucial to building the kind of future-ready ecosystem I’ve described, and we’ll share insights and best practices we’ve learned working with schools (as well as spotlight success stories).

I invite you to engage, ask questions, share your own experiences or concerns, and let us know what you’d like to hear about. We’re all in this learning journey together. Independent schools have a proud history of innovation and agility, and I truly believe that with the right tech ecosystem, they can lead the way in this new digital chapter of education.

Thank you for reading! 🙏 I’m looking forward to sharing more in the next post. Until then, remember: the goal of digital transformation is not to chase every shiny new tech, but to lay foundations that let you adapt and thrive no matter what the future holds. With a solid platform in place, your school can confidently say “bring on the future, we’re ready!”.

References:

1. Marr, B. (2023) The top 5 education trends in 2023. [Online] Bernard Marr & Co. Available at: https://bernardmarr.com/the-top-5-education-trends-in-2023/ (Accessed: [26 April 2025])
2. Aon (2023) Independent schools risk report. [Online] Aon Australia. Available at: https://www.aon.com.au/australia/insights/independent-schools-risk-report/ (Accessed: 26 April 2025)
3. Microsoft (Year) Newington College uses Microsoft Intune to empower educators and secure student devices. [Online] Microsoft Customer Stories. Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1760099350457808315-newington-college-microsoft-intune-primary-and-secondary-edu-en-united-states/ (Accessed: 02 May 2025)
4. Microsoft (2024) 2024 Microsoft Digital Defense Report: CISO Executive Summary. [PDF] Microsoft Corporation. Available at: https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-brand/documents/CISO%20Exec%20Summary_2024%20Microsoft%20Digital%20Defense%20Report.pdf (Accessed: 02 May 2025).
5. Microsoft (2024) Microsoft shares strong progress on datacenter region in Saudi Arabia: Construction complete on three sites with availability expected in 2026. [Online] Microsoft News. Available at: https://news.microsoft.com/en-xm/2024/12/04/microsoft-shares-strong-progress-on-datacenter-region-in-saudi-arabia-construction-complete-on-three-sites-with-availability-expected-in-2026/ (Accessed: 07 May 2025).
6. Microsoft (2023) Kent School District empowers students with Microsoft 365. [Online] Microsoft Customer Stories. Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1587916949510270435-kent-k12-edu-microsoft-365-en-united-states (Accessed: 07 May 2025).
7. Apprau (2025) Homepage. [Online] Available at: https://www.apprau.com/ (Accessed: 09 April 2025).

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