Issue 69 | May 2019 www.housing-technology.com | £6.95
- Housing M&A
Digital Delivering the Smart data lakes transformation ‘wow’ factor in housing starts with – From HMS Page 35 identity to Microsoft Page 28 Dynamics Page 14
Housing Technology’s Connected Communities 2019
Page 13
Do your projects use Bringing IT all together colourful language? – An interview with Page 42 Castleton Technology Page 08
Dashboards and FEATURE Sovereign’s transformation understanding finance with PowerObjects Housing mergers Page 18 Page 29 and acquisitions – where does IT fit in?
Page 30
Spatial analytics in housing Popstar turned curate turned housing patron… Page 10 Page 40
© The Intelligent Business Company 2019. Housing Technology is published by The Intelligent Business Company. Reproduction of any material, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden without the prior consent of the publisher.
EDITOR’S NOTES Issue 69 | May 2019
Building from strong foundations The centre cannot hold… your data, its internal and external sources In the same way that hastily or shoddily- and final destinations, then de-duplicating, As the saying goes, “good houses are built built houses will be fine for a short length rationalising and cleaning it then, ultimately, on strong foundations.” The same rationale of time, so too will new bright and shiny automating as many of your data-driven applies to housing providers’ myriad plans digital housing services. But without solid, processes as possible. for digital transformation. dependable foundations, both those Only then can you create the right Digital transformation means different houses and those services are very likely to foundations for the long-term success of things to different people, ranging from fail to deliver in the longer term. your digital transformation plans. Yes, it will the wholesale replacement of entire IT For digital transformation projects, those take longer and will cost a little more in the infrastructures and applications through to oh-so-necessary, solid foundations need short term but the alternative will certainly merely ‘reskinning’ existing websites. to be data and associated data-driven be, at best, a false economy. However, what most digital transformation processes. As the expression goes, “If you don’t have projects have in common, regardless of Only connect… time to do it right, when will you have time their size, scope, cost or complexity, is a While it is undoubtedly tempting to opt to do it over?” strong emphasis on the creation of a digital for some ‘easy wins’ through the creation ‘presentation layer’ for access to services, of digital versions of existing analogue whether for housing providers’ staff or their services or processes, these need to be tenants. underpinned by a commitment to review
FORTHCOMING EVENTS PAGE 04 HOUSING PAGE 18 TECHNOLOGY PAGE 22 HOUSING TECHNOLOGY 2020 - Housing M&A PAGE 30 PAGE 32 – CONNECTED COMMUNITIES 2019 4-5 March 2020 10 September 2019 | BT Tower | London The Doubletree by Hilton Oxford Belfry PAGE 33 www.housing-technology.com/events/bt19 www.housing-technology.com/events/htc20 PAGE 40
COMPANIES IN THIS ISSUE
Accent Housing 42 Esri UK 10 Itica 30 Orchard 04 Thorngate Living 07 Adur & Worthing Councils 06 Etive Technologies 28 Kirona 26 OutSystems 43 Torus 30 Advanced 26 ExtraCare Charitable Trust 04 Localz 24 PeopleDataTech 42 TSG 46 Amazon Web Services 35 Gas Tag 16 Manifest Software Solutions 25 PowerObjects 29 Vantage Business Solutions 30 Ascent Development 42 Greenfields Comm’ Housing25 Midland Heart 22 RedkiteCRM 32 Waltham Forest Council 35 Castleton Technology 08 & 39 HAC Housing Consultancy 11 MIS AMS 04 River Clyde Homes 04 Wandle Housing 14 Cathcart and District Housing 07 Hitachi Solutions 38 MobileIron 37 Salix Homes 34 Civica 09 & 33 Housing Solutions 26 Musgrave Analytics 18 Skillsarena 45 Clearview Systems 30 Hub Asset Management 19 Network Homes 36 South Yorkshire Housing 09 Designer Software 07 Hyperoptic 36 NG Data 35 Sovereign Housing 29 Dumfries & Galloway Housing 39 IP Integration 23 Northgate Public Services 30 Techmums 44
EDITOR DESIGN & PRODUCTION SUBSCRIPTIONS THE INTELLIGENT BUSINESS COMPANY LTD Alastair Tweedie Jo Euston-Moore Subscribe at www.housing-technology.com Hoppingwood Farm [email protected] [email protected] or email: [email protected] Robin Hood Way Twitter: @housingtech London, SW20 0AB EDITORIAL AND NEWS PRINTED IN THE UK BY United Kingdom [email protected] The Magazine Printing Company PUBLISHER Head Office: 0208 336 2293 George Grant www.magprint.co.uk RECRUITMENT [email protected] [email protected] Twitter: @tibcomp jobs.housing-technology.com Twitter: @housingtechjobs
HOUSING TECHNOLOGY IS PRINTED ON ERA SILK MADE FROM 50 PER CENT UK-RECYCLED WASTE PULP AND THE BALANCE OF PULPS FROM CERTIFIED FORESTS. 4 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
ExtraCare selects Orchard to support OpenAccounts
“We realise that having a system on its own doesn’t always offer a complete solution. The customer service and support element is the reason why Orchard became our choice to provide support for our OpenAccounts system and so far we haven’t been disappointed.” Correction Wishing to unlock In the March issue of Housing Technology, the “Unlocking value through data insights” article contributed value through by Orchard Information Systems and Red The ExtraCare Charitable Paul Todman, financial planning Olive was published with an incorrectly accountant, Extra Care Charitable Trust, attributed ‘dashboard’ screenshot. data insight? Trust has chosen Orchard said, “Orchard proved its credibility by The intellectual property rights to helping us with a sales ledger problem the dashboard screenshot belong to Information Systems to which took less than a week for us to Musgrave Analytics, an analytics and support its OpenAccounts solve with Orchard support; this had been visualisation company specialising in outstanding for over three months with social housing. Red Olive apologises for finance software. our previous supplier. any confusion caused.
River Clyde Homes saves £55k with MIS-AMS Are you kept awake at night by Customer Behaviour, Tenant Engagement, Regulatory River Clyde Homes has Lorna Williams, business performance and Lorna said: “We were about to start on our Governance and Viability Compliance, KPI Statistics, Fraud Detection or GDPR? systems manager, River Clyde Homes, said, annual tenancy audit and knew this time we completed an extensive “After reviewing our current system, we wanted to embrace a more digital way of Orchard is at the forefront of predictive analytics. We help you rethink landlord/tenant realised that there was quite a bit of work working, so we bought the ActiveH mobile upgrade programme to do to make our internal operations more surveys module to help us to complete the relationships by providing better insight into tenant behaviour. streamlined and efficient. With help from whole auditing process better and faster. the team at MIS AMS, we have created our Engage with us to develop the right strategy to unlock the value within your data. of its rent arrears and “We had 5,400 properties to audit so being own unique system, with modules, groups able to use a digital system to capture the and rules to really give the business exactly data-capture functions relevant information minimised the scope what it needs in terms of reducing arrears. for human error and made the whole using MIS AMS’s “Since the introduction of the new system, process for our team and our tenants much we’ve saved over £55,000. We now have more efficient. The initial audit was such a ActiveH software, Housing Digital Asset Finance Analytics Mobility Services one system instead of two that’s easy for success that we are now deploying the MIS Management Engagement Management our staff to use and gives us a 360-degree AMS mobile surveys module across the resulting in savings of view of our tenants.” business for all of our other surveys.” £55,000. River Clyde Homes has also recently gone Want to know more? live with ActiveH’s mobile surveys module. 0191 203 2500 [email protected]
orchard-systems.co.uk www.housing-technology.com
Wishing to unlock value through data insight?
Are you kept awake at night by Customer Behaviour, Tenant Engagement, Regulatory Governance and Viability Compliance, KPI Statistics, Fraud Detection or GDPR? Orchard is at the forefront of predictive analytics. We help you rethink landlord/tenant relationships by providing better insight into tenant behaviour. Engage with us to develop the right strategy to unlock the value within your data.
Housing Digital Asset Finance Analytics Mobility Services Management Engagement Management
Want to know more? 0191 203 2500 [email protected]
orchard-systems.co.uk
6 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
Building DIY systems in low-code – A pragmatic alternative?
Paul Turner, Systems & Performance Manager, Adur & Worthing Councils
Adur and Worthing Councils are Off-the-shelf software is often standalone how this would all fit within our leadership and without open APIs, it can result in data vision. two district councils near Brighton silos. For example, we estimate that Adur & which have had a shared officer Worthing councils have around 400 such We wanted tenants to shape the future data silos, which clearly doesn’t fit in with service so we interviewed around 30 structure since 2008. Over the past our aim to have joined-up systems and people involved with our repairs service, few years, we have begun to use our approaches. including tenants, customer-service agents, operatives, external contractors own low-code platform to develop We looked at developing with open- and administrators. Their feedback told our own systems. This approach source software. One attraction of open us that we were doing some things well source is the ability to share it between but the customer and user experience fell has been recognised as being organisations and to be able to both short in some areas, such as from setting innovative; we won a SOCITM provide and receive shared applications. initial expectations of the repair right However when we looked in more detail, the way through to completion, where a award for innovation in 2015 and we found that this was too expensive to significant number of tenants felt that they a Digital Tech Leaders award in be sustainable, regardless of whether we were not being listened to and thought developed in-house or bought in external that providing feedback was a pointless 2017. development expertise. exercise.
Like most providers of social housing, So what is low-code? Well, it’s a From these insights, we developed we want to be more efficient, agile and platform for application development some service-design principles (which joined-up across our operations. We want that allows people (not necessarily with we think are actually global principles financially-sustainable IT systems that an IT development background) to use for us around service design): listening genuinely enable our tenants and officers visual drag-and-drop tools to develop to customers; getting things right first- to get on with the things they need to with applications; the use of actual written code time; enabling smooth and transparent the minimum of fuss. is kept to a minimum. And capabilities customer journeys; being proactive in are designed to be re-used, so we are communications; enabling tenants and Our approach is to do this using a low- not coding everything from scratch but staff; and having well-defined service code platform comprising MatsSoft and reusing existing blocks of functionality. standards. SalesForce, with tight data integration between the two and links to other With re-usable capabilities already People and workstreams systems through open APIs. But what is built into the platform, it is quicker for Of course, getting to the desired new a low-code platform, and why have we developers to learn and it is faster to service doesn’t just involve the provision of chosen it? develop applications. We estimate that shiny new IT systems; first and foremost, an enterprise-quality solution can be built this process involves people. For us, Low-code and the alternatives in four to six months, although the larger technology was just one workstream – To be able to appeal to housing providers scale repairs system we built took our we also had a workstream for our service- across the sector, large and small, with developer around a year to build. Building level agreements with our tenants and widely varying ways of working, off-the- our own applications with our low-code staff, and having more integrated ways of shelf products sometimes need to be all platform gives us the ability to follow working. We also had a workstream for things to all people. Furthermore, many through on the ideas that our staff and engagement, which included setting up off-the-shelf products were developed customers generate. a new user group and providing better several years ago and have evolved into external communications. complex products which, compared to Low-code case study: repairs newer software, can be relatively rigid and Back in January 2017, we were challenged Our technology workstream consisted of inefficient. And if bespoke development to discover what a good value-for-money building an end-to-end repairs system. is needed, this can be costly and time- repairs service looked like. We carried This included a new repairs portal, a new consuming. In this scenario, organisations out customer research, journey mapping, scheduling app (including allowing repairs are reliant on the software provider to be data mapping, technology discovery and to be rescheduled when necessary) innovative and this can hamper progress. horizon scanning and then we looked at and a new mobile workforce app for our
www.housing-technology.com HOUSING MANAGEMENT | 7
Building DIY systems in low-code – A pragmatic alternative? Continued from previous page
operatives. Good design has been crucial on insights with better decision-making things in bite-sized chunks. With our to providing software that meets users’ and more efficient operations. low-code platform, we can be genuinely needs. In key areas, we used professional Our new projects in the pipeline include flexible, experiment and learn. In short, we UX designers alongside a prototype-and- building our own asset management think this gives us the ability to innovate test approach to ensure that the quality system (starting with compliance), into the long-term. was up to the right standard. Our tenants improving estates inspections, void repairs tested our wireframe prototypes before and improving the design for our back- Paul Turner is the systems and we developed our applications and this office users (who didn’t get the benefit of performance manager at Adur & Worthing feedback went into improving the screen professional UX design during our first Councils. designs. iteration).
