# SMS Deployment Guide — What Fits Your School? [View the HTML page](https://academium.com.ng/sms/deployment-guide/) > Compare portal-only, self-hosted and school server plus cloud deployments. Understand offline work, staff access, networking and the plans that support each setup. Academium SMS · Deployment Guide ## What type of deployment fits your school? Where your records live. How your staff connect. What happens when the internet drops. Find a setup that suits the way your school works. Every plan, including Free mode, can use portal only or a school server only. Standard and Premium can also use server and cloud together. Your deployment is a choice within your plan’s supported setups. Getting started ## Your first app sets your starting setup. When you first register your school, the application you use determines where it starts. Free mode is available with either starting setup. **Individual Edition** Register your school **Portal-hosted school** Your starting deployment First register your school through Individual, and your school starts on the Academium portal. **Server Edition** Register your school **Server-hosted school** Your starting deployment First register your school through Server, and your school starts on your own school server. **You can change your deployment at any time.** Start with portal only or a school server, then change to the setup your school needs—including server and cloud together on Standard or Premium. These starting paths describe a new school registration; staff signing in to an existing school follow that school’s setup. Explore a deployment Online only Self-hosted server School server + Cloud Academium Cloud + Individual Edition ## Hosted in the cloud. Ready when you’re offline. Your school’s shared records live on the Academium portal. Each staff member works through the Individual application on their computer. After the initial online setup and sync, they can keep working fully offline and share their changes when they reconnect. **“Online only” describes the hosting.** Your shared school lives in the cloud. Your Individual app can still work without a constant internet connection. One school. Different connections. Everyone online One person offline Back online **Academium Cloud** Your school’s shared records Shared changes available **Teacher** Individual School Wi-Fi Shared changes available **School Admin** Individual Home broadband Shared changes available **Bursar** Individual Mobile data Shared changes available Illustration · example staff and records. Access follows each person’s permissions. Each person connects to the internet. Changes sync through the cloud, even when the staff are on different networks. Who it fits ## A lighter setup for your school. Any school size can use this deployment. It is especially useful for smaller schools with limited resources, unreliable power or fewer staff users. ### One person, or a smaller team. A practical starting point for a school with one or a few staff users, including people working from different places. ### Less dependence on school power. No school server needs to stay switched on. Staff still need power for their own computers, and internet when they want to sync. ### Fewer things to buy and maintain. A useful fit for limited resources or a lower budget, without a dedicated server or a school network to manage. Plan and deployment are separate choices ## Which plans support this setup? Every plan, including Free mode, can run as portal only or school server only. Standard and Premium also support server and cloud together. Your plan sets feature access and allowances; your deployment sets where SMS runs and how staff connect. ### Free mode Available for this setup Core modules **Students included** 50 **Individual devices** 1 Attendance: 10 classes a day ### Lite Available for this setup Core modules **Students included** 200 **Individual devices** 15, then ₦300 each per term ### Standard Available for this setup All modules **Students included** 350 **Individual devices** 30 ### Premium Available for this setup All modules **Students included** Unlimited **Individual devices** Unlimited Features, student allowances and support follow your plan. Client licences still need a school server, including on Premium. [View the full plan comparison](https://academium.com.ng/pricing?product=sms) What staff can access ## Know what comes with the setup. Deployment decides how staff reach the school. Your chosen plan and each person’s permissions decide the features they can use. ### Available with this deployment - A shared school hosted on the Academium portal. - Individual Edition for each authorised staff member. - Full offline work in Individual after the initial setup and sync. - Cloud storage and collaboration for changes that have synced. - Staff access controlled through the school owner’s account. ### Limits to plan around - Client Edition is not supported for a portal-only school. Staff use Individual Edition. - There is no onsite SMS server connecting shared school computers in this setup. - Offline changes stay on that computer until it reconnects and syncs. They are not yet stored in the cloud or visible to colleagues. - For live collaboration, each user needs an internet connection. Being on the same local network is not required. **Individual Edition** Each staff member’s way into your cloud school. **Client Edition** Requires a school server; unavailable for a portal-only school. Academium SMS + Academium Surepass ## Portal-hosted SMS. Local Surepass exams. Your SMS school can stay hosted on the Academium portal. Surepass still needs a local school server for CBT exams and class tests, with exam computers connected over the school network. **Portal-only SMS still works with Surepass.** The local Surepass server runs the exam sessions. Exchanging records and marks with your SMS portal needs internet. - **Keep exam connections local.** Exam computers reach the Surepass server through the school network. Keep the server, network and exam computers powered and available. - **Reuse your school setup.** Bring students, staff, classes, sections, subjects, sessions, terms and mark allocations from SMS into Surepass. - **Bring the marks back.** Review student matches and scores, then send completed marks to the matching SMS exam and mark category for grades and report cards. **Academium SMS** **Academium Surepass** School records Marks & reports ### The school you’ve already set up. **Sessions & terms** **Subjects** **Classes & sections** **Students** **Staff** **Mark allocations** School records move from SMS into Surepass. Assessment marks can come back. SMS portal connected to a local Surepass school server. Record exchange needs internet. [Get Academium Surepass](https://academium.com.ng/downloads?product=surepass) ![Surepass Server Edition](https://academium.com.ng/images/downloads/surepass-windows-server.png)**Surepass school server** **School LAN / Wi-Fi** ![Surepass Client Edition](https://academium.com.ng/images/downloads/surepass-client.png)**Surepass exam clients** On exam computers Illustration · local CBT connections. SMS and Surepass are separate applications configured to work together. **Surepass works with every SMS deployment.** Configure the local Surepass server for exams, including for a portal-only SMS school. Automatic SMS record and mark exchange follows the SMS plan allowance: Lite, Standard, Premium. Free mode supports portal-only or server-only SMS; integration and Surepass’s own features follow their respective licences. [Explore Academium Surepass](https://academium.com.ng/surepass)[Get Surepass for your school](https://academium.com.ng/downloads?product=surepass) Your school. Your access rules. ## A connected team. Access you control. Use the school owner’s account to control who can access your school and what they can see or do. Staff work through their own authorised Individual applications. Connecting from home or using mobile data does not give someone a different role. Their access still follows the permissions your school assigns. **School owner** Choose who can access your school. Teacher School Admin Bursar **Teacher** Individual app · approved staff account - Class attendance - Mark entry - Today’s lessons Illustration · example permissions. The school owner controls each staff member’s actual access. What you need ## Set up online. Keep your work moving. 1. 1 Individual Edition installed on each staff computer. 2. 2 Internet for the initial setup, sign-in and first sync. 3. 3 A connection whenever staff need to share recent changes or receive colleagues’ updates. **Offline work and live collaboration are different.** Keep working when you lose internet. Reconnect and sync to store your recent changes in the cloud and share them with your colleagues. Each user needs to be connected for live updates; they do not need to be on the same network. [Download SMS](https://academium.com.ng/downloads?product=sms)[Compare SMS plans](https://academium.com.ng/pricing?product=sms)