SalamanderSoft named the most widely used user management solution in schools – what the DfE’s edtech report means for IT teams 

The Department for Education has just published its first major assessment of the edtech market in England – and SalamanderSoft came out on top. 

Published in June 2026, the Assessment of the Education Technology Market in England is a research report commissioned by the DfE. It’s the most comprehensive look at how schools are actually using edtech in practice that the government has produced. 

According to the data, SalamanderSoft is the most widely used user management solution in schools – with more active contracts than any other edtech tool in the sample. 

40% of sampled schools use SalamanderSoft for user management 

In the management and administrative technologies category, which the report describes as showing “the highest and most consistent usage, reflecting their role as core operational infrastructure”, two findings stood out for us: 

“Workflow tools are also widely adopted, with 40% of schools using SalamanderSoft,” the report says. 

“SalamanderSoft is the most frequently observed user management solution in the sample, with active contracts in approximately 40% of schools in the sample.” 

We also topped the active contracts table across all edtech tools in the sample, with 46 active contracts – more than Arbor MIS (39), Exampro (44), or any other tool listed. 

Why this matters if you’re running IT across a MAT 

When you’re running IT across a trust, the challenges you face aren’t the same as a single-school IT Manager’s. You’ve got multiple MIS platforms potentially running across primary and secondary sites. Staff and students joining and leaving constantly. A central IT function trying to maintain consistency across schools that all do things slightly differently. 

User management in that environment is the thing that either works in the background, or creates chaos that ripples out across every school in the MAT. 

The reason Salamander shows up consistently in MAT environments isn’t a mystery. We build our solution for exactly this kind of complexity – see our Integration Suite for School Groups and Trusts. 

Multiple MIS sources, varied platforms, different configurations per school – it’s all managed from one place, automatically, without someone having to do it manually. 

When your MIS is updated, Salamander handles the rest. Accounts are created, groups are updated and leavers are deprovisioned – every day, across every school. 

Here’s an example of our work with The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Multi-Academy Trust (SNMAT), where we automate user accounts across the 23 schools in the trust.  

SalamanderSoft the most widely used user management solution  

We’re not claiming we’re in 40% of all schools nationally. The findings come from a sample of 20 schools.  

There is no single database for UK EdTech companies or how schools use technology, and the DfE have stated that it was difficult to speak with schools directly due to their time and budget constraints. 

However, what the data does show is that in a real, large-scale MAT environment – exactly the kind of trust most of you are working in – Salamander is the tool IT teams are actually running. More than any other user management solution in the study. 

That’s a finding we’re proud of. And one we think is worth knowing about if you’re currently evaluating your options. 

“We’ve been doing this for 19 years. Over 5,000 schools and more than 3 million user accounts managed every single day,” says Gavan Vetesse-Wilson, Managing Director of SalamanderSoft. 

“Seeing that recognised independently in a government report is a great moment for the team. But what it really reflects is the work of every IT Manager and Head of IT who chose Salamander, implemented it properly, and kept their trust running smoothly because of it.” 

Read the full report on GOV.UK.