In conclusion While it is tempting to try to achieve We hope our use of low-code will lead to everything at once, this is an iterative clear and consistent standards, a better process. We don’t need to achieve service experience, and the ability to act everything at once; instead we can do
Cathcart & District Housing signs with Designer Software
will certainly improve productivity. A significant benefit is that HomeMaster will produce reports that align exactly with the format needed for our ARC submissions. Cathcart and District “The other benefits to us have been Anne Taylor, CEO, Thorngate Living, said, the efficiencies gained by our main “What we like is HomeMaster’s flexibility Housing is now live with contractor’s adoption of HomeMaster and ease of use, and for us, one system and the implementation of functionality provides everything we need for both our Designer Software’s web-based from Designer Software which drives the sheltered housing and care homes. With HomeMaster software. recharging of costs to owner-occupiers HomeMaster, we can record everything as well as the real-time recording of from financial information through to information relating to repairs and comprehensive property records for all of our residents in one system.” Christine Leitch CEO, Cathcart and District maintenance projects.” Housing, said, “The process of changing Thorngate Living selects Craig Brock, COO, Designer Software, from our old Windows-based, on-premise HomeMaster as its new HMS said, “With our web-based, hosted system has been very smooth and the Design Software has also signed solution available on a subscription commitment from the project team at up Thorngate Living, a Gosport- basis, Thorngate’s implementation of Designer Software has been exemplary. based provider of assisted living and HomeMaster opens up new opportunities Our staff find the system very intuitive and independent care, for its HomeMaster for us in the care and support sector.” the ability to have access to HomeMaster software. on any device, irrespective of location, 8 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
Bringing IT together – An interview with Castleton Technology
Dean Dickinson, CEO, Castleton Technology
Castleton Technology is one of Has Castleton just re-skinned old morale and improve team spirit. By the architecture through acquiring lots of beginning of this year the impact was clear; the fastest-growing technology companies? our response rates were up to 96.3 per providers in the social housing No, we have redeveloped what were cent against our SLAs, with ticket backlogs already best-in-class solutions to create reduced by 80 per cent and internally sector and is arguably one of the the APIs that facilitate integration, then our employee ‘net promoter score’ has largest. Yet, its rapid growth has added new functionality incrementally improved by 60 per cent in the last year. based on market response and emerging On the software front, our strategy has not been without problems, and technologies. been to integrate our entire solutions despite an impressive track record What have been the challenges for and services suite. We have innovated to for innovation, the company Castleton along the way? help housing providers drive efficiency We inherited eight small businesses with and provide better services to tenants. In remains widely misunderstood. individual cultures, all operating separately, particular, introducing 24/7 self-service Housing Technology puts Castleton with their own management and support technology such as our configurable teams, systems and processes, and with Castleton.Digital web portal reduces CEO’s Dean Dickinson under the no real cohesion between any of them. the pressure on call centres by driving engagement digitally and more cost- spotlight and discovers why. My challenge was to create a holistic effectively. view, integrating these diverse businesses into a single entity with common values, A number of customers have now gone “We’re specialists in social a consolidated back office, standard live with our fully-integrated solution suite processes, consistent procedures and a which demonstrates a positive impact and housing; unlike some of the single support system. Unsurprisingly, this we’ve also seen customers signing long- has proved to be a challenging process, term contracts of up to 10 years, which I big players, social housing leading to high staff churn and, regrettably, believe underlines customer confidence is our sole, 100 per cent a poor support experience for some of our in our integrated digital solutions. They customers. know we’ll adopt emerging technologies, continue to innovate and keep them focus.” None of this helped Castleton’s reputation ahead of the curve. in the market in the short term, but Castleton Technology’s growth through ultimately it was necessary and, more How does Castleton compare with its multiple acquisitions has left some importantly, it helped us to get absolutely competitors’ offerings? confusion around what the company the right people in place at Castleton. Well, we’re the only company that can stands for, so why the huge acquisition provide fully-integrated systems using Describe some of the strategies you’ve programme? all our own software, and we’re certainly implemented since joining Castleton and You’re right – at the point when I came on leading the field on self-service, facilitated the results of them. board two and a half years ago, Castleton in the cloud. had already made six software acquisitions Our twin strategies have been to focus on and two managed services acquisitions in improving customer support services while Castleton is the first software provider to just two years. The rationale was to bring continuing to innovate with new products have harnessed emerging technology to together best-in-class software to provide designed to deliver an integrated solution. develop and deliver an AI app, with help from our customer Housing Solutions. AI the first fully-integrated ERP system for From a support point of view, customer Manager enables tenants to communicate social housing, delivered in the cloud. feedback confirmed that once they were with their housing provider at any time via actually reached, our technicians were Currently, much of the market is using an Alexa or Google Home device, whether knowledgeable and provided high-quality a collection of siloed legacy solutions; to check their balance, raise an enquiry or advice. The frustration lay in our poor we wanted to change that by providing request a repair. a cohesive, cloud-delivered approach response performance. Accordingly, our to facilitate mobile working, self-service strategy has been to expand the size of our We’re specialists in social housing too. tenant platforms and more. support team substantially, invest in training Unlike some of the big players, who also (including cross-team training), foster provide software for healthcare, police
www.housing-technology.com HOUSING MANAGEMENT | 9
Bringing IT together – An interview with Castleton Technology Continued from previous page
and other sectors, social housing is our faster and more cost-effectively. We created an organisation that can sole, 100 per cent focus. We have over also invested over £750,000 in the latest consistently and repeatedly deliver 600 customers in the housing sector, hardware for our datacentre. to customers’ requirements. We have which I believe is more than any of our established ourselves as innovators What about integration and APIs? competitors. and are sector leaders in AI, facilitating Yes, this is an important point. We tenant self-service. We’ve turned around The other thing that sets Castleton apart is know that legacy systems and supplier our poor support performance and we the range of services we offer. As well as lock-in are perceived as barriers to the are beginning to achieve positive brand being software developers, we also provide introduction of new products and systems’ recognition. managed services. So, we can truly offer integration. However, Castleton has open a full service, including private, public or APIs that can plug into any other systems, Finally, we have attained double-digit hybrid cloud hosting – and as agnostics, and vice versa. This means we can provide growth year-on-year, with a 15 per cent we can advise on the best and most secure an integrated solution, whether that revenue increase in the past 12 months options. In fact, some customers use us solution includes just Castleton software despite the flat market. This has enabled for all of their IT, from Microsoft Office and or a mix of our software with customers’ us to continue our journey, investing in firewalls to voice IP and Skype. existing systems, which gives them much ever better services, the latest equipment more flexibility. and new products for our customers. “Castleton is the only How do housing providers realistically For the future, there’s still a long way move to a new supplier when they are for us to go, but we recognise there’s company that can provide already using multiple applications? great potential for Castleton. We need fully-integrated systems We recently completed a move for a to improve our service and support leading housing provider; they wanted to delivery further still, and better explain to using all our own software, add mobile technology to an incumbent customers and potential customers the system, so we used API technology to breadth and depth of our offering. and we’re certainly leading integrate the solution. Open APIs enable Our next move is to improve our account us to take a phased approach rather than management structure in order to provide the field on self-service, a ‘flick of a switch’ type changeover. In a single point of contact for customers, this case, the housing officers used our facilitated in the cloud.” regardless of whether the need is for ‘Agile’ technology for a year, so when we software or managed services. This is what replaced the entire housing system, it we refer to internally as truly becoming We don’t fear bold investments. We was a seamless and pain-free process ‘one Castleton’. opened Castleton India last year, bringing because users were already familiar with 16 new developers to the Castleton the Castleton front-end. Housing Technology would like to thank team. This strategic scalability provides Castleton Technology’s CEO, Dean What are Castleton’s biggest our customers with enhanced services, Dickinson, for taking part in this interview. achievements and what of the future? enabling us to bring solutions to market Our biggest achievement is to have
South Yorkshire goes live with Civica Cx
South Yorkshire Housing has completed the Claire Sockett, head of IT, South Yorkshire Housing, said, “We’re delighted to be up and running with this new digital implementation of Civica’s Cx housing and platform from Civica. Cx will make a big difference to how we asset management solutions. interact with and respond to customers, raising the quality of our services, helping our people to work in a more agile way The fully-integrated solution from Civica will cover a number and transforming our systems for a more digital future in social of areas including: contacts and assets; communications; rent housing.” arrears and voids management; repairs, planned maintenance, servicing and inspections; complaints and feedback; a contractor portal and the use of Civica’s APIs for a customer portal. 10 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
Spatial analytics in housing
Robert Nichols, Housing Lead, Esri UK
In the housing sector, one using ArcGIS to ascertain the impact of the government’s ‘benefits cap’ on technology has emerged as a vital tenants over a period of 5 to ten years. keystone. Sitting at the apex of The findings were displayed on a digital map with a time-lapse slider, enabling the successful organisations, it is organisation to predict not only where, supporting the transformation but also when, households might start to experience difficulties. of every pillar of their business Accelerating the development of new their maps, apps and data securely in one operations, from customer services homes central place, either on-premise or in the In light of the ongoing, critical shortage and maintenance planning to cloud. of housing in the UK, housing providers housing development. That Once all data has been digitised and have an important role to play in helping technology is GIS. organised by location, it is much easier for to build new homes. GreenSquare employees to find the information they Group has used GIS to help it identify Geographic information systems (GIS) are need, and this can have huge implications suitable development land faster by not new to the housing sector. Indeed, for business efficiency and customer analysing property types, access routes, over a hundred housing providers already service. When Red Kite Community land ownership, housing demand and have GIS solutions from Esri, and the vast Housing digitised its paper records and many other factors using ArcGIS. The majority of them have been using GIS to consolidated its business data using Esri’s organisation has also reduced the time record and manage spatial data for many ArcGIS Online solution, the time required needed to carry out feasibility studies for years. Many housing providers are now to respond to boundary queries reduced new development sites from 10 days to extending their use of GIS across the from several hours to just a few minutes. two by removing the need for multiple site visits, physical meetings and manual organisation, developing suites of GIS Reducing operating costs processes. solutions and making them available to The process of organising and managing more employees, in offices and in the field. data with GIS can also provide a catalyst Through this broader use of GIS, they are for significant reductions in operating making significant improvements to their costs. For example, housing staff can more asset management, customer services and easily see which land the housing provider operational efficiencies and successfully owns or manages and then avoid paying addressing some of the housing sector’s for grass cutting and other maintenance biggest challenges. on land that is outside its responsibility. After using ArcGIS to centralise its geographic data, Saxon Weald was able to more precisely calculate its grounds maintenance requirements, negotiate Sharing information with partners more competitive service contracts and The inability to share information easily reduce its direct costs by £60,000. with partners can be not only a frustration for housing providers but also a hindrance Gaining insight into tenants’ needs to strategic planning and decision One of the more complex challenges making. GIS makes it very easy to share that housing providers face is the need information between teams and work to anticipate tenants’ future needs collaboratively with other organisations. Organising vast amounts of data and be ready to respond. GIS enables Sovereign Housing has found ArcGIS Housing providers hold large volumes of organisations to analyse a vast amount of Online particularly effective for sharing data on everything from the number of data, visualise the results and gain a clear information about potential new tenants in their properties to the locations insight into what can be very sensitive development sites with nearby councils in of lamp posts on their land. GIS provides issues. the geographic context for all this data a visual format. The information displayed and allows housing providers to store all For instance, Sovereign Housing using ArcGIS can be easily understood by successfully undertook location analysis everyone and helps to initiate negotiations www.housing-technology.com HOUSING MANAGEMENT | 11
Spatial analytics in housing Continued from previous page
about new, mutually-beneficial housing projects.
Working effectively in the community trees with both internal and external All these examples show that GIS is no Much of the work that housing providers stakeholders. longer just one brick among many in a do is in their communities, so improving housing provider’s IT department, used Improving customer satisfaction mobile working is often a key goal. There to fulfil a single purpose. Rather, GIS is a Achieving customer satisfaction is the are a wide range of mobile GIS solutions now an important keystone that supports ultimate goal and yet also a common that improve the efficiency of processes in business transformation across all challenge. When a suite of GIS solutions the field by streamlining data collection, business functions, for all employees, in is implemented successfully to transform automating manual tasks and giving offices and in the field. end-to-end processes, it can have a employees the information they need, very positive impact on the customer So, when housing providers need to when and where they need it. Bracknell experience. Indeed, when Flagship improve their customer service, develop Forest Homes uses ArcGIS mobile Housing created a brand new, GIS- new housing faster, reduce their solutions to deliver its ‘smart working on enabled process for grounds maintenance, maintenance costs and plan for the future, the go’ strategy and has saved thousands it began to receive 50 per cent fewer calls they can do all of this and more using one of pounds by freeing up its staff for other into its contact centre relating to failures technology: GIS. activities. The organisation’s ‘tree team’ in the grounds maintenance service, while can now manage 10,000 trees with just Robert Nichols is the housing lead for at the same time it received dozens of two members of staff, and share accurate Esri UK. unprompted calls from happy customers, information about the condition of praising the improvements to the service.
IT as catalyst or enabler? Does IT drive your business plans or vice versa?
