Breens Network acquires Educator

AMSTERDAM, 17 JANUARY 2021 – With the recent acquisition of software developer Educator, Breens Network has strengthened its position as a provider of secure and reliable educational working and learning environments which allow students, staff, teachers and managers to maximise the efficiency of their digital infrastructures and achieve maximum result in supporting personal development.

- Acquisition of Educator strengthens Breens Network's digital working and learning solution.
- Expanding the range of integrated digital solutions to improve life long learning and personalized education.
- Strengthens the position of Breens Network in their mission to unburden education by offering support in their digital transformation to a secure digital working and learning environment

Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition of innovating the Dutch educational system through the implementation of new and established technologies. In our day and age, entire generations of students, teachers, staff, managers and directors are experiencing the transition from physical to digital, a process taking place within a dynamic environment which requires increased management of ongoing professionalisation, personalised learning from the cloud and socially relevant curricula, with safety and privacy also calling for new levels of attention. At the same time, there are several other challenges as well, due to the shortage of teachers, high workloads and overcrowded classrooms.
Breens Network, the new name for what was formerly known as Kofschip Groep, is a Dutch EdTech organisation, committed to the field of education and everything related to learning and teaching. Our primary objective is to support our customers in dealing with the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. In doing so, we operate from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. With the ultimate goal of making life as easy as possible for the educational institutions we support.

"Breens Network’s strength is a result of its total commitment to the field of education and the concept of lifelong learning. Now more than ever, there is a profound need for guidance and advice, for development, implementation and management. In short, there is a need for trust. The acquisition of Educator marks a significant broadening of our range of services and a substantial reinforcement of our working and learning environment, particularly in terms of its safety and reliability."
Geert-Jan van der Snoek
CEO Breens Network

Educator was created in 2005, as part of the Putten-based Vanenburg Group, a family-owned investment group founded by Jan Baan. “We started Educator 15 years ago from our vision of ‘lifelong learning’. Today, we represent a highly innovative and market-leading software platform with its own dedicated SIS solution, a Student Information System for the education industry”, explains Paul Baan, speaking for the Vanenburg Group. “We see Breens Network is the ideal long-term partner, perfectly positioned to leverage the strength of Educator in providing a robust solution and driving advanced digitisation, unburdening of educational institutions and exploring additional opportunities in decentralised government and other markets.” “It allows us to focus more on our fast-growing software activities in the field of ERP optimisation, while also expanding the exploitation of Vanenburg Castle as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.”

Educator is a developer of software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, with the solutions it offers, to well organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. Committed to reliable and consistent development and management of software to help continuously improve and redefine the key processes of its customers. It makes Educator one of the most innovative Dutch software developers in the industries of education and healthcare and the market of decentralised government.

For Educator, joining the Breens Network organisation opens up new and improved opportunities for growth and a broadening of the options offered by the digital working and learning environment. “Our educational solutions, like the Student Information System, the Education Catalogue and the Study Guide, are an excellent addition to the products and services offered by Breens Network. Together, we can be successful in further strengthening our position in the market for digital working and learning environments. It also allows us, in cooperation with our customers, to speed up the ongoing process of re-innovating our solutions, while the operational scope of the Breens Network organisation provides the communities we serve with the certainty of continuity. This is all very good news, both for our customers and for the employees of Educator”, says Jan Jaap Kanis, General Director of Educator. “One of the key challenges educational institutions are facing, is adequately, proactively and flexibly meeting students’ requirements. To be able to do this, what you need is not only a partner who can offer practical know-how, you need a partner who can create cooperation and encourage the sharing of knowledge.”

About Breens Network
Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition to innovate by using both new and established technologies. Today, with SLBdiensten, IT-Workz, Slim.nl, MBOwebshop.nl, Slimindeklas.nl and Breens.nl, the organisation offers a distinctive and distinguishing brand portfolio. Breens Network is a Dutch ICT-organisation, committed to its customers in education, healthcare and decentralised government. It is our goal to support them in the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. Operating, as we do, from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. And making the best possible use of our extensive digital and technological expertise, complemented with in-depth knowledge of the markets we operate in. The professionals employed by our organisation are a guarantee for effective and excellent partnerships. Together, they look after the needs of over one million students, 90,000 teachers, 40,000 staff members and virtually all of the Dutch schools in higher and secondary vocational education. Focus, in Breens Network’s operations, is on four central areas of competence: the digital working (and learning) environment, cloud migration & management, IT Security and Business Intelligence data apps. The company employs a total of 160 enthusiastic professionals. Its head office is in Amsterdam.

About Educator
Educator develops software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, by doing so, to well-organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. From demand management and flexibilisation to formative evaluation, Educator has seen many new trends in the education industry. And through it all, by continuing to communicate with the institutions we have been working with over the years, we have become a genuine education partner, offering valuable practical expertise. The communication we have with the institutions we support, takes place on all levels of the organisations, covering operational, tactical and strategic issues. Apart from this, we actively promote dialogue between educational institutions in various forms of consultation forums, like user groups, steering committees and an Advisory Board. Here, we discuss not only topics related to our software and its ongoing development, but also the future of education in general and the role Educator can continue to play in particular.
Educator products are being used on a daily basis by thousands of students and educational professionals in secondary education, high schools, third level education and private schools. One example of the widely used Educator applications is the Student Information System, a tool allowing students, counsellors and other interested parties to monitor progress in the acquisition of skills and competencies. There is also a dedicated Educator design tool, which lets educational staff create and analyse optimally coherent education programs. And for easy documentation and presentation of these programs, Educator offers the Education Catalogue tool.

About Vanenburg Group
Vanenburg Group is a family-owned investment group established by Jan Baan, Chairman of Vanenburg Group, founder of Baan Company and Cordys and a successful investor in TopTier and WebEx. Today, operational executive authority is shared by a second-generation management team, consisting of the three brothers Paul, Ardjan and Bernhard Baan. As a software provider, Vanenburg assists large and medium-sized businesses in updating their IT-infrastructures by developing innovative ERP extensions & integrations. Vanenburg Group employs a staff of over 100 expert professionals in The Netherlands and India. The company operating from the authentic17th century Vanenburg Castle and Estate, located near the city of Putten in the Dutch province of Gelderland. This unique location also serves as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.