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What is ERICA?
ERICA is a system that allows the secure transfer of data between your school and the LEA. Although the concept is simple the actual setup and usage can be problematic if not approached in a step by step way - hence this overview. We'll go through the whole process of creating the internet link between you and the LEA and then how you actually send and receive files to and fro. If possible try to set aside 20 minutes to run through the overview and hopefully all will become clear and ERICA will be doing it's job without any fuss.
Why?
Although email is the obvious method of sending and receiving data it can't be relied upon to support large filesize transfers with the limits that are in place on mailbox sizes so another method was needed in accordance with the governments e-communications (paperless office) initiative. Many methods were explored and ERICA was created using the technology decided upon.
What data is sent and received?
A number of functions are already using ERICA to facilitate data exchange including:
- Medium term budget planning spreadsheet (both receiving and sending to school finance)
- Salary calculator (both receiving and sending to school finance)
- Cheque book schools VAT claims
- Cheque book schools rec1 forms should be sent back via ERICA
- Cheque book schools auto reconciliation files are sent to schools via ERICA
Future uses may include data exchange between R&D, edIT and schools for all sorts of functions. So getting this right is becoming more and more important.
Getting started
That's what it is and what it's used for now for getting it set up. The viewlet link below will show a screen animation of the process of creating your internet link, we've also included the proper setup notes in the associated documents section to the right of the screen.
Click here to view the animation of creating your ERICA connection
This link is part of the setup process and should only be clicked when you're ready to create your connection - either after viewing the animation or working through the setup notes
Using ERICA
Now that you've got the ERICA link in your favourites we'll go through how to send and receive files. Once again we've created a viewlet animation to demonstrate the steps taken and the associated usage notes can be found at the top right of this screen.
Click here to view the animation for using ERICA