Harneck Chilemba, Managing Director, HAC Housing Consultancy
The ubiquity and Having been a finance director at five is also very technical and very complex. housing providers, three of which involved As a result, planning for IT initiatives is pervasiveness of IT in me acting as the senior management lead necessarily the preserve of IT experts. for both finance and IT, it is a dichotomy Even finance directors can’t claim to be business today presents a that I’ve had to wrestle with many times. conversant enough with what is going on dichotomy when it comes to Fortunately for me, I virtually had total half the time. However at the same time, control over the business planning in strategic planning is the preserve of the an organisation’s strategic all three organisations and was able to board through the senior management happily fudge the issue! team and ultimately the finance director. planning; like the chicken The challenge for most organisations is The business planning process and the egg, should IT that while IT is universally accepted to In most organisations, business planning be the lifeblood of every organisation, to starts with the board and senior dictate your business plan or the extent of it posing an existential threat management conducting a review of the should it be vice versa? to the organisation if it’s not got right, IT Continued on next page 12 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
IT as catalyst or enabler? Continued from previous page organisation’s direction for the next five commercial organisations. IT failures are therefore unnecessary for the IT manager to 10 years. From this, the finance director now, or should be, high up in the rankings to come ‘cup in hand’ to request funding formulates a business plan, usually with of any organisation’s risk map. for the IT programme. I was able to obtain financial forecasts for the next 30 years. board approval for the IT programme by From a regulatory point of view, the The 30-year planning period is based simply explaining to the board that we HCA continues its pressure on housing on a standard requirement for lenders either funded and implemented the IT providers to deliver VfM and also publish (especially lenders of transfer housing programme or we would die! their VfM metrics, and the government’s providers) over which to judge the recent Green Paper suggested that It was on the back of this combined organisation’s long-term viability. housing providers should publish a finance/IT role that, at one of the The big spenders consistent set of KPIs, and both of organisations I worked, we were one of Depending on the organisation’s lifecycle, these metrics require accurate data. the first housing providers of our size most of the ramping up of expenditure in Furthermore, these metrics are likely to to implement server virtualisation well a housing provider’s business plan falls form the basis of future league tables, on before some of my colleagues could even within two areas, new development and which access to grants for development spell virtualisation, data management major works. may be predicated. systems (including workflow) using the latest technology, and replacing our IT Indeed, in terms of financial modelling, The HCA has also put housing providers’ department with a fully-managed service peak debt (which determines the boards on notice that they are accountable provided by one of this sector’s most maximum amount of borrowings you for ensuring that the evidence they successful outsourcing companies. need to have in order to survive) was see in VfM reporting is accurate, timely always determined by the level of new and supports both compliance with the Each of these initiatives not only involved development and major works included in regulator’s current VfM standard and the large sums of money over the life of the the business plan. probable new reporting requirements business plan, but each was also a ‘game- to customers on service-delivery changer’ in its own right and required a However, over the last ten years, spending performance. step-change in the way everybody in the on IT and IT projects has tended to be the organisation thought and worked. third largest area of spending. The main The prominence of data reasons for this are: As a result, swift access to accurate data The current status is becoming fundamental to any housing Here is a quote from a recent study from • The speed of change that housing provider’s ability to perform efficiently. The Economist entitled ‘Data is the New Oil’: providers have had to endure, mainly due Why? Because it empowers them to make “The world’s most valuable resource is no to ever-increasing regulatory pressure to sound, data-led decisions which in turn longer oil, but data. A century ago, a ‘new’ deliver value for money, year on year; underpin good governance, compliance, commodity spawned a highly-lucrative, • The growing demands for improved assurance and the ability to manage risk. fast-growing industry that probably customer experience; impacted the world’s economy more than • The speed at which IT has had to evolve Access to accurate data is also essential any other. This commodity was oil”. in order to deliver more for less has to delivering services effectively online so meant most legacy systems have had to that customers can self-serve without the Now, similar statements are being made be replaced. need for housing staff to intervene. This is about data, which is the oil of the digital what improves the service provided and era. This is evident from the fact that It is a combination of these three pressures liberates staff from many routine tasks. today’s most valuable businesses in that has raised IT’s importance to a level the world are Apple, Amazon, Google, unforeseen even as recently as 10 years Is IT a business-plan enabler or catalyst? Microsoft and Facebook. ago. It’s a tough dichotomy. As stated above, A recent survey from Altair of 50 housing When I started off in housing, there was IT can pose an existential threat similar providers’ use of technology to effect one thing that my then-boss and finance to development risks because of the change found that the top three drivers director used to say (and I’ve heard large amounts of money now involved of transformation are improving customer repeatedly over the years): “if there is one and the organisational paralysis that can experience, increasing efficiency and area of our operations where a single result when the wrong system has been the implementation of a new corporate mistake could sink us, it is [property/ deployed or a perfectly good system has strategy. The survey reported that: building] development”. been implemented wrongly. • 98 per cent of housing providers are Indeed, over time, a number of providers At the same time, IT is crucial in delivering planning or are currently implementing have failed due to mistakes made in either the operational efficiencies required for some form of transformation programme; the controls associated with one or more any business to survive. It therefore follows • 90 per cent of respondents described large development schemes or quite that IT plans must necessarily inform the themselves as either ‘early adopters’ or simply getting their financial assumptions financial plan, or at least for the next ten ‘early majority’ in terms of their approach wrong. years of the business plan. to innovation and transformation; The prominence of IT It was fortuitous for me that at three of the • 61 per cent described themselves as Today, the threat of getting your IT wrong housing providers I’ve worked at in the last either ‘digital fashionistas’ or ‘digirati’ in has risen to a similar existential level 20 years, I was the finance director with terms of their approach to digitalisation; of risk for both housing providers and responsibility for both finance and IT; it was • But 89 per cent of housing providers www.housing-technology.com HOUSING MANAGEMENT | 13
IT as catalyst or enabler? Continued from previous page
currently have less than 40 per cent of in-house data centres will no longer be millennials as our future tenants, most of their customer transactions completed able to cope with. whom are teenagers at present. online. Data analytics Conclusion When the respondents were asked to More and more commercial organisations In my view, a lot depends on the level of IT look forward to 2025, the results were as are deploying data analytics to solve representation within the organisation; for follows: the most complex problems; big data example, IT representation is often missing underpins these powerful analytics, with at board level. The finance director tends • Over 75 per cent of housing providers data science enabling AI-based solutions. to exert more influence at board level expect to be using technologies such because he or she produces and presents as smart devices, chatbots, offsite And while the need to drive efficiencies the business plan and can override all manufacturing, big data and apps as part has been a key driver for innovation, other directorate priorities, including IT. of their core approach to service delivery; technologies are already moving onto the • Over 50 per cent of them see an next phase which is being referred to as Thankfully, this is changing in large opportunity for greater use of artificial ‘living services’. A ‘living’ business is one corporate entities where IT professionals intelligence in the delivery of services. which is wired for flexibility and has the are learning to be less geeky and more ability to shift and reshape as the external commanding in their presence on the Folks, this is just six years away! environment and expectations change. board. And that’s far too slow in comparison with Beyond VfM So, in conclusion, whether IT in this context leading commercial organisations. Indeed, In this brave new world, being efficient is can be viewed as either an enabler or a let’s turn to the commercial world is to see no longer the main goal; being adaptable driver of the business plan can perhaps what the brave new world might look like. is. This involves rewiring the organisation best be answered by this question: would Big data around achievement of the best possible any organisation survive by burying its It’s well-known that the volume of data we customer experience. Customers will want head in the sand and hoping that the need to handle today has exponentially to engage with you via all of their channels, torrent of IT developments and new ways grown to a degree beyond human not just on yours. And in this new brave of working are nothing but a fad that will capabilities to process. world, your customers are the innovators, pass sooner or later? and millennials (as your future employees) Most of the factors that we need for digital I think we all know the answer to that are not too far behind. are in artificial intelligence and in the question! cloud. These technologies require massive In housing, we need to start thinking, Harneck Chilemba is the managing computing power, the likes of which our planning and catering our services to director of the HAC Housing Consultancy.
Housing Technology’s Connected Communities 2019
Housing Technology and BT Business are making The event will open at 9am on Tuesday 10 September 2019, followed by a carefully-chosen series of business and IT our annual visit to the BT Tower in central London presentations in the BT auditorium, interspersed with lunch at to host our new ‘Connected Communities 2019’ one- the top of the BT Tower. The event will close at around 5pm. day event on Tuesday 10 September 2019, kindly Please note that the speakers and presentations for sponsored by Aareon, Castleton Technology and Itica Connected Communities 2019 will be announced in June (more to be confirmed in June). 2019. Please contact [email protected] if you or your organisation is interested in speaking at or sponsoring With its core themes of ‘analyse, predict & inform’, Connected this event. Communities 2019 will cover how housing providers can streamline their internal operations and tenant engagement Please see www.housing-technology.com/events/bt19 for through innovations in self-service, CRM, data management, further information. ‘mobile first’ delivery, process automation, AI, analytics and business intelligence. 14 | HOUSING MANAGEMENT
Delivering the ‘wow’ factor – From traditional HMS to Microsoft Dynamics
Debbie Chun, IT Programme Manager, Wandle Housing
Private & Hybrid Cloud Wandle aspires to deliver a 21st- customer-centric system which supports Favourable licensing Securely hosted, Super-powered and simple processes and provides a single In terms of new technology, we secured High-speed connectivity across your century customer experience and view of the customer. a very good licensing deal from Microsoft Software, Desktop and Infrastructure and we can use Workplace free of charge, has taken the decision to transform Our business case was approved in May maximising the value we are getting from 2018, the procurement ran from then Public Cloud its business so that it’s flexible our new software while benefitting from its to June 2018 via Crown Commercial Managed support and hosting amazing features and functionality. enough to support this vision and Services, and we awarded contracts to across public cloud services as deliver the ‘wow’ factor to its Blacklight Software for Dynamics, Power Civica’s Keystone asset management Microsoft BI and Azure and to Civica for Keystone in software went live in March this year and customers. September 2018. while this was a quieter go-live in terms Are you ready Back Up and Disaster Recovery of the number of users, we were keen Embedding our guiding principles Secure, scalable hosted business Our new system is designed to enable to ensure that our staff could maximise As a business, we had established our continuity solutions service delivery that is no longer on the Keystone’s functionality. The mobile devices guiding principles and sought to embed to Transform back foot; it promotes the principles of previously given to our surveyors were no these from the outset; we wanted to Unified Communications apologise, learn, don’t repeat, follow longer suitable so we invested in new kit to ensure that all customer journeys were Robust, scalable and reliable through and follow up, and perhaps most ensure ease of access while out on site. importantly, pre-empt problems. co-designed; transactions were designed your Services communications solutions for for first-time resolution; data was captured Communication and engagement have your digital strategy Pre-empting problems once and used many times; and new been key to the success of our project Our project started in October 2017, when technology was embraced to maximise so far. Daily stand-ups helped to not with Cloud ? Infrastructure Solutions faced with an outdated and soon-to-be value for money. only manage project actions but also to Designing, procuring and deploying unsupported system, high costs and low engage and raise the project’s profile We opted to use Workplace for Business your physical IT environment. customer satisfaction, we needed to act across the whole of the business, with to engage customers in co-design, setting fast and think differently. When we bought team meetings and all staff briefings up an innovation lab for them in 2018. our 1980s-style system, everyone else allowing us to communicate the “what’s Technical Consultancy & Support We are steadily building membership, was buying Apple, and thinking back in it for us?” messages. Our latest initiative End-to-end flexible, support services with 70 customers signed up for a live you wonder what were we thinking and on Workplace is to build a chatbot which available 24 x 7 x 365 Q&A session on repairs in January 2019. why didn’t we notice that the world was can answer FAQs on the project and new The suggestions and feedback from this changing? Determined not to make the processes as they go live. same mistake we engaged 3C Consultants session have since been fed in to our to help us explore our options and to build internal workshops and will help to shape Resistance to change a business case for change. our new processes and services. Things haven’t been completely plain sailing and there were a number Our complaints tool went live in Dynamics Deploying Dynamics of problems which we have had to in February 2019 after Blacklight had Our solution was to deploy Microsoft overcome, resistance to change being worked with our business ambassadors Dynamics around our existing housing the biggest and trickiest to address. In to ensure that the new process enables management system, enabling an this end, Wandle has invested in a change first-time resolution, empowering front- incremental shift and giving us time to management programme to help its line staff while improving reporting and plan how we will eventually move our rent people to manage change and understand accountability. In doing so, we took a leap accounting out of the legacy system. We where they fit in with our future vision; this of faith and moved away from the ‘budget- had an immediate need to capture our programme saw every member of staff holder block’ that so often frustrates a asset data in one system so we decided attend change workshops and a consistent smooth customer experience. Integrated Technology Solutions to Empower Social Housing Providers to buy an asset management system that set of messages delivered about our we could integrate with Dynamics for The anti-social behaviour and fraud tools rationale for change. customer-focused processes. In addition also went live in February. We designed Delivering amazing customer service is our we bought Microsoft Power BI and Azure these processes to ensure that the data we top priority and in only a few months we so that we can fulfil our vision of becoming already hold is used to populate automated have taken a huge leap towards achieving [email protected] a data-driven organisation. emails and letters; our staff can now simply our vision. Dynamics was an obvious choice for us send the communication out or add in Cloud & Core Services: because it gave us the flexibility we were additional details specific to the case. Debbie Chun is the IT programme 0845 643 0642 looking for and enabled us to build a manager at Wandle Housing. www.castletonplc.com www.housing-technology.com
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Moving to ‘compliance plus’ with IT
Stewart Davison, Business Development Director, Gas Tag
It’s probably one of the toughest the relevant Gas Safe qualifications to do more technology available to us when the work safely. ordering a pizza or taxi and often we’re times to be a social housing committed to old methods which lack Managing access and evidencing the transparency required to make sound provider so that’s why the housing attempts judgments. sector must evolve and embrace No access to a property is a frustratingly common issue and is estimated to cost the It’s not that we don’t ask the right technologies that can help meet sector over £500 million over the next ten questions, but it’s whether we ask them increased demands, alleviate day- years; each attempt costs around £50 and in the right environment to the right first-time access rates can be as low as 30 person. In academia, when any meaningful to-day pressures and ensure our per cent. But how do we know if the engineer research is conducted, there are measures tenants are safe. has actually attempted access? How do we taken to ensure that the respondent(s) know the best time to gain access? selected have no biases and are placed in a neutral environment that won’t influence Again, technology can provide the answer. When it comes to gas safety, we the response. need to avoid the trap of finding other Providers can use technology that will responsibilities that may be deemed to prove the engineers attempted access In any pressured work environment, be more pressing or urgent to deal with by time- and date-stamping, recording where our reputation is questioned, it’s because “gas looks after itself”. their location and demonstrating real-time almost a knee-jerk reaction for us to photographic evidence of the attempt. We protect ourselves and say that we know And rather than say the obvious thing can also use predictive analytics from data the answers, when the reality is that and explain that gas safety should be collected to make informed assumptions we sometimes don’t. Through applying an equally major consideration for all around the best times to reach tenants technology that can give us the assurance housing providers, perhaps the time is and avoid wasting time and effort on needed to give confident answers, we can now right to re-assess how things are missed appointments. prove that properties are safely maintained done when it comes to gas management? because we have the real-time evidence Driving positive engineer behaviour Remember, the social housing regulator to back it up. asks the sector to “think beyond statutory Each time an engineer visits a property compliance”. and completes work, without technology As the sector evolves and the management we can’t know for certain if the work challenges intensify, we need to be brave That’s why I would encourage every reader consistently met the required standards. and seek technologies that can simplify our to seek out technologies that improve Even if an engineer has the correct everyday working lives. efficiency, support best practice and take qualifications, there are still on-going I believe the phrase ‘transformation’ away some food for thought regarding industry-wide issues regarding poor insinuates that there is a lot of effort your current gas safety management workmanship. A ‘Which?’ consumer and a major overhaul involved, thus we process. report found that eight out of 10 qualified create mental barriers to procuring new engineers who conducted a regular Maintaining workforce standards technologies which are in actual fact a annual inspection failed to meet legal Whether outsourced or in-house, there fairly simple decision, often with minimal requirements. needs to be a process to ensure that effort for maximum output. visiting engineers have the correct To help tackle this issue, providers can We can’t say that technology will eliminate competencies and are qualified to implement systems which guide engineers all of the problems that we face as a complete work at the property. Research and standardise the process of servicing, sector, but the right technology can be by the Gas Safe Register finds that tenants with prompts to remember each action via used as a tool to help us do the absolute in the UK don’t tend to ask the engineer smartphones. All work can be stored in the best we can. After all, compliance is a for ID and as a consequence an estimated cloud, available for analysis at any time, journey, not a destination. 1.1 million illegal jobs are carried out helping providers to identify the areas for every year. improvement. Stewart Davison is the business development director at Gas Tag. Technology exists to help remove the Unlocking true compliance administrative burden of manually We need technology to understand where checking those credentials and, more we’re truly at when it comes to safety and importantly, verifies that the engineer has compliance. It could be said that we have
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18 | FINANCE MANAGEMENT
Financial dashboards – Using graphics to monitor and understand finance
Simon Musgrave, Director, Musgrave Analytics
Many organisations face the Key questions addressed by analytics challenge of communicating PAST PRESENT FUTURE What happened? What is happening now? What should happen? complex financial information to INFORMATION REPORTING ALERTS PLANS their board and other stakeholders. Why did it happen? What is the best action? What will happen? INSIGHT This is particularly important STATISTICAL MODELLING SCENARIO MODELLING FORECASTING given the need to understand risk in Working closely with key clients, especially VFM monitoring mergers and acquisitions as well as Together Housing Group, Musgrave The Social Housing Regulator requires Analytics has built up a suite of executive, each housing association to report their planning major developments and operational and analytical dashboards value for money ratios; to quote from the on-going operations. This article focused on providing everything from specific expectation (2.1d): “Registered high-level overviews to operational providers must demonstrate: [d] that they explores the use of interactive alerts and financial forecasts. This article have appropriate targets in place for graphics and dashboards to monitor explores the key elements of these tools. measuring performance in achieving value Dashboards and reports generally can for money in delivering their strategic performance and understand be directed at the past, present or future objectives, and that they regularly monitor complex risk scenarios. with a focus on information or insight, as and report their performance against these illustrated in the table above (adapted targets.” from ‘Analytics at Work’, Davenport et al, Management reporting focuses, Monitoring VFM ratios quite properly, on the accuracy of the 2010, p7). information. However, the requirements While we work with all types of content, of non-financial decision-makers to fully this article is focused on financial data. grasp financial performance are growing. A common client refrain is the desire to They need to be able to: see just ‘one version of the truth’ and in • Monitor the current status of VFM (value housing (as in most sectors) there can for money) ratios and loan covenants, often be a divergence between the data comparing them to historical levels, from finance and operational systems on external benchmarks and budgets. key issues such as rent collection, arrears, While there is a clear process to submit • Challenge corporate plans by running and repairs and maintenance. Divergence the VFM scores annually, the on-going high-level stress testing via ‘what-if’ may be the consequence of different monitoring doesn’t have any formal scenarios. timings and definitions as well as errors methods. With Together Housing, we in the data. It is important to ensure that developed a dashboard that makes In addition, they may also want to: data from all systems is as accessible it possible to demonstrate that this • Drill into the detail of expenditure codes, and understandable as possible so that expectation is addressed. The figure above displaying values over time, creating users know what they are looking at, can shows a display of the seven ratios. understand their relevance and grasp the alerts of budget variances and viewing The pink line is the actual value over the key messages promptly. standard reports such as monthly income current financial year, the grey line is the and expenditure. To this end, we have been working on budget. The grey shaded area is ‘golden • Ask detailed questions such as: is developing financial dashboards which rule’; in other words, the values that should performance good enough; is it as good seek to present complex data as simply not be reached and the dotted line near as it can be; is it actually changing, either and clearly as possible, using graphics that shows the trigger line, which indicates arbitrarily or in response to management wherever they are helpful. It is essential when planned contingencies are activated changes; and are there any particular to address the concerns of those key as the operational risks have become issues in the detail, for example in stakeholders who may not be financially acute. specific housing areas or teams, that trained, but who are deeply concerned To help monitor performance, there are might be missed in the high-level views? about the strategy and challenges facing also options to show benchmark values, their organisations. such as those from Housemark, a band www.housing-technology.com FINANCE MANAGEMENT | 19
Financial dashboards – Using graphics to monitor and understand finance Continued from previous page showing historic performance or simply board meetings to explore the impact of Graphical financial reporting the previous year’s values. any of the key risk factors on the VFM ratios.
