Orah
Orah is a cloud-based student safety and engagement platform for independent K-12 day and boarding schools, providing real-time student location tracking, attendance, emergency management, and boarding operations across 500+ schools and 150,000+ students via per-student annual subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersParnell, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Orah does
Orah (legally Boardingware International Ltd.) is a cloud-based student safety and engagement platform built for independent K-12 day and boarding schools. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, the company maintains a fully distributed team of approximately 20 people across 7 cities in 4 countries. The platform unifies attendance, emergency management, dismissal tracking, hall passes, visitor management, boarding operations, wellbeing checks, behavior notes, communications, and medication tracking into a single student-location system of record, using 83 routine school processes to keep each student's location continuously updated. Architecture spans iOS and Android apps, a web application, a Chrome extension (Orah Roll Checks), and a public Open API, deployed across 11 availability zones in 3 geographic regions with 99.95%+ availability and ISO/IEC 27001 and 27018 certifications alongside GDPR, HIPAA, COPPA, PIPEDA, DPA, and ST4S compliance.
The platform integrates natively and bidirectionally with the dominant independent school Student Information Systems (Blackbaud, Veracross, FACTS) plus TASS, Synergetic, iSAMS, Magnus Health, Visitor Aware, Informacast, and Google Workspace SSO. Orah monetizes through per-student annual subscriptions, with professional services billed hourly for custom work. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting Heads of School, Operations Directors, and IT leaders, supported by content marketing, case studies, events, and an annual State of Independent School Safety research report. The customer base spans 500+ independent schools and 150,000+ students globally, including marquee references such as Phillips Exeter Academy, Eton College, The Hotchkiss School, University School of Nashville, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Virginia Episcopal School, Cheshire Academy, and UWC Maastricht.
The business operates with limited disclosed external capital (approximately $3M raised in October 2022) under CEO Matthew Varley, with co-founder Kurt Meyer and CTO Mario Blazevic on the leadership team. Orah is privately held and shows no public listing, parent company, or M&A activity; revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.
Orah firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Orah
- Legal name
- Boardingware International Ltd.
- Website
- https://orah.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Orah is a cloud-based student safety and engagement platform for independent K-12 day and boarding schools, providing real-time student location tracking, attendance, emergency management, and boarding operations across 500+ schools and 150,000+ students via per-student annual subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Orah industry classification
Industry- Product category
- School Safety & Student Management Software
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Attendance, Truancy & Enrollment Compliance (EDAJAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Emergency Management & Incident Command (EOC/ICS) (EDALAEAD), Compliance, Risk & Audit Support Services (EHS, Title IX/Clery Support, Policy Admin) (EDAEALAK)
Keywords
Where Orah is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Parnell
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Orah business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Per-Student Subscription: Orah charges on a per-student subscription basis. Schools pay based on their enrollment size. The pricing model is subscription-based with schools subscribing to the platform annually. Professional services for custom development and additional training are available on an hourly basis.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Per-student subscription pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Orah product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Orah is a cloud-based Student Safety Platform for K-12 independent and boarding schools that uses 83 routine school processes (attendance, dismissals, hall passes, check-ins, emergency response) to maintain a real-time record of every student's location. The platform unifies attendance, emergency management, dismissal tracking, visitor management, boarding operations, and SIS write-back behind a single student-location system of record, accessible via web, iOS/Android apps, and Chrome extensions. Schools subscribe on a per-student basis, with dedicated customer success managers supporting implementation and ongoing use.
Product overview
Orah is a unified Student Safety Platform built around a single core question: where is every student, right now? The platform uses 83 routine school processes (attendance, dismissals, hall passes, check-ins, emergency response) to keep student location continuously updated. The architecture consists of a core Student Location platform with integrated modules for Emergency Management, Attendance + SIS Write-Back, Dismissal Management, Passes & Location, Visitor Management, Late Arrivals & Early Dismissals, Absences, Clubs & Activities, and Boaring & Wellness. Add-on modules include Wellbeing Checks (Nurture), Behavior Notes, Communications, and a Medication Module. All modules share one roster, one source of truth, and one consistent operator experience. The platform integrates natively with Blackbaud, Veracross, and FACTS SIS platforms, and offers an Open API for custom integrations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Student Location (Supervise) Core platform module that uses 83 routine school processes (attendance, dismissals, hall passes, check-ins, emergency response) to maintain a real-time, continuously updated record of every student's location throughout the school day, sold to K-12 independent and boarding schools.
- Emergency Management Emergency response module for schools that supports lockdown, evacuation, and reunification procedures with live headcount and real-time student accountability during drills or actual emergencies.
- Attendance + SIS Write-Back Daily and period-based manual and automated attendance module with two-way sync to Blackbaud, Veracross, and FACTS, used by schools to power payroll, parent communications, state reporting, and live headcount.
- Dismissal Management Real-time dismissal tracking for buses, cars, walkers, and pickups with a live board showing student status from awaiting transport through dismissed, including parent notifications and optional signature/QR verification.
- Passes & Location Digital hall pass module enabling students to request and receive parent/staff approval to leave classrooms, tracking where students went, when they arrived, and duration, with movements feeding into the student-location record.
- Visitor Management Front-desk kiosk module that scans visitor IDs, runs watch-list checks, prints dated badges, and notifies hosts; visitors appear in emergency rolls for campus accountability.
- Boarding & Wellness Residential operations module for boarding schools covering mobile check-in, curfew counts, weekend and leave management, approved-host verification, medication tracking, and overnight headcounts.
