CMA Closes ESS Case After Market Developments

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened its case into ESS in May this year following concerns the firm may have broken the law by taking action to prevent schools from switching to an alternative management information systems (MIS) provider. 

MIS are important databases used to handle student information, such as attendance and safeguarding, and most UK schools are required to have such databases in place. 

Schools reported to the CMA that ESS had warned them not to share a copy of their database with a new provider, as doing so would breach ESS’ intellectual property (IP) rights. Schools also informed the CMA that sharing database copies is a longstanding and widespread practice used in the sector for data transfer of this kind—a practice ESS stated it was unaware of.

The CMA was concerned that schools’ ability to move to a new provider would be hampered without a viable method of sharing data. 

Moreover, while ESS permitted some means of switching, these options were reportedly complex. 

Since launching its investigation, the CMA has gathered and analysed a significant amount of evidence and engaged with the sector, schools, and ESS itself. 

The CMA has found that a considerable number of schools have managed to switch from ESS to new providers and that ESS’ share of the MIS market in England is declining, falling from approximately 50% to 46% in just a few months. Meanwhile, the share of its main competitor—The Key Group—has increased to a similar level, at around 41 per cent.

The CMA also found out that competitors and third parties have been developing ways to migrate schools’ data using tools that do not raise IP concerns with ESS – these methods are less burdensome on schools, less error-prone than previous options (and remove the need for sharing copies), and expected to be operational in advance of any March 2025 contract renewals 

Given the above developments, the CMA believes its intervention is not required at this time and that continuing to probe the firm would be unlikely to have a further positive impact on the sector.