In depth assessments - scenario The more data-literate board members modelling and forecasting expect to be able to interact with data in Going beyond simply monitoring, a board this way and these tools facilitate this. Live also needs to know what might happen scenario modelling requires a full financial in various circumstances. The regulator’s model in the background. In the example guidance is: “We have reinforced our above, this is done using R (the statistical expectation that boards take ownership computing language) which re-computes the right allows the user to see any number of their organisation’s stress testing and financial model as soon as a slider is adjusted. of series on a graph with a completely ensure they understand the impact of flexible time-horizon, as well as presenting A further advantage of using an economic cycles as well as one-off shocks data in a tabular form. environment like R is that sophisticated on their businesses.” forecasts can be generated that project Conclusion Real time scenario modelling time-series data into the future. Where Good analytics requires the merging of there are clear trends and seasonal multiple skills in IT, design, statistics, data patterns, the value of a series can be management and of course, the business projected with a good level of confidence. domain itself. This article argues that the design of good dashboards can make a Monthly reporting significant difference to the understanding While the board or senior executives of risk and the delivery of sound wish to monitor the main ratios or explore performance. the risks, the financial manager wants to ensure that they understand the current Simon Musgrave is a director of The objective of stress testing is to be data, and although accountants are Musgrave Analytics. able to understand the key risks and how obviously skilled at reading tables, using they interact. The figure above shows an graphics makes it easier to spot trends and interactive dashboard that can be used in anomalies. The screen in the figure to the
Mobile surveying – More than just data capture
Graeme Reid, Director, Hub Asset Management
In my other life as the owner During that time, our methods and freelance basis, being paid per survey. processes have developed to keep pace They are therefore very motivated by of a surveying company, we with changing requirements, housing productivity and the efficient use of their standards, data demands and the available time in each property. There is clearly a have completed a lot of stock technology. We started our survey work balance between ensuring that correct, condition surveys over the using paper forms that were manually accurate and robust data is being input into spreadsheets and evolved collected, inconvenience to the tenant past 15 years; probably around into using some software designed for is minimised and the surveyor is getting mobile data-capture running on a variety through the survey and out to the next 150,000 surveys spread across of hardware from Psion Workabouts property. Good survey design is therefore (remember them?) to 10” tablets. The crucial. every conceivable property problem with all of these data capture After trying various products, we decided solutions was that they were designed by type, and from remote island that the only way to get what we needed very clever developers who have clearly was to develop it ourselves and so Hub never spent a whole day on site using their communities to dense, city- Surveyor, the companion product to Hub own products. centre developments. Manager, was born and in doing so we Good condition surveyors are in high Continued on next page demand and, in many cases, work on a 20 | FINANCE MANAGEMENT
Mobile surveying – More than just data capture Continued from previous page have identified a number of key factors process the surveyor’s requests. means that you don’t need a large screen that differentiate the good from the bad. (see my earlier point) and can keep the We have seen several systems where surveyor focused on what they’re doing. surveyors have to make multiple taps to simply allow them to progress from one Survey management question to the next. In the above example, How do you manage your surveyors in if each of the 120 questions required two the field and make sure they have access further taps that’s an extra 12 minutes for to sufficient addresses to keep them every survey. Our surveyors complete an productive while retaining control over average of 10 surveys per day, so that’s an who has done what? extra two hours of a surveyor’s time that The data collection software needs to have could be better spent completing a further a survey management function to allow Size two or three surveys each day instead of you to assign survey types to particular Several providers in the sector have waiting for their software to keep up. So addresses and allocate these to individual developed data-capture tools to run on our advice is to design the structure of your surveyors. You need to be able to reassign tablets or laptops. While these may look survey template to minimise the number of addresses if a surveyor leaves or a new great in the office, anyone who has tried responses needed to navigate through the surveyor joins the team, and this needs to carrying one around with them for a day questionnaire and stop tapping! be done remotely. Surveyors need to be (let alone three weeks) while climbing Rules able to upload completed surveys and ladders, knocking on doors, measuring It’s important to keep in mind the purpose download new addresses without having room dimensions or just keying in data of the survey and that while we recognise to return to base and the survey manager with one finger will tell you that they are a the surveyor’s desire to progress efficiently needs to be able to monitor progress and pain – quite literally! and quickly, we need to be able to have data quality on a daily basis. They are too heavy and cumbersome, you rules, restrictions and protocols that ensure Once data has been returned and is sitting can’t put them in your pocket when you the survey is completed in the system, the survey manager needs need both hands (or when you’d rather fully and minimises the to be able to choose to sign off the data not been seen walking about carrying potential for rogue or as being ready and to publish it ready an expensive piece of hardware in your invalid data. for the end-user to access or to return it hand), and if you put them down, you Rules should guide the to the surveyor to amend or correct as need to remember to pick them up again. surveyor through the appropriate. This survey management tool Your data-capture software should run questionnaire, removing is a vital part of the survey system and it on a standard-sized smartphone; they are invalid response options needs to be as clear, simple and efficient light, easy to use, you can put them in your based on previous as the data capture process itself. pocket and most apps can be downloaded answers, alerting them to a surveyor’s own phone so you can Put yourself in their shoes to keyed responses reduce costs. And if you think the screen The next time you are considering sending outside expected ranges, ensuring they is too small to see all the information you out a team of surveyors to complete a can’t leave sections or surveys incomplete, want the surveyor to see, you’re showing condition survey, put yourself in their and making it clear as to where they are in them too much (more on that later). So shoes; no, really, put yourself in their shoes the survey in case they get distracted and trust me, size does matter! and go out for a day or two and spend have to come back to the survey. some time with your device and software Don’t keep tapping! Big bold colour schemes work well (Hub of choice and see if it works as well as you A typical condition survey might include highlights green for complete and red for think it does. It’s not always about shiny kit around 120 questions relating to incomplete – it’s not complicated!). The and clever graphics but more about how component specification, age, quantity, end result should be complete, clean and it does the job that you and the condition compliance and so on. Every time a accurate surveys requiring minimal post- surveyors want. surveyor selects a response or responds survey validation and cleansing, meaning you to a request on the survey template, they At Hub, we have developed a system can confidently use the data immediately. have to tap the screen. in collaboration with our surveyors, so Need to know basis we know Hub Surveyor works well, our Depending on the system being used and Keep the information you are sharing with surveyors like it and our clients get the the performance of the hardware device, the surveyor to only that which they need data they want. Many of our surveyors it may take around three seconds for the to know. The more information you present have worked extensively across the UK device to react to the screen tap. Each to the surveyor, the more cluttered the using other devices and systems and so time a surveyor is asked a question by the screen becomes and the greater the we know what is out there and we know device, they may have to chose from either scope for errors or confusion. the difference between the good, the bad a drop-down menu, key in a numerical and the downright ugly. response or scroll through a range of Structure your survey questionnaire to answers to choose a suitable response. present the information you want the Graeme Reid is a director of Hub If each of the 120 questions requires two surveyor to see in a simple and clear way Asset Management. taps of the device, that’s 720 seconds or 12 and avoid the temptation to add in fields minutes, waiting for the survey software to and data, just because you can. This also www.housing-technology.com PROMOTE YOUR JOB VACANCIES FOR FREE AND REACH HIGH-CALIBRE CANDIDATES WITH HOUSING TECHNOLOGY
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Low code & digital technology – Transforming tenants’ lives
Kathryn Downs, Director of Technology & Transformation, Midland Heart
In March 2019, Midland • Offer tenants choice in how they interact as WAN, LAN, WLAN, mobile and unified with us; communications. Heart had the brilliant • Involve our tenants to inform our decision Tenant engagement making. opportunity to share our Next, with the people, technologies and Trialling low code roadmap in place, we started to engage digital journey so far with Based on these principles, we set about with our tenants, establishing two panels peers from across the sector at assessing our options, including in- to gather their thoughts; one panel met house development. A few days later, a on a regular basis at our main office, the the Housing Technology 2019 prospective email dropped into my inbox, second was a virtual panel. We worked conference. introducing a low-code, rapid application with the group to understand what was development package, the headlines important to them, what features they of which broadly matched our success would like to see and how we could best Rewind to October 2017 and new to the criteria. Intrigued to learn more, we took launch the app. The group met regularly, sector from the world of retail, I was up the opportunity to trial the technology reviewed storyboards and early prototypes tasked with launching a portal for tenants for free. Over the next few weeks, and later provided testing and feedback. to manage their rents. As is the norm for we assessed a few technologies and Our tenant group has gone on to be digital our sector, we had identified a third-party different low code platforms, formulating champions, promoting the system to their solution that would provide a range of an approach and making the case for fellow residents. fixed functionality for our tenants, requiring introducing an internal team of software a significant investment in the software, Software development started in August developers and the procurement of low- plus the associated professional services 2018 and by November we had a viable code development software. for implementation, configuration and product and we were into the testing management of the project. Our research also highlighted that just phase. After a series of tests including introducing a portal didn’t guarantee security and accessibility, we went live However, several things were clear at success; we needed to digitally transform in late January 2019. Since then, we’ve this early stage; specifically, that existing our organisation at every level, bringing marketed the app via email to 1,000 suppliers lacked the flexibility and our colleagues on the journey with us, and tenants to learn lessons and understand responsiveness required to meet Midland transforming our technology services to trends. Early results show a 36 per cent Heart’s evolving technology needs, and deliver the change. take-up and 90 per cent repeat use, which tenants weren’t routinely involved in we expect will grow as marketing activities technology decisions. Our digital transformation programme increase and we begin to actively convert was born. Learning & inspiration tenants. The next stages of rollout will With this in mind, we decided to take Recruitment began to build our include promotion on our social media and some time to learn lessons from other technology team to find the software website as well as on rent statements to organisations, visiting social housing engineers, business intelligence be mailed out to customers later this year. organisations ahead of us in their digital developers and project managers Meanwhile, the software engineering team transformation, along with looking at other needed to help design and deliver our has moved on and launched a contact markets for inspiration. From this we drew new customer offer and introduce agile, management system for our customer hub up a series of criteria essential to making a iterative development practices. At the and will launch a colleague app in April success of our customer app. same time, we set about ensuring our 2019 – bringing with it the ability for those existing team was fully on board and we We needed to: in the field to report issues they see with had strong development plans in place. our properties, allowing Midland Heart to • Put our tenants first, not technology; provide a much more proactive service for • Find flexible solutions to meet tenants’ Thinking about the customer journey and our tenants. changing needs; communication touch-points, we identified • Have responsive processes to make a programme of changes required Seamless data flows change happen quickly; to deliver our digital transformation, All of our solutions are interconnected via • Have the right behaviours to successfully not just new apps for our tenants and a suite of micro-service APIs, allowing data transform our service; colleagues to use, but also investment to flow seamlessly between them and in our core enabling technologies such making change easy to effect. We have
www.housing-technology.com CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT | 23
Low code & digital technology – Transforming tenants’ lives Continued from previous page also linked the solution to our housing speed of our software development and manual processes associated with that, management system via the same micro- are now well placed to deliver low-cost, in turn freeing up time for staff to better services, ensuring we maintain a single responsive solutions to our business in the serve our tenants. 360-degree view of our tenants in order to coming years. Kathryn Downs is the director of provide a connected service. Next up is an online letting system that technology and transformation at will allow our tenants to view and apply Midland Heart. With low-code, we have quadrupled the for homes, while automating many of the
Digital agents and robotic process automation
Josh Ayres, Head of Emerging Technology, IP Integration
Although tenants can’t necessarily For example, when swapping out a system if a tenant wants to change their address or needing to access a new one, the digital and two systems need to be updated and choose their housing provider worker only needs to be shown where to a confirmation letter sent out, the chatbot when looking for somewhere to go. Consequently, big IT overhaul projects and the RPA system can work together, live, they do expect their landlord aren’t needed. with the chatbot gathering the tenant’s new information, which will then activate an Introducing chatbots – applications that to be able to deliver on all fronts, RPA process to manage all of the internal seek to replicate human agents – onto workflows. The tenant won’t be aware especially customer service. But websites who can answer routine FAQs, of this and will simply receive a friendly such as repair requests, will be beneficial how can housing providers’ contact confirmation message from the chatbot. As to both the tenant and contact centre. a result, the human agent wasn’t bothered centres keep up with tenants’ Chatbots can be assigned to complete with this simple query and can spend time ever-increasing expectations and simple tasks, such as retrieving tenant on a more complex call, and the tenant data and answering support queries, demands? And how can they resolve didn’t have to wait on the line. by drawing on a list of pre-constructed more complex queries while also answers or they can use AI and natural Better services making tenants feel that they are language processing (NLP) to ‘understand’ Adding automation also improves the level comments and questions from tenants. of service that is available. If human agents being heard and supported? don’t have to waste time on mundane Robotic process automation tasks, they can offer a more personal, Chatbots can also be integrated with an in-depth interaction with the tenant. Not A new way of meeting tenants’ demands RPA bot to handle more complex queries only will the tenant feel valued, and more While some housing providers have at a higher rate. Chatbots together with likely to forgive the odd mistake, but the already begun to explore the use of RPA – a type of application programmed agent will also feel more valued and more automation in customer service, with to complete certain menial software inclined to provide a better customer technologies such as ‘autodialers’ being tasks such as populating forms – create experience if they feel their efforts are used to help with repetitive tasks, there is a complementary technology pairing that being appreciated. Adding in KPIs and still more to be done. will help both the tenant and human agent, other reward incentives will ensure that with the chatbot forming an easy-to-use Helping call-centre agents by introducing agents feel they are being rewarded for front-end for the tenant that will trigger the the likes of digital agents, robotic process providing the very best customer service. automation (RPA) and chatbots will enable RPA bot to complete more complex tasks housing providers to offer integrated, in the background. When the tenant gets Making tenants happy not only saves multi-channel customer services. through to the agent, the repetitive tasks money, but by introducing digital agents to will already have been completed and contact centres, staff and tenants alike will Automating routine tasks for human the agent can focus on the more complex reap the benefits of a more efficient and agents and introducing the digital agent parts of the query. personalised experience where they feel comes with many benefits. valued and heard. Working behind the scenes The introduction of the digital agent This chatbot-RPA combination could even Josh Ayres is the head of emerging Introducing a digital agent is far more cost- solve the tenant’s query without them ever technology at IP Integration. effective than integrating systems. having to pick up the phone. For example, 24 | CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT
Creating trust & transparency in repairs
Paul Swannell, Housing Sector Specialist, Localz
The online revolution has service appointments drastically limits the they want real-time, relevant information levels of trust consumers feel towards that relates to their appointment, direct to introduced consumers to their landlord. their smartphone. a plethora of new instant, Building trust This includes several communication Trust is a critical ingredient in any touchpoints. Customers want to be connected services. Companies successful relationship, whether this is reminded and reassured that the such as Amazon, Deliveroo personal or with an organisation. Steve appointment will take place as and when Jobs once said, “A brand is simply they requested it, they want to know and Uber have created on- trust”. Trust is built on a just a couple of when the operative is due to arrive, to be demand, transparent and important ingredients; transparency and able to track this in real-time and they the fulfilment of promises. want a heads-up when the operative is connected experiences, approaching their property. Finally, they In other words, tell the customer what want a quick and convenient means of you are planning to do and when, and putting customers at the passing important information to the then make sure you do what you said operative without having to join a contact centre of their services, you were going to do. In the first few centre queue. and giving them control, interactions, and before absolute trust is earned and established, it’s helpful to let Rate your service reassurance, convenience and, the customer know what progress is being One of the key ingredients to successful overall, building trust. They made towards delivering on the promise; communication, and one that is often where things are up to, what’s going to forgotten, is the power of listening. are setting the benchmark happen next, and when. And when things Asking consumers to rate the service go wrong, keep the customer updated and they’ve received and provide feedback for all sectors and consumers let them know what to expect. If things are on it will lead to them feeling important, are beginning to expect the running late, the customer won’t mind so cared for and, if you respond in the right much if they are kept informed, so trust way, listened to. This is something that same level of service from will be maintained. Uber has done very well; by allowing consumers to rate their driver, it not only every organisation they deal In environments where interactions are leads to customers feeling heard but also frequent and where ‘promises’ can be with, including field service it enables Uber to improve the safety and fulfilled reliably and repeatedly, it could quality of its service. organisations. be argued that the need for transparency diminishes over time. The consumer gets So what is best practice in housing repairs used to the outcome always happening and how can transparency and trust be Impersonalised and inflexible services as expected; trust has already been supported? that don’t fit into customers’ routines are established. Good examples include having a profound impact on today’s • Provide customers with regular updates making a bank transfer, arranging a direct consumers. Research by Localz and throughout the appointment lifecycle, debit or receiving an Amazon Prime next- YouGov revealed a surprising 71 per triggered automatically by changes day delivery – they all ‘just happen’. But cent of respondents felt ‘physical and in job status: repair request logged, in environments where outcomes are emotional disturbance’ around scheduled appointment scheduled, reminders more difficult to predict, where precise appointments. A last-minute change to before and on the day of service. Many timings are tricky or variable, and where the time of an appointment or even an housing providers already offer these interactions are less frequent (such as on-the-day cancellation will cause a ripple notifications, but this is usually where in housing repairs), then transparency effect to the customer’s daily life. And things end. remains important throughout in order to even when a repair is successfully carried • Create the ultimate transparency by build trust over time. out within the scheduled appointment giving customers access to real-time window, the fact that most appointment So how do these principles apply to location tracking when the operative is on slots span four or five hours still leaves housing repairs? their way. the customer guessing about when to • Deliver accurate ETAs that take live traffic Once a customer has booked a repair and expect the operative’s arrival. This lack conditions into account and update ETAs has chosen a time that fits their schedule, of interaction and reassurance around if traffic conditions change. www.housing-technology.com CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT | 25
Creating trust & transparency in repairs Continued from previous page
• Automatically ask for feedback after the consumer is far more likely to be an Sanctuary Housing had been contacted every completed job and act on those advocate and ally. If they consistently in advance by some of its tenants, saying that are sub-optimal. Analyse feedback receive the service levels they expect, they had been approached by Dispatches by job and use the results to monitor and then they are more likely to be forgiving but would not be taking part. incentivise operatives’ performance. when things occasionally don’t go as Building trust and transparency in the • Make sure two-way communications are expected and are less likely to vent their delivery of repairs will help to swell the established, thereby making it easy for anger publicly or on social media. That ranks of such advocates, who are more customers to tell you and your operatives customer will be more on your side and likely to take the side of their landlord important information (without having to will ultimately become less expensive instead of denouncing them. There’s an join a call centre queue). to serve because they are less likely to even more clear-cut positive outcome • Automate delay notifications so raise complaints, less likely to call you from building trust and transparency and customers know if things are running late. for updates, more likely to keep their that’s the reduction in the cost to serve; • Provide contact centre staff with the ‘side of the bargain’ and will generally act customers are less likely to make calls same transparency and real-time responsibly and courteously. to check the progress/ETA and they tracking so they can give a consistent Customer advocates are more likely to be at home when the and reliable message if a customer still A good example of the importance of trust operative arrives. decides to call. in social housing is the recent ‘Dispatches’ Paul Swannell is a housing sector When trust is established and maintained television programme, ‘The new landlords specialist at Localz. in a business-to-consumer relationship, from hell’. It was heartening to read that
Manifest enables Greenfields’ digital tenancy sign-ups
In 2017, the business solutions team Software Solutions has made a significant Manifest Software Solutions were able to at Greenfields Community Housing and positive difference to both tenants and map out the key requirements for both our own staff.” internal and external stakeholders as well began a project to enable more agile as explore any limitations to the integration. Digitisation of the tenancy management working practices, particularly those Using MSS’s Universal Adapter toolkit, process has improved tenants’ experience Greenfields also tasked the consultancy relating to tenancy management; at many of the key touchpoints during the with taking the lead across the various for example, a review had identified process. With easier access to information vendors involved. that over 20 paper documents were online and the ability to sign up from their created, duplicated and manually own homes, initiating and completing Dave Carr, director, Manifest Software a tenancy agreement is far smoother. A solutions, said, “Our Universal Adapter filed for each tenancy. single point of contact and robust data provides seamless integration of data The main objective of Greenfield’s accuracy provides faster and simpler streams irrespective of source, via a single project was therefore to fully digitise its communications throughout the duration hub. We remain fiercely independent so end-to-end lettings process, ensuring of the tenancy. that we can work with all or any software legal compliance and 100 per cent data vendors to create bespoke solutions At the same time, Greenfields’ internal teams accuracy across all of the relevant systems. with rich functionality that help housing have benefited hugely from the project, Greenfields worked with the software providers to achieve their objectives, largely through time savings, with the integration consultancy Manifest Software regardless of scale or reach. lettings team alone saving the equivalent Solutions to create effective and accurate of a full day of one team member each “Client requirements often include complex flows of data between Greenfield’s housing week. 100 per cent data accuracy across integration of legacy applications as well as management system and its EDRM and all systems, including pre-populated forms newer web-based services. Trying to bring mobile applications. where possible, reduces data-input errors together technology of different ages, and Emma Palmer, chief executive, Greenfields and duplication of effort, while information from a variety of suppliers isn’t easy, but it is Community Housing, said, “At Greenfields, gathering in real time and greater visibility possible. Now we know that it can be done, we’re always on the lookout for innovative across all departments contribute to what’s important is to ensure that it’s also ways to improve services while finding smoother operational workflows. accessible to organisations of all sizes in efficiencies. The excellent work carried out terms of project length and price point, and Through close collaboration with by our business solutions team, support our independence from specific vendors is Greenfields’ business solutions team, and front-line staff together with Manifest an important part of achieving that.” 26 | CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT
Housing Solutions takes to AI A new community engagement app for housing organisations
Richard Harvey, Head of IT, Housing Solutions
Housing Solutions has embarked possible a more mobile workforce and homes, with a target of doubling our wi-fi digitally-engaged customer base. offering to our tenants this year. There is a on a first-of-its-kind project, video of our solution here: castletonplc. The connected data environment has t ca com/news/housing-solutions-ai-video. introducing AI technology via improved collaboration and access to the Amazon Alexa into tenants’ homes. right data at all times so that our staff can As part of our digital strategy, we have work seamlessly from anywhere. We’ve updated our website by researching users’ This is a revolutionary customer transferred all of our paper forms so that behaviours via Google Analytics and Hot Jar Engage first, empower second self-service platform, developed they can be signed digitally, eliminating as well as gathering tenant feedback from double-handling and duplication of work our service improvement team meetings. The importance of building sustainable communities and driving alongside Castleton Technology. and automating repetitive tasks. We have As a result, we have brought our housing high levels of community engagement was a key theme at the provided all mobile staff with lightweight, transfer system online in recent months and recent Housing Technology event and features heavily in the Our new ‘digital IT’ strategy, approved portable Microsoft Surface devices that we’ve now added a live-chat option to our government’s recent paper titled “A new deal for social housing”. earlier this year, was driven by Housing are connected to our back-office systems website so that tenants have the option of Solutions’ organisational objective to so that any notes made while out of the accessing help via their Alexa device rather A number of recent studies have shown that effective community support our tenants. Following feedback office are automatically uploaded. than having to call to our contact centre. engagement benefits all parties concerned, but getting communities from them and an independent survey, Adding Alexa skills More self-service to engage is difficult. we recognised the ongoing need to focus The IT team has really raised the bar We have vastly improved our self-service on ways to increase efficiency, particularly Traditional social media platforms are often used as the “goto” by thinking of how they could perform portal with the help of Prodo Digital to through investment in new IT systems, vehicle for engaging with communities and are still very popular better and what new services they make it more accessible as the ‘go to’ to underpin the strides we’ve made in for advertising. However, a growing number of people feel could introduce. For example, tenants option for day-to-day interactions, such as improving customer satisfaction. like the flexibility of omni-channel booking appointments or checking a rent uncomfortable sharing their thoughts on these public platforms, and organisations that use them to connect with communities barely Desktop-as-a-service communications, so we entered into an balance; this has resulted in our online Our in-house IT team needed to ensure innovative and exciting collaboration transactions increasing three-fold. reach 10% of the intended audience with their communications. that the infrastructure supported growth, with Castleton. We have adopted the ‘AI In an age when customers can access Our solution so they investigated the options that would manager with Amazon Alexa skill’ which vast amounts of information instantly, support channel shift. Their findings meant enables tenants to access our portal using it’s fundamental to a housing provider’s We’ve teamed up with the experts at Disciple Media, to bring their community media platform to the migrating our core systems into a single voice commands on their Alexa device. success that they become truly digital housing sector and help organisations meet the challenges of community engagement. solution on a private cloud platform hosted The self-service AI platform allows tenants which is why we’ve made online the first by Castleton Technology. This has helped to ask routine requests, such as balance choice for our customers, enabling them You get your own-branded app with many of the good features you would expect to find in leading social us to transform our traditional IT set-up, with details, and log repairs and update their to access our services at a time and place media platforms, but it’s private for you and your community members and all content is completely under its on-site solution managed by an internal personal information. In preparation for convenient to them. your control. It’s easy to use and extremely quick to deploy, providing a great way to promote meaningful IT team, into a future-proof desktop-as-a- this service and to make sure that AI community engagement and collaboration. service (DaaS) infrastructure. This will remain Richard Harvey is head of IT at Housing is available for our tenants, we made fit-for-purpose for years to come and makes Solutions. extensive wi-fi provision across 500 of our All this is rounded off with a wealth of analytics on membership, content, poll results and device usage etc. so that you can measure the effectiveness of your engagement initiatives. The platform can be used to support any type of community and is in live use supporting pop group fan bases (including the Rolling Stones), sports organisations, politicians, clubs and village communities. Kirona bought by Advanced Commercial organisations are also using it for their staff as an alternative to other intranet technologies.
Advanced has bought Kirona, Although 80 per cent of its revenue comes from social housing, Kirona also has expertise itica community insight powered by in central and local government, infrastructure, retail, utilities and healthcare, with customers Want to have a look? the field-based workforce and including Balfour Beatty, Carpetright and North Lanarkshire Council. Kirona’s partner Please get in touch for a demonstration. resource scheduling software network includes Aareon, Civica, Northgate, BT and Vodafone alongside Capita and Orchard as housing partners shared with Advanced. provider. The acquisition Gordon Wilson, CEO, Advanced, said, “We’ve been very clear about our plans to become a Focus on what matters most with itica is intended to strengthen leader in vertically-aligned ERP software, both organically and through acquisitions. Kirona Wellington House, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1BH Advanced’s ERP capabilities. is a highly respected, strong performing brand in workforce management and represents a Telephone: 01223 393 539 Email: [email protected] Web: www.itica.com good opportunity to bolster our existing ERP capabilities.” www.housing-technology.com A new community engagement app for housing organisations
t ca
Engage first, empower second The importance of building sustainable communities and driving high levels of community engagement was a key theme at the recent Housing Technology event and features heavily in the government’s recent paper titled “A new deal for social housing”. A number of recent studies have shown that effective community engagement benefits all parties concerned, but getting communities to engage is difficult. Traditional social media platforms are often used as the “goto” vehicle for engaging with communities and are still very popular for advertising. However, a growing number of people feel uncomfortable sharing their thoughts on these public platforms, and organisations that use them to connect with communities barely reach 10% of the intended audience with their communications.
