Enterprise Management Service (EMS)

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Enterprise Management Service ("EMS") is the must-have comprehensive solution to the need to manage and maintain your self-hosted PowerSchool environment in the following areas:

1. Environment Monitoring
   

• Real-time monitoring of server hardware for performance and faulty hardware
• Real-time monitoring of the PowerSchool and Oracle application logs
• Real-time monitoring of Microsoft Windows® operating system logs and resource utilization
• Real-time monitoring of virtualization hosts performance and utilization
• Real-time monitoring of load balancer configurations
• Monthly reporting of status and trending of performance, hard drive consumption, server uptime, and frequency of incidents and transactions.

2. Software Update Service
   

• Choice of automated or on-demand deployment of all PowerSchool, Oracle, and state and provincial reporting version updates and upgrades
• Choice of automated or on-demand deployment of all SIF agent updates and State Messaging Plugin updates
• Choice of automated or on-demand deployment of all Microsoft Windows® operating system and server-related third-party software updates
• Choice of automated or on-demand deployment of all Individual Graduation Planner and Incident Management updates (for EMS clients in South Carolina only)

3. Offsite Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
   

• Automated nightly compression, encryption, and transfer of PowerSchool and Oracle files to a remote location for 365 days of retention (or longer by negotiation)
• Same-day restoration of instance on-site or with TSG's hosting facilities
• Up to thirty (30) days of temporary hosting if a disaster is invoked.

4. Data and Server Migrations and Restorations
   

• Same-day restoration of corrupted environment using most recent backup.
• Completion of planned server migrations to new physical or virtual hardware
• Choice of an unlimited number of automated or on-demand refreshes of data to a secondary instance.

5. Non-Production ("Sandbox") Coverage
   

• Installation and configuration of PowerSchool and Oracle on a self-hosted non-production server (if needed)
• Enrollment of a single-server non-production instance of PowerSchool into monitoring, support, and other elements of EMS
• Unlimited number of data refreshes from the production instance.

6. SSL Certificate Administration
   

• Procurement and provisioning of 256-bit military grade SSL certificate
• Configuration of SSL certificate for each specific client's site
• Integration into client instance of PowerSchool and ongoing administration throughout three-year term.

7. Security Advisory Services
   

• Review of architecture, configuration, versioning, credentials, and business logic of all security elements
• Calculation or testing to determine the nature, likelihood, and severity of risks and threats.
• Determination, publication, and fulfilment of measures to harden, secure, and correct the condition of environment.
• Quarterly audit of system credential age, complexity, refresh rate, and other factors.

8. Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization

• Review and evaluation of physical and virtual database server hardware and storage configurations
• Review and evaluation of Oracle RMAN, Data-pump, Fast Recovery Area and other elements of data integrity strategies
• Review and evaluation of Oracle Database Objects and Patch-set
• Modification or optimization of Oracle Table and Index and other elements of tuning potential
• Capture and completion of recommended and agreed-to configuration settings.

9.  Infrastructure Support
   
   

• Pro-active response and intervention to performance situations identified by TSG's monitoring protocols.
• Telephone, email, chat, and Self-Service Portal escalations directly to TSG (twenty-four hours/day Monday through Thursday, Friday from 4:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Saturdays from 4:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Sundays from 4:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM to Midnight Pacific Time) regarding any concern or needs involving the PowerSchool infrastructure components such as hardware, virtualization, third party software configurations, and general performance.
• One (1)-hour Service Level Agreement for responses to all needs during expansive hours of staffing
• Interaction with TSG staff capable in eight different languages (including English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin).

10. Unified Classroom

• Prepare PowerSchool environment for Unified Classroom configuration
• Perform Unified Classroom initial sync.
• Configure VPN tunnel
• Provide monitoring of VPN connection.
• Apply PowerSchool version updates during Unified Classroom maintenance window. 

EMS:

• Shifts responsibility for technical administration duties from the PowerSchool customer to TSG.
• Reduces risk by ensuring a secure and reliable disaster recovery strategy.
• Provides swift and efficient completion of all necessary updates to the application, database, and the infrastructure.
• Hardens the PowerSchool infrastructure against security risks and threats by malicious actors.
• Optimizes the performance of the database to ensure the very best outcome within the infrastructure.
• Augment’s client resources including staffing, PowerSchool expertise, and information technology aptitude.
• Reduces the total cost of ownership by reducing the staffing effort necessary to maintain and manage PowerSchool.
• Leverages the unmatched experience, expertise, credentials, certification, training, and dedication of TSG staff.
• Enables clients to focus their energy, effort, and attention on the use of PowerSchool functionality rather than its technical administration, and therefore, promotes greater capability.
• Exceeds client expectation as evidenced by a 2017 Net Promoter Score of +83 (the second highest score in the world).