- Medication Module Medication management module covering the Medication Catalog, Prescription management, OTC inventory tracking, and Dispensary for administering and auditing medication records for boarding students.
- Communications Two-way chat, email, text, push notifications, and broadcast module to parents, students, and staff with one-click response collection and automated communications.
- Wellbeing Checks (Nurture) Mood-check and wellbeing survey module for monitoring student wellbeing and identifying at-risk students for preventative measures.
- Behavior Notes Behavioral incident logging tool that allows teachers and dorm staff to capture concerns via a Chrome plugin, with notes visible to Deans, advisors, and pastoral care staff.
Quantifiable outcome
- Account for every student in as little as 2 minutes during emergencies
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Orah
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Orah technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability2 records
Feature10 records
Orah partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BlackbaudcoreNative two-way integration with Blackbaud Student Information System. Enables real-time period-by-period attendance sync, student data synchronization, and Single Sign-On (SSO) via Blackbaud ID. Integration is deep and bidirectional—Orah writes attendance data back to Blackbaud for payroll, parent communications, and state reporting.
- VeracrosscoreNative two-way integration with Veracross SIS. Supports academic classes, advisories, athletics, programs, and extended care groups. Enables Single Sign-On via OpenID Connect. Real-time attendance and student data synchronization.
- FACTScoreTwo-way integration with FACTS Student Information System. Enables attendance insights and data synchronization. Schools can enable FACTS integration through Orah's integration settings.
- TASScoreDirect API integration with TASS (The School's Administrative Software System). Syncs student information, contacts, staff data, groups, academic and non-academic classes, and schedules. Supports both boarding and day school attendance workflows.
- True North ResearchminorMarket research agency that conducted independent research on independent school safety practices in partnership with Orah and ATLIS. Produced the 2026 State of Independent School Safety Report based on survey responses from 85 schools.
- ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools)minorResearch partner for the State of Independent School Safety 2026 report. Represents technology leaders in independent schools and serves as a community for Orah's target customers.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Orah competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PikMyKid: Direct competitor in dismissal and pickup management for K-12 schools, addressing many of the same day-school use cases Orah serves with its attendance, dismissal, and parent notification features.
- SchoolPass: Direct competitor offering dismissal management, carline, and student tracking solutions to K-12 schools, overlapping most directly with Orah's Dismissal Management and Student Location modules.
- Raptor Technologies: Direct competitor focused on visitor management, emergency management, and school safety, with overlap against Orah's Visitor Management and Emergency Management modules.
- SmartPass: Direct competitor in digital hall passes and student movement tracking for K-12 schools, competing head-on with Orah's Passes & Location module.
Emerging players
- CrisisGo: Adjacent safety and emergency response platform for K-12 schools, overlapping Orah's Emergency Management and communication features with a narrower attendance focus.
- Hall Pass: Emerging digital hall pass and student movement tracking tool for K-12 schools, competing in a subset of Orah's Passes & Location workflows.
Broad incumbents
- Blackbaud: Dominant SIS and school management platform for independent schools; both an integration partner for Orah and a potential competitive incumbent that could expand into student-location functionality.
- FACTS (FACTS Management): Major K-12 SIS and school management suite that Orah integrates with; provides a broader administrative platform that could in principle subsume Orah's functionality over time.
- Veracross: Leading SIS for independent schools serving as a core integration partner; competes broadly in school operations and could expand native student-tracking capabilities into Orah's space.
Regional players
- Alma Technologies: Modern SIS platform serving independent and charter schools, primarily in North America; an alternative system of record that competes indirectly for the same school operations budget as Orah.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Orah social profiles
Digital presenceOrah compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance10 records
Orah financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Orah leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Orah funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Orah M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Orah
What does Orah do?
Orah is a cloud-based Student Safety Platform for K-12 independent and boarding schools that uses 83 routine school processes (attendance, dismissals, hall passes, check-ins, emergency response) to maintain a real-time record of every student's location. The platform unifies attendance, emergency management, dismissal tracking, visitor management, boarding operations, and SIS write-back behind a single student-location system of record, accessible via web, iOS/Android apps, and Chrome extensions. Schools subscribe on a per-student basis, with dedicated customer success managers supporting implementation and ongoing use.
Is Orah a public or private company?
Orah is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Orah founded?
Orah was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Orah based?
Orah is headquartered in Parnell, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Orah make money?
One revenue line is on record: per-Student Subscription.
Who are Orah's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PikMyKid, SchoolPass, Raptor Technologies and SmartPass. Emerging players are CrisisGo and Hall Pass. Broad incumbents are Blackbaud, FACTS (FACTS Management) and Veracross. Alma Technologies is listed as a regional player.
Does Orah have an API?
Yes. Orah provides an Open API that allows schools or their IT teams to develop custom integrations with Orah and their selected endpoints. The API enables bidirectional data sync — information can sync into Orah, write back to external endpoints, or both. Key API functions include: Houses (read, create, update, delete), Students (read, create, update, delete), Student Locations (update), Contacts (read, create, update, delete), Location records (read only), Locations (read only), Pastoral Records (read only), and Roll (read only). API access requires an Orah user account with administrator privileges. Access keys are generated via the Admin Console and can be limited to specific IP addresses. Extensive documentation for API endpoints including sample requests and responses is available from within the Orah Admin Console. Developer documentation is at app.orah.com.
What industry is Orah in?
Orah's product category is School Safety & Student Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAHAC, Attendance, Truancy & Enrollment Compliance, with a secondary code of EDALAEAD, Emergency Management & Incident Command (EOC/ICS). Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 7370.