Our solution We’ve teamed up with the experts at Disciple Media, to bring their community media platform to the housing sector and help organisations meet the challenges of community engagement. You get your own-branded app with many of the good features you would expect to find in leading social media platforms, but it’s private for you and your community members and all content is completely under your control. It’s easy to use and extremely quick to deploy, providing a great way to promote meaningful community engagement and collaboration. All this is rounded off with a wealth of analytics on membership, content, poll results and device usage etc. so that you can measure the effectiveness of your engagement initiatives. The platform can be used to support any type of community and is in live use supporting pop group fan bases (including the Rolling Stones), sports organisations, politicians, clubs and village communities. Commercial organisations are also using it for their staff as an alternative to other intranet technologies.
itica community insight powered by Want to have a look? Please get in touch for a demonstration.
Focus on what matters most with itica Wellington House, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1BH Telephone: 01223 393 539 Email: [email protected] Web: www.itica.com 28 | CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT
Digital transformation starts with identity
Stuart Young, Managing Director, Etive Technologies
What is digital identity? part of this, we will always look to take Customers want a way to repeatedly advantage of new and current solutions access online services in a fast, simple and technologies as they evolve. The and secure way. Housing providers, local world of digital identity is a key part of authorities and government want to any digital service meaning that DWP, in give customers quick access to online line with our general approach, will look services to support digital transformation to explore a range of solutions across the and engagement, improve social and spectrum of identity and trust, known as economic inclusion, reduce customer the ‘pantry’ approach.” are also the most disadvantaged by this friction and reduce service delivery costs. technological shift to online services. We need to implement solutions that Yet how do you support the ‘thin-file’ reduce the friction people experience customer and/or the digitally excluded? Tower Hamlets Council is working on a when trying to access multiple online project to use assured identity aligned to The solution is to create a single legal services. However, different suppliers to Gov.uk’s Verify service as a single trusted identity that enables a one-off customer the public sector have their own ways of verification to access its services. verification. This requires a single, trusted, authenticating customers and we have our reusable and secure identity that is owned The first services are tackling housing own internet access management (IAM) and controlled by the customer. and homelessness, employment and solutions. These have varying levels of education through an initiative called authenticaion and security which create And digital transformation? Workpath, and benefits and UC, helping to frustration and conflict for customers. How All organisations are digitally transforming tackle poverty. Standards implemented by many different authentication details and the way they deal with customers. Early Gov.uk’s Verify are the only legal standard processes do we expect our customers digital strategies focused on reducing of digital identity; creating one assured to use when accessing online services? the amount of paper used and moving identity helps reduce the friction people It creates complexity for customers and towards digital transactions. These experience when accessing multiple higher costs for housing providers. activities are based on one-to-one services using multiple access points and transactions and authentications. Towards a single assured identity authentication details. A reliable solution An important part of the solution is a Now, however, customers expect to be for online identity will make the delivery customer-centric approach, where the digitally recognised and expect to be of these services more efficient for the customer has a single assured identity. A able to use multiple devices. Combined council and more streamlined for their customer can use their assured identity with with this is the exponential growth in customers, supporting greater digital one set of credentials to access housing, technologies built around the principles of inclusion. local authority and government services. As the internet of things (IoT) and ubiquitous This project is being led by Etive a result, this means that housing providers, connectivity. Technologies working with the local authorities and government agencies This creates huge amounts of data around Government Digital Service (GDS), the must work together because they are all customers’ needs which give organisations Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), serving the same customers. an immense picture of their customers. the Post Office and Mvine to create a Previous work by Etive, GDS and Tower This requires knowing who your customer generic and trusted standard of identity for Hamlets on the implementation and actually is, building the single customer the public sector. adoption of a single assured identity, view and one entry point to services. The Verify legal standard of identity identified a wide range of benefits. Consequently, digital identity is emerging Gov.uk’s Verify is a secure way to prove as the lynchpin of digital transformation. Giving customers the ability to control and who you are online, and using other manage their own information helps to The ‘thin-file’ customer sources of data, we can create a trusted improve digital inclusion, empowerment and A thin-file customer is a person who lacks Verify identity, enabling customers to customers’ online journeys. Putting consent the basic fundamentals to confirm their access services. A Verify identity can at the centre ensures that customers can identity – a passport, driving licence and be used to access many government manage who they share their information credit file. These customers are the most services, such as DWP benefits. with, when it is shared and ensure GDPR vulnerable in society, in greatest need of The DWP said, “We are intent on ensuring compliance. The organisational benefits of support and often the highest and most that we provide modern, secure and easy- this include reducing the ICT, security and frequent users of public services. They to-access digital services for citizens. As integration costs associated with running www.housing-technology.com CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT | 29
Digital transformation starts with identity Continued from previous page multiple systems which lack interoperability. Evidence confirms that there are many cost You can now sign a mortgage document savings to be realised across the adoption of using a Verify identity, apply for a passport or Our previous work demonstrated that a a single, trusted and federated approach to driving licence or get a DBS check. metropolitan council with a population of identity. 275,000 people will help to make savings of An assured government digital identity over £16 million over five years, comprising Social and economic structures of our increases convenience for the customer, £4.4 million on identity assurance, £2.5 million society reduces friction for accessing online on eligibility checking and £9.8 million on Digital identity also has implications for services, enhances the control of identity service delivery (note: these savings don’t improving economic and financial inclusion. and data, and will improve the process of include the costs incurred by housing digital transformation. Current work in the financial sector, using providers who duplicate the same work). open banking, is assessing ways in which Quite simply, a digital identity is now a pre- Tackling fraud is another issue. It’s estimated a single identity will enable financially- requisite to taking part in the social and that fraud costs the public sector £7.3 billion excluded people to use their verified identity economic structures of our society. per year, of which 52 per cent is related to to fully engage with financial services. This Stuart Young is the managing director of identity fraud. According to figures from would enable financially-excluded people to Etive Technologies. Network Homes, “tenancy fraud is thought open a basic bank account. to cost UK housing providers and local authorities around one billion pounds per year.”
Sovereign’s digital transformation with PowerObjects
Sovereign Housing has recently Microsoft-first organisation, and Dynamics service resources to each customer 365 promotes ‘configuration over code’. case, enabling it to get the right operative started a digital transformation Sam Dart, head of digital technology at the right time to its tenants while strategy based on PowerObjects’ services, Sovereign Housing, said, “We’ve ensuring that Sovereign has a clear deployment of Microsoft 365. been impressed with PowerObjects’ view of when, where, how and why it is extensive experience and capability when scheduling its resources. configuring and deplying Dynamics 365. Sovereign’s business case for digital Christian Dignance, CRM product owner Throughout our procurement process, transformation was built on three pillars. for tenancy management, Sovereign we’ve always felt that PowerObjects The first was around the strategic Housing, said, “PowerObjects are an really understood what we’re trying to do direction and aspirations Sovereign had extremely capable partner. They’ve and articulated how they would help us for a modern technology platform to given me confidence that they can reach our goals.” better serve its tenants, the second was a deliver the vision that we’ve set out, and better understanding of what its tenants Sovereign started its implementation together, I think we’ll deploy something actually needed from a omni-channel with its sales and marketing, contact extraordinary with Dynamics 365.” perspective and the third was around centre and tenancy management teams, gaining a 360-degree view of its tenants including the use of Dynamics 365’s AI by capturing and presenting all tenant capabilities to manage tenancy requests interactions in one place. and deliver personalised services, introduce online self-service and triage After recent mergers, Sovereign had cases coming into its contact centres. ‘inherited’ different ways of working within numerous legacy systems and In particular, to change the way it therefore wanted to reach one consistent delivers tenancy management services, way of working, and consequently a Sovereign needed to schedule its single technology platform, across housing officers centrally. Through all of its regions. Dynamics 365 was Dynamics 365 and specifically its Field chosen primarily because Sovereign is a Service module, Sovereign can link its 30 | FEATURE ARTICLE
Housing mergers and acquisitions – where does IT fit in?
Housing Technology interviewed housing experts from Clearview Systems, Itica, Northgate Public Services, Torus Group and Vantage Business Solutions on the role and impact of technology on housing providers’ mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Existing technologies as M&A drivers solid foundations needed to then realise merger takes place, that complexity will Although technology is fundamental the merger’s intended goals. double (at least at first), so making small to housing providers’ operations, for tactical additions to solve specific issues John Doughty, director, Itica, said, “In any providers involved in a merger or will not generate efficiencies. terms of IT infrastructure, M&As are an acquisition, technology is unlikely to be the excellent opportunity to look closely at your Clearview’s Hobart said, “Aligning the IT main catalyst but it is very likely to have hosting and cloud services which could strategy of two organisations takes time. profound downstream effects both during provide good economies of scale for the Both organisations might have the same and after the merger. newly-formed organisation. Infrastructure housing management system but that Liz Haworth, chief operations and monitoring and exploration tools can be doesn’t mean they have implemented them transformation officer, Torus, explained, used to stress-test the performance of the in the same way, are on the same release or “When Torus was formed in 2015, we did existing networks and hosting environments have pursued the same updates policy.” a widespread IT review to standardise to identify bottlenecks and weaknesses that Itica’s Doughty said, “When each systems across the new group and enable will need to be addressed. And as part of orgnaisation has a different set of ‘best the integration of its operations. While this the due diligence process, assess whether of breed’ systems then consolidation didn’t drive the merger, the basis of the you already have the skills in-house to will require careful thought, with the business case was to create efficiencies in migrate systems or if you’ll need help from prospect of temporary interfaces and order to improve the customer experience, external suppliers and other specialists.” integration being needed between most strengthen financial resilience and build Haworth from Torus said, “I’m not sure if of the components. One of the biggest more homes. As a part of that, IT is a key IT makes mergers easier, but it is critical barriers here is a lack of standards-based driver for transformation, as the enabler for to the integration process. Technology integration for processes and data.” integration and efficiency.” is key if you want to move to a common Which post-merger systems? Northgate Public Services’ director of operating model with common policies Regarding the choice of post-M&A systems, housing solutions, Trevor Hampton, said, and processes and integrated teams. For Hampton from Northgate said, “If one “The driver for most M&As is finance example, at the start of Torus, the call organisation is much bigger than the other rather than technology. Ultimately, it’s centre teams had two screens, depending in terms of stock and employees then that about creating greater efficiencies and on which landlord the call concerned; IT may be the deciding factor. Alternatively, delivering more social value; things like integration enabled us to have one screen one organisation might have invested more IT infrastructure are secondary to those by creating ‘a single version of the truth’. in its technology and has a very modern considerations.” Integrating data is critical to this and to system that works well whereas the other realising the planned efficiencies faster.” Clearview Systems’ managing director, organisation might have much older Mark Hobart, said, “Given the investment in Navigating the ‘best of breed’ minefield systems that are expensive to maintain and IT by all parties in a merger or acquisition, Northgate’s Hampton said, “An overall look nearing the end of their useful lives. the opportunity to cherry pick best practice at IT is the best way forward because it “It’s a more difficult decision when the two from the combined IT estate would have allows you to streamline processes and organisations are of a similar size and both to feature highly in decision making. It may standardise on a few systems that manage have good IT systems. In that instance, you also be the case that ‘best practice’ doesn’t the majority of the work. The problems have to think about which of the systems necessarily come from the acquiring arise when IT is considered as a tactical are the most scalable and flexible.” housing provider.” tool rather than used in a strategic way; it’s the ‘encounter a problem and add another IT factors to consider Smoothing the path system’ approach to IT development. For When asked about the most important IT Technology tends to play a more prominent example, a typical housing provider might factors to consider during M&A activities, role once M&A decisions have been made have 150 separate applications to maintain Itica’s Doughty said, “Just some of the as a means of making the actual merger for specifc business areas, so when a things to determine are: the costs of easier and faster, as well as providing the www.housing-technology.com | 31
‘novating’ IT/service agreements to a delivery and leading the transformation couldn’t answer tenants’ questions. You new legal entity; the different types of programme; the rationale for setting up will always have teething problems but licensing agreements, applicable costs, my role was to ensure that it’s all linked the more you test and pre-empt those terms, renewal dates, notice periods together. For each workstream, someone problems, the better.” and any cancellation fees; a map of all from IT, communications, data, finance and Northgate’s Hampton said, “I would interfaces and integration points between organisational development are working in recommend picking, say, five champions each component and/or third parties; the the business and supporting the teams in at a management level from each data migration requirements to/from the how they deliver the change.” organisation and bringing them together as different components; and any data-quality Business as usual or a blank piece of an independent team that’s part of the new assessments.” paper? identity. This way, they lose their allegiance Northgate’s Hampton said, “The most Is the M&A process a good opportunity to their old organisations and become important thing is to focus on the quality to add new IT services and/or start with a ambassadors for the new one. of your data; quality issues in the data will ‘blank sheet of paper’ or should ‘business “Share IT best-practice between the two multiply when you bring the two entities as usual’ take priority? Hampton from organisations, ensure that IT is represented together. Also make sure that the IT Northgate said, “In an ideal world, one on the executive board, have clear 30, 60, systems are efficient, reduce the number would start with a blank sheet of paper 90 and 180 day plans from the start and of systems used where possible, and take but the challenge is that it then takes three from a communications perspective, make the opportunity to move to the cloud if you to five years to build and realise a new IT sure that all communications technology haven’t already done so – that alone can vision. In the meantime, you would have to is in place from day one so the two offer you huge cost-savings in the long run.” run two separate organisations under the organisations can collaborate and share same banner and you wouldn’t see any Business and IT alignment documentation.” immediate benefits. When considering how housing providers M&A pitfalls should align their new business operations, “Set out your vision and strategy but don’t When thinking about the most common culture and staffing requirement with IT, forget your day-to-day ‘business as usual’ technology pitfalls associated with M&As, Vantage Business Solutions’ operations responsibilities – you have to continue to Itica’s Doughty said, “By far the biggest director, Rob Bryan, said, “You cannot deliver high levels of service to tenants ‘gotcha’ is data quality, particularly with de-link these things. IT is a key enabler of throughout the merger at the same time as legacy housing management systems. change but to get the most out of it, it must working towards your longer-term vision.” While these systems are often described be part of a wider integration programme. Clearview Systems’ Hobart said, “Priority as ‘cumbersome’, they are in fact usually The challenge for many organisations is should be given to processes that are highly configurable through parameters, that their IT capabilities are moving faster underperforming. Either adopt the system codes, switches and other elements. than their operational capabilities. While that works or, if neither party’s systems This often leads to data fields being this represents an opportunity for IT to drive work well enough, implement a new one, repurposed or ‘local’ configurations being innovation, the pace has to be aligned. taking the opportunity to combine forces created to cope with a particular tenant or “For example, robotic process automation and make efficiencies where possible.” property situation or to circumvent a lack offers a great opportunity to streamline of functionality in a particular area. These Vantage Business Solutions’ Bryan said, processes, but there’s little point in issues will take time to fix, but resolving “The question of business as usual versus automating ineffective processes or if key data-quality issues and increasing data a fresh start will depend on the wider staff don’t appreciate how technology can governance will pay dividends in the strategy of whether each organisation free up time and drive greater efficiency. long term.” wants a period of ‘getting to know each “IT needs a board-level presence; the other’ or whether they decide to ‘jump Clearview’s Hobart said, “An over- amounts of money being spent on IT and straight in’. If they choose the former then arching pitfall to be aware of is making housing providers’ reliance on technology that provides an opportunity to re-shape assumptions about the intended benefits to deliver change perhaps warrants a re- a new model that is better than either of arising from M&A activities that simply think. Could the savings generated from the existing systems and services. If it’s aren’t achievable because IT teams merging other key board roles free up the the latter then often the ‘stronger’ of the weren’t consulted at an early juncture. funds for an IT champion on the board?” two parties will subtly insist that the new More specifically, a crucial first step partner adopts their existing systems, is to ensure the correct alignment of Itica’s Doughty said, “The important thing which may not necessarily achieve the information management, data quality is to make sure that the IT transition is best long-term results.” and compliance initiatives.” a proper programme of projects and recognised as such with clearly-stated ‘Day one’ operations… Torus’s Haworth said, “A lack of buy-in, a business outcomes, fully supported by all How do you achieve smooth operations lack of testing and failing to pay attention levels of the new organisation and wrapped from ‘day one’? Haworth from Torus said, to the data – these things really matter.” with appropriate governance. Whatever “Testing is key, as is implementing the Housing Technology would like to the direction of travel, the key element change in a systematic way. We moved thank Mark Hobart (Clearview Systems), is to carry out comprehensive capability from 27 systems to seven and went live John Doughty (Itica), Trevor Hampton diagnostics to identify gaps that must with them all in just one day. This had an (Northgate Public Services), Liz Haworth be filled in order to ensure the effective impact on performance and people and (Torus) and Rob Bryan (Vantage Business alignment of business and IT.” there were lessons to be learned; for Solutions) for their editorial contributions example, we couldn’t give tenants accurate Torus’s Haworth said, “My role includes to this article. rent balances and our contact centre staff IT, organisational development, frontline 32 | MOBILE WORKING
Extending Microsoft Dynamics – Going Mobile
Andrew McCormick, Managing Director, RedkiteCRM
In the March issue of Housing the Microsfot Mobile App. The security that are designed to integrate with features that usually come with these apps Dynamics by default and apps that offer Technology, I wrote about how feature encrypted SQL databases, device connectors to back-end systems but don’t Microsoft Dynamics can be tracking and remote wipe options. connect to Dynamics out-of-the-box. The integration of these latter apps will need Security is probably a more important extended to tenant self-service to be custom developed, which isn’t a consideration to administrators than to problem in itself, but solutions with native portals; in this article I will discuss the average user who will be far more integration will be far more functionally interested in how easy it is to use. Some how Microsoft Dynamics can be rich than the alternatives when it comes organisations who have successfully to replicating Dynamics functionality. Also extended to mobile devices. implemented a mobile solution often when Microsoft introduces enhancements report that their mobile staff prefer to to Dynamics, those changes will inevitably There is an increasing emphasis in the use their mobile device rather than the filter through into any application that is housing sector on flexible working, standard interface when using Microsoft designed to work with Dynamics out-of- whether this is because there is more Dynamics, and indeed this is one of the-box, so the safe bet for implementing face-to-face interaction with the tenant or the indicators of a highly-successful a mobile solution is to either use the out- whether there is more home working or implementation. of-the-box application or purchase one perhaps a combination of both of these The right core implementation designed to work with Dynamics. things. Whatever the reason, the overall How do you ensure that whatever mobile trend is towards more flexibility as housing As with any project, data is often the solution you decide to implement is staff spend less and less time in the office. hardest area to get right, but when easy to use? First things first, the basic This trend necessitates that the systems implementing a mobile solution, there are Dynamics system should be optimally that mobile workers use on a daily basis some unique challenges. For example, if configured because if there are any must be mobile-enabled. there is lots of data in Dynamics that needs inherent issues with the underlying to be replicated to the mobile device, Microsoft Dynamics is fortunate in that Dynamics core implementation, such data usage and therefore data costs will there are many options available out- as missing functionality, missing data or inevitably increase so there needs to be a of-the-box or as add-on solutions that structural problems with the tables, these balance between managing data usage provide this level of mobile flexibility. problems will inevitably be replicated onto and making sure that the user has enough But before deciding to go mobile with the mobile device and will have an impact information on their device to do their work. Dynamics there are a number of factors on usability. I have often seen projects to consider, such as functionality, ease halted because of such issues, when there Golden rules of integration and device suitability. But is a dawning realisation by the business When it comes to configuring your mobile probably the most important element of that the functionality or data needed on integration, there are a few golden rules. any mobile implementation is security. the mobile device is simply not there in Firstly, less is more. Being ruthless with the Dynamics. information available on the screen means Securing the app that there is less unnecessary scrolling and When a mobile worker is out and about Assuming you have optimised Dynamics, moving from screen to screen and, of course, using their mobile device, the risk that the next step is to select the right mobile less data is synchronised when changes are the device could be lost or stolen is app for your business processes – the made which minimises data usage. far higher than for the average office out-of-the-box solution may be perfect worker. Fortunately there are a number of for your requirements now but will it be in Secondly, let everyone decide on the type Microsoft solutions, such as Intune (with the future? There are other apps on the of device they want to use, I realised how multi-factor authentication), that can be market that are much more functional, important this was during a workshop used to secure the data for any mobile secure and user-friendly than the out-of- when there was a divide between older application linked to Dynamics. These the-box version, but does your business and younger members of the housing solutions can also be used in tandem need all those extra benefits? And, of team who were testing the solution. with other third-party, non-Microsoft course, highly-functional software tends to The younger team were particularly applications but generally speaking, out- come with a price tag. enthusiastic about having the solution on of-the-box security for some of the leading their mobile phones whereas the older Non-Microsoft mobile apps third-party mobile apps tends to be more members of staff were in favour of tablets If looking at non-Microsoft mobile apps, robust than that which is available with then there are broadly two types; apps www.housing-technology.com MOBILE WORKING | 33
Extending Microsoft Dynamics – Going Mobile Continued from previous page
because the screen size made reading mobile device – whatever mobile solution In summary, if you’ve done everything and viewing information easier. you choose, check that it is compatible, right during the implementation stage, at the bare minimum, with the phone’s the biggest challenge you will face will Finally, think about other integrations; functionality. For instance, make sure that be getting users to use the desktop app for example, if Dynamics integrates with you can make calls direct from the app, again. SharePoint for document management that there’s in-built integration to maps and then the mobile apps should integrate with Andrew McCormick is managing director therefore route planning, and integration SharePoint too. Also consider the existing of RedkiteCRM. with the camera to allow photos to be apps and functionality available on the automatically linked to a record.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Digital agents and robotic process automation
Harold de Neef, Group Director for Cloud, Civica
Cloud technology and adoption is are helping organisations to gain valuable organisations are looking for ways to insights into their customers and making reduce costs while continuing to drive growing rapidly, with many experts their businesses more customer-centric. innovation. Put simply, the cloud is a predicting that 50 per cent of the In the case of Durham County Council, cost-efficient investment that enables UK enterprise software market will by moving to Civica’s cloud-based Cx housing providers to reinvest savings back software, the council has improved real- into their businesses and build better- be delivered via a cloud-hosted, time service delivery while also tailoring connected and safer communities for all. communications with citizens based on software-as-a-service (SaaS) model The cloud’s reliability, scalability and their individual needs and interests. within two years, double today’s efficiency means that organisations can Cloud is a culture change consistently meet their tenants’ needs figure. With cloud underpinning The ability to adapt to sudden change is without increasing costs. When replacing deeper business intelligence, crucial in today’s digital world. Adopting an on-premise solution, the benefits of improved service outcomes and cloud-based solutions will require a certain the cloud for customer outcomes are amount of flexibility and adaptability on the indisputable. But without the technical being more secure and greener than part of housing providers, so that both staff expertise in place, housing providers before, now is the time for housing and tenants can drive true value from the should look for a trusted partner to technology. For many organisations, this support them along their cloud journey, providers to reap the benefits. is an opportunity for reworking processes to navigate the complex cloud landscape and reframing approaches to work. and ensure that they really drive true value from their cloud implementation. Enabling technologies This should be considered as a unique Most housing providers aren’t ready to chance for organisations to create With so many public-service organisations migrate everything to the cloud, but they a culture shift, focused on driving now unable to afford the cost of old should already be focusing on building continuous innovation and an ever- technology, aligned with higher security a vision for the journey. Cloud solutions stronger dedication to customer service. and compliance standards and keeping offer a springboard from which housing The cloud has the potential to further pace with tenants’ expectations, providers can test technologies such enable a truly dynamic, flexible culture embracing cloud technologies is the as automation and artificial intelligence, within housing providers, which can only only rational choice; providing the pushing innovation further to drive better lead to more success and improved scalability critical to growing and evolving experiences for their tenants. For example, customer satisfaction. organisations. chatbots are delivering lasting benefits for companies by providing accurate 24/7 Finding the best partners Harold de Neef is the group director for availability. Elsewhere, data analytics tools Both public- and private-sector cloud at Civica. 34 | INFRASTRUCTURE
Salix Homes is ‘rethinking housing’
Sarah Henderson, Head of Business Services, and Chris Henry, ICT Manager, Salix Homes
We live in a 24/7 world, with a staff have the foundations to support the with chatbot diagnosis and a UX-focused services we offer. interface to mirror the offering from culture of immediacy where people e-commerce platforms that consumers These technologies will allow us to offer have come to expect. Removing the expect things yesterday. The days of fully-digitised services to our residents, friction and legacy processes from our from an Uber-style repairs platform to a successful business operating from repairs and maintenance services has smart home-sensor technologies, and been a difficult yet necessary step in being nine to five are over. increase our ability to deliver significant able to deliver this, and marks our next business transformation projects. step on our rethinking housing journey. The digital revolution and the rise of social- Azure also allows us to achieve our digital While it may be too early to quantify media platforms have burst into people’s ambitions and innovate our services. the impact on improved services and lives, creating this ‘always on’ culture, The platform enables us to support our processes, it isn’t over-exaggerating making it possible to reach customers, and investment into emerging technologies to say that the new infrastructure will for them to reach us, with just a few taps of such as IoT, AI and machine learning as facilitate improvements across the their phone at any time of day or night. well as large-scale data analysis with business; we anticipate an increase in lower overheads than a traditional on- But shackled by old IT legacies and digital transactions; processes for staff premise environment. systems infrastructures, the housing sector and customers will be streamlined has failed to keep up, prompting us at Salix And it doesn’t stop there. In a world of and improved; and data-informed Homes to challenge ourselves and the data hacking, ransomware and GDPR, our communications will be smarter and more sector to do things differently. resilience to cyber-crime is now tighter targeted. than ever. In 2018, Salix Homes set out our ambitions For Salix Homes, rethinking housing to ‘rethink housing’ in order to meet To put it simply, this has been the single goes beyond technology. We’ve been customers’ needs and expectations in the biggest ICT project we have achieved and applying the same principle of ‘doing new world. it was fundamental to our plans to rethink things differently’ across all of our services, Our history has been far from straight- our services and finally sever our last ties thinking beyond the realms of what’s gone forward, nor immune from external factors, to our old legacy systems. before to tackle some critical issues facing our sector, most notably the housing crisis. but this has given us our backbone, and When it comes to our customers, we know the challenges we faced along the way that people’s expectations have changed. In a bid to create more homes, we’ve helped set a culture of determination and By 2020, there will be over six billion been repurposing empty buildings – ‘thinking big’. This is now part of our DNA, smartphone users globally, and every shops, pubs, an old jobs centre – and and has given us the foundations to begin person will have six connected devices – transforming them into affordable and our digital transformation. we wanted to be ready for that. social housing. We knew that our plan to ‘rethink housing’ The demographic of our customers is also The technology is minimal, but the needed to be more than just words. To fulfil changing. We are increasingly providing ideology is the same; rethinking the our ambitions, we needed a fundamental homes to ‘millennials’, yet as a sector, way we do things in order to meet the rethink of our ICT infrastructure. And so housing is generally failing to provide challenges of a modern world with an began our programme to become the the services they’ve come to expect in ambitious and forward-thinking vision. first housing provider to fully embrace the the modern world. For example, when a What Salix Homes lacks in age, we make public cloud. This has involved migrating customer calls to report an urgent repair up for in accomplishment, and while everyday operations to Microsoft Azure, and we say we will fix it in 30 days, the there’s still much work to do, we are well including applications, databases and file- digital generation of millennials won’t on our way to becoming an ultra-modern store servers, domain controllers, Active accept that, and why should they? Directory and desktops from a legacy on- and digital housing provider of the future. And it was this notion that prompted us premise environment that had thwarted Sarah Henderson is head of business to launch a radical review of our repairs our previous ambitions at every turn. services and Chris Henry is ICT manager service to match consumer expectations. Our infrastructure is deployed over two at Salix Homes. Azure regions to provide continuity and Coming this spring is the launch of our resilience for our key services, ensuring new digital repairs service, complete
www.housing-technology.com INFRASTRUCTURE | 35
Smart data lakes in housing
Richard Holland, Assistant Director of Technology & Innovation, Waltham Forest Council
Waltham Forest is by far the coolest over 150 systems, 85 customer portals and the cloud and Informatica technology, we websites, and one chatbot called Walt, were able to connect and match systems borough in London; it’s located in who allows residents to report fly tipping. and propagate a data lake. The system was able to intelligently work across the East London and has a vibrant and Dispersed data data schemas and provide a workflow We have loads of data, but it’s very difficult diverse community, making it the to connect to other systems. In addition, to aggregate information to produce it made guesses of how to match it up, ideal title-holder for the first ever reliable real-time results. We have data cleansed the information and introduced silos, complex legacy architectures London Borough of Culture. master data management across the and a lack of shared insight across the entire platform. organisation. Waltham Forest is a predominantly After some minor amendments to residential borough, with one of the We wanted to bring information together the workflow engine to verify that the smallest economies in London. High across our systems, understand our information was matching correctly, population growth during the past customers and gain insights about the we moved on to produce a real-time decade has been driven by international services we offer. We also have statutory dashboard to display the information. migration, and we have a high rate of responsibilities which we need to protect The data was in an easy-to-use format population churn, with 74 per cent inflows and we want to keep our streets clean and to allow officers to drill down for further from other London boroughs. We have a safe for our residents. investigation if needed. young demographic compared with the We didn’t want to run a data warehouse UK average, with over 65,000 children However, that’s not the end of the story. project to bring information together and young people representing about a We could clearly see the properties and spend an enormous amount of time quarter of the population and this is a big that we knew about (i.e. those that were developing it only to realise the benefits part of why Waltham Forest is so vibrant already licensed) and we also had social in three or four years’ time. We needed to and cool. housing properties. But what about the be fast and gain immediate value from our properties we didn’t know about? To put it simply, we are awesome. services and, above all, the project had to be ‘smart’. Making predictions We needed an algorithm which could Ultimately, we needed to resolve a predict the likelihood that a property could problem, so we picked one and created a be rogue. By looking at key indicators from proof of concept. the datasets, we could calculate a score to Tackling rogue landlords show the likelihood that a property could Waltham Forest has a ‘selective licence’ be run by a private landlord; for example, scheme for private landlords. The scheme for any property which has regular is designed to allow local authorities to changes in council tax over a short period tackle rogue landlords who aren’t taking of time as well as changes in the electoral managing their properties responsibly. Our roll, then there is strong possibility that We do have our problems. We have a landlords need to adhere to conditions we have a private landlord. Again, if we rapidly-aging population and we were we set in our licences in order to rent out look at antisocial behaviour reports and ranked as the 35th most deprived local their property. Our problem is that we don’t other indicators such as pest control, then authority in England in 2015. We are under know if we have all the private landlords we could have a private landlord who is extreme budget pressures and we have identified. Social landlords and home not licensed and is not dealing with those to look for better ways to provide public owners are also exempt but we don’t problems. services for less. know where they all are in the borough. Creating a regression model as the second We have approximately 2,800 officers Lastly, we wanted to deal with antisocial step and using the power of AWS, we were and 60 councillors running services for behaviour and improve our communities. able to provide indicators for likelihood 280,000 residents. We run everything you The data is spread across five separate and data accuracy. This means officers can imagine, from collecting rubbish and systems, So, working with Amazon Web have percentage scorings to indicate recycling to building control, social care, Services (AWS) and NG Data, our first step if there is a high likelihood of a private housing, libraries, parking and roads. was to match the information and create landlord and that the data really is clean. We have an IT department of 70 staff, with a data lake. Using the power of AWS in Continued on next page 36 | INFRASTRUCTURE
Smart data lakes in housing Continued from previous page
At this point, the officer can open an information and then visualise data. This Prevention is better than cure investigation and look for evidence about means that for the first time we can help Another way to think about how bringing whether they are keeping to the terms officers to target the right the properties, data together can help our residents is of the licence. The dashboard is shown rather than manually trying to find out in terms of prevention and intervention below. what’s going on. It also means that we can at the right time. If we can understand be proactive and stick to our promise to which families have children who end up make Waltham Forest clean and safe for in a gang, for example, perhaps we can our residents. work with our colleagues in the police and neighbouring councils to prevent We also know that we can update our younger population from making information direct to our back-office bad choices in the first place and offer systems using the smart data lake. This opportunities which really inspire them. means we can plug in apps, sensors, chatbots, AI and smart devices to create We want to continue to provide great the beginnings of a ‘smart borough’ and services to our communities and, then automate services. For example, considering our very tight financial pressures, The dashboard also shows information we can use the data to power intelligent the only way to do that is by bringing our for antisocial behaviour, fixed penalty chatbots to provide information to data together in order to provide a smarter notices, pest control and legal summons, residents without needing to have face- way of delivering those services. all of which is useful indicative data to to-face conversations, so that our officers understand how a private landlord is The smart data lake is a cornerstone for can then focus on the residents who really performing. the future platform, and that is awesome. need our help. Richard Holland is the assistant director Information is essential for understanding of technology and innovation at Waltham our residents in ways we couldn’t do Forest Council. before. By plugging in our CRM system, we can gain insights into the needs of our customers and provide better services; for example, if we can identify that we have a university student living in the borough, then perhaps we can send them a welcome pack to help them make best use of our services. In fact, what we would Why is this important? love to do is to help that student stay in the The smart data lake in this specific proof borough and start a business when they shows that we can rapidly connect finish their studies.
Network Homes signs with Hyperoptic for gigabit broadband
Gigabit broadband provider The deal with Hyperoptic will cover Network Homes’ portfolio across 36 local Hyperoptic is set to supply authority areas in London, Hertfordshire around 20,000 Network and the South East of England. Homes’ properties with direct Suraj Shah, head of strategic asset fibre broadband. Network management and planned works, Network Homes, said, “We chose Homes’ tenants will have a Hyperoptic based on the high-quality choice of packages with speeds service it has offered to us and our tenants. We already had a small number up to 1Gbps (1,000 megabits of properties connected to Hyperoptic’s per second), which Hyperoptic network but based on our experience so far and great feedback from our tenants, said is over 21 times faster than this new deal expands this to our entire the UK average. housing portfolio.”
www.housing-technology.com INFRASTRUCTURE | 37
Mobile-centric, zero-trust security
David Critchley, Regional Director for UK & Ireland, MobileIron
Mobile working can help housing secure contextual connection, based on device, app, user, environment, network, providers deliver a more engaging, and everything else that’s involved in customer-centric service based on accessing their data. the principles of convenience and One approach that organisations are self-service. For instance, mobile investigating is called ‘zero-trust’ and was technology has the potential to first coined by Forrester Research in 2010. Around the same time, a similar idea was PCs and laptops as the preferred device reduce the amount of time tenants being embraced by Google as a way to for people to get their work done on. All connect its employees to their internal are left waiting for repairs and you have to do is check the app store applications. The Google BeyondCorp home improvements by giving and see that business apps are now the methodology was born out of this need second most popular category. This, workers the ability to diagnose and led to a specific adaption of the combined with the performance gains 5G software-defined perimeter (SDP). tenants’ problems remotely, and will bring, means that mobile has won – it’s then calling for the required what the users have chosen. The zero-trust model treats all devices or ‘hosts’ as if they’re internet-facing, professional assistance. This move to mobile isn’t the only and considers the entire network to be revolution we are seeing within the compromised and hostile. It assumes that In addition, mobile also has the potential enterprise; access to apps have all access to corporate resources should to improve payment methods, with mobile accelerated the adoption of cloud be restricted until the user has proved their devices being used as portable payment services. Today, 77 per cent of businesses identity and access permissions and until the systems. Mobile working also drastically use cloud services, and on average, an device has passed a security profile check. improves housing providers’ internal enterprise is using over 1,000 cloud apps. operations by providing workers with a Mobile-centric security This means modern work takes place more effective communication channel. There are several different ways on mobile devices connected to cloud to implement zero trust. The main BYOD in the housing networks, taking it beyond the control approaches are focused on identity, Recent figures suggest that the average of traditional security measures and gateway and the device. However, as the employee could save around 80 minutes multiplying the number of access points tide of mobile and cloud continues to per week in productivity by using their own for attackers. As a result, the modern intensify, it is clear gateway- and identity- mobile device at work as well as saving working environment can no longer centric approaches simply aren’t enough. employers around £1,000 per employee be governed by the traditional security Only a mobile-centric approach addresses per year in device and software costs. perimeters and boundaries of yesterday. the security challenges of the perimeter- There are clearly many benefits to This change creates three main challenges less modern enterprise while allowing the enabling housing staff to use their own for CIOs and CISOs: agility and anytime access business needs. devices, but those benefits aren’t without some associated issues. The main problem • Drive business innovation with mobile A mobile-centric approach really raises the lies in how the devices are secured; productivity by giving employees security bar and goes beyond traditional allowing a privately-owned device the the ability to use mobile, cloud and identity management and gateway ability to connect to a corporate network endpoints. point solutions. It demands several immediately raises organisational security • Enforce corporate security without more answers from a complete set of concerns due to the danger of malware on impacting users’ experience. attributes before granting access to the the device spreading to company servers, • Redefine enterprise security strategies to user. It validates the device, establishes putting very delicate data at risk. address a perimeter-less environment. user context, checks app authorisation, verifies the network and even detects and The zero-trust approach There are risks with BYOD, but with a remediates threats before allowing secure To overcome these challenges, security well-thought-out plan these risks can be access. Importantly, this all happens professionals are forced to reconsider mitigated and the clear benefits of BYOD instantaneously. realised; below is some practical advice. the best practices on which they have previously relied. The more adaptable David Critchley is the regional director for A changing security landscape have realised the best solutions provide a the UK & Ireland for MobileIron. Smartphones and tablets have overtaken 38 | INFRASTRUCTURE
Re-imagining housing – Are you IoT ready or not?
Kyle Hill, Director of Emerging Technology, Hitachi Solutions
The internet of things (IoT) isn’t potential growth of IoT over the next few These numbers are truly impressive and years. when you consider that Microsoft alone a technology revolution; IoT is • Timescale for deploying IoT devices: is investing $5 billion through to 2021, the a business revolution enabled Of the housing providers with IoT plans, only surprising thing is that the technology over half of them are scheduled for hasn’t seen more rapid adoption. by technology. This powerful deployment within the next 12 months, One factor that could contribute to this and around three-quarters within the statement was the crux of a is the fact that often IoT is considered an next two years. And despite 41 per cent IT and technology solution rather than presentation I gave at the recent of housing providers having no current something that can fundamentally change IoT plans, the figures and associated Housing Technology 2019 and optimise business operations. IoT timescales suggest an explosive growth is too often seen as technology for the conference. of IoT deployments by the majority (59 sake of it, and where IoT solutions are per cent) of housing providers. implemented, the majority focus on B2C I explained that innovative organisations • Senior executive/board understanding scenarios. are taking advantage of a comprehensive of IoT: For a relatively new area of set of technologies to make profound technology, it’s perhaps surprising that McKinsey & Company highlight that 70 per changes to their business systems and housing providers’ senior executives and cent of the value enabled by IoT will come operating models. The combination board members are generally considered from B2B scenarios, so the suggestion is of mixed reality, the internet of things to have at least some understanding of to focus on a number of these use cases and devices, AI and advanced mobility IoT (53 per cent), perhaps in part because to realise genuine value from IoT. Some solutions means that operations can be they are familiar with consumer-grade IoT examples of where IoT can generate value completely reimagined. While the topic devices such as Nest and Hive. for a housing provider are as follows: of IoT may seem to have been rehashed several times, I once again posed the Clearly, from Housing Technology’s report, • Advice, support and assisted living; question of whether it’s all just hype or the opportunities IoT can facilitate have • ASB and enforcement; is there genuine value to be had from been grasped, but the worrying fact is that • Billings and collections; investments in these technologies and the there seems to be a distinct lack of senior • Change of circumstances; associated digital inclusion? management buy-in and championing, • Contract management; despite three-quarters of housing • Defects and stock condition surveys; There were some interesting insights that I providers planning to have at least one • Fixed assets and inventory management; shared from Housing Technology’s 2017/8 IoT initiative live within the next 24 months. • Health, safety and accessibility; ‘Internet of Things in Housing’ market This was echoed by several conversations • Key/fob management; intelligence report. These insights hinge from the Housing Technology 2019 • Repairs and planned maintenance; on the fact that while the possibilities were conference that summarised IoT as an • Tenant self-service; in reach, there seemed to be a hesitance exciting technology but the conference • Tenant visits and inspections. from organisations to take the leap and participants weren’t sure of where it would In order to realise this value, housing seize them. To validate the point, the fit in their organisation. In answer to these providers do need to capitalise on IoT and following findings from the report were questions, I highlighted the following there are three relatively simple steps to discussed: statistics from IDC and Microsoft before achieving this: • Importance of IoT to housing providers’ diving into some relevant examples: • Connect your ‘things’; overall strategies: Despite the relative • There will be 30 billion connected • Turn data into insights; new-ness of IoT-based technologies, devices by 2020; • Transform your business through actions. almost half of housing providers (46 per • The average increase in operating cent) rated IoT as being important to their income for digitally-transformed With a relatively clear roadmap of how IoT overall strategies. enterprises is £1.15 million per annum; can facilitate value and be implemented in • Existing IoT strategies: Very few • 10 per cent of the data on earth will come a social housing context, why haven’t more housing providers (six per cent) have yet from IoT by 2020 (that’s next year!); providers embarked on this journey? We established an IoT strategy, although a • The market for business process had a look at some more research from quarter of them are already considering automation tools will be £7.65 billion by McKinsey & Co to define what separates their options regarding how they might 2020. the leaders from the laggards in the IoT deploy IoT projects, demonstrating the space: www.housing-technology.com INFRASTRUCTURE | 39
Re-imagining housing – Are you IoT ready or not? Continued from previous page
“Leading organisations are aggressive; The key point above is to engage with is uniformly seen as being an important by pursuing a large number of IoT use partners on several smaller IoT projects consideration (78 per cent). cases, they quickly climb the IoT learning to both prove the value of IoT and to In closing, I suggested to the conference curve and pass the point at which new adequately prepare the business to attendees that they needed to be practical applications consistently generate a embrace IoT. in the execution of their IoT use cases and great deal of value. They develop a clear While maybe not as obvious as the other leverage already-proven solutions such as idea about the commercial opportunities point, the statement also refers to building the ‘IoT House’ from Hitachi Solutions and associated with IoT, and they align IoT offerings around existing products Microsoft. The key thing to understand is everyone in the organisation, from the and services. This should also be a major that IoT is here and that you need to own it executive suite to the front lines, towards consideration when evaluating how and ‘inspire the next’! a common set of goals. And they’re IoT will integrate with existing business pragmatic about how they implement Kyle Hill is the director of emerging applications. Further insights from Housing their IoT plans, building their IoT offerings technology for Hitachi Solutions. Technology’s IoT report agree with this around existing products and services, and sentiment and state that the integration of relying on outside partners to furnish them IoT devices and their associated data with with sophisticated technologies.” housing providers’ business applications
Dumfries & Galloway’s unified comms with Castleton
As part of a seven-year contract, improvements through service-desk Castleton is providing an end-to-end management, device management and managed service, with the foundations technical support. of the project involving the migration of DGHP’s everyday ICT operations away Hugh Carr, Director from its legacy on-premise systems to of Finance, HR & IT, a private cloud, as well as a desktop Dumfries & Galloway Dumfries and refresh (including Microsoft Office