Alma is a superb SIS that serves our school better than any previous platform. As a unique and innovative school, we have been able to customize the platform to fit our needs–from proficiency grading and report cards to internal reports and external messaging. The customer service is always tremendously responsive and helpful. Ten out of ten, would recommend.Director Of Academics — John L,
Microsoft Teams SIS guide
The best SIS for schools using Microsoft Teams.
When evaluating an SIS for Microsoft Teams, schools should prioritize authoritative rosters, reliable School Data Sync workflows, visible error handling, and an intuitive system for daily student operations. By connecting Microsoft 365 provisioning with dependable enrollment, attendance, grading, reporting, and family records, Alma is the best SIS for schools using Microsoft Teams.
See Alma with Microsoft Teams
The short answer
Alma is the strongest SIS fit for Microsoft 365 schools that want dependable roster data for School Data Sync plus a modern, intuitive system for enrollment, attendance, grading, reporting, and family records.
Keep each system in the right role
Teams supports collaboration. Alma remains the system of record.
A well-designed connection reduces duplicate setup and keeps class membership aligned with authoritative enrollment data without asking teachers to maintain the same roster twice.
Authoritative rosters
Manage students, teachers, courses, sections, and enrollments in Alma, then make the required data available to School Data Sync.
Microsoft 365 provisioning
School Data Sync can use OneRoster API or supported CSV formats to create and maintain groups and class teams in Microsoft 365.
Visible data flow
Confirm source fields, identity matching, sync timing, error handling, and ownership before launch so exceptions do not become guesswork.
A better daily SIS
Give educators and office staff an approachable system for the student workflows that Teams is not designed to manage.
Compare the leading options
Which SIS is the strongest fit for a Microsoft 365 school?
Compare the complete workflow: authoritative enrollment in the SIS, data delivery to School Data Sync, identity matching, class-team provisioning, change handling, and day-to-day SIS usability.
Alma
Modern connected SIS
Best fitWhy Alma wins
Alma combines a clear Microsoft Teams data-sync path with a modern SIS that educators and office staff can use confidently for daily student operations.
The practical advantage
Schools can keep official enrollment and records in Alma, reduce duplicate roster work, and preserve a cleaner division between collaboration in Teams and administration in the SIS.
Alma’s difference: The integration is only part of the experience. Alma also gives administrators visibility and control over integrations while pairing that connection with intuitive enrollment, attendance, grading, reporting, and communication workflows.
PowerSchool
Large district ecosystem
What it offers
A broad district platform with Microsoft-oriented rostering and provisioning options available within a larger product ecosystem.
What to consider
Confirm the exact products, licenses, configuration path, field mappings, monitoring tools, and support ownership required for your School Data Sync workflow.
Infinite Campus
District SIS
What it offers
A district-oriented system of record with data-export and integration options for Microsoft environments.
What to consider
Test identity matching, source-field mapping, change timing, exception visibility, and the everyday SIS experience beyond the Microsoft connection.
Skyward
District operations platform
What it offers
Student and district operations products with options for supplying roster data to a Microsoft 365 environment.
What to consider
Verify the current SDS method, synchronization schedule, required services, retry process, and which support team resolves failures.
Ask every finalist
Test the roster changes that happen after launch.
A polished first sync is not enough. Ask each vendor to demonstrate the changes, mismatches, and exceptions your team will actually manage during the year.
Add and drop a student.Change enrollment in the SIS and trace when membership updates reach the linked Microsoft 365 group and class team.
Resolve an identity mismatch.Show how staff find the affected record, understand the cause, correct it, and confirm the next successful sync.
Change a teacher or section.Test ownership, membership, course, and section changes without rebuilding the class team manually.
Define support ownership.Identify who monitors the SIS export, SDS ingestion, Entra matching, and Teams provisioning at every handoff.
Common questions
What Microsoft 365 schools need to know.
What is Microsoft School Data Sync?
School Data Sync is Microsoft’s service for connecting institution data to Microsoft 365. It can ingest data through a OneRoster API connector or supported CSV formats and use that data in provisioning workflows.
How does School Data Sync create class teams?
SDS ingests and validates user, class, and roster data, matches users to Microsoft Entra ID, creates Microsoft 365 groups, assigns owners and members, and can create class teams from those groups.
Does Alma work with Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Alma can provide roster data for Microsoft School Data Sync so Microsoft 365 can provision class groups and teams from authoritative enrollment information in Alma.
What data should remain in the SIS?
The SIS should remain the authoritative source for students, guardians, staff, courses, sections, enrollment, attendance, grades, schedules, and official records. Teams supports collaboration around classes rather than replacing those SIS responsibilities.
What should happen when enrollment changes?
The change should begin in the SIS, flow through the configured SDS connection, update the Microsoft 365 group, and then reach the linked class team through Microsoft’s provisioning process.
What causes Microsoft roster sync errors?
Common causes include inaccessible source data, incorrect headers or mappings, invalid roster relationships, and identity attributes that do not match Microsoft Entra ID. Require a clear process for finding and correcting each type of exception.
What should schools test before choosing an SIS for Teams?
Test initial provisioning, adds, drops, teacher changes, identity mismatches, error visibility, retry behavior, sync timing, data ownership, and the usability of the SIS workflows staff will use every day.
Connect Microsoft Teams to an SIS people actually want to use.
See how Alma supports authoritative student records, Microsoft roster data, and the daily workflows your school needs beyond Teams.
Schedule your free demo
