The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initiated an investigation into ESS over concerns that the firm may have violated competition law by hindering schools from switching to alternative management information systems (MIS) providers.

Schools reported that ESS warned them against sharing their databases with new providers, citing intellectual property rights, which could impede schools' ability to switch to a new provider.

Despite some permitted switching methods by ESS being complex, the CMA found that a significant number of schools successfully transitioned to new providers, leading to ESS' declining market share in England from 50% to 46%.

Competitors and third parties have developed data migration tools that do not infringe on ESS' IP rights, offering less burdensome and error-prone options for schools, expected to be operational before March 2025 contract renewals.

Given these developments, the CMA concluded that further intervention is unnecessary, as probing ESS would unlikely yield additional benefits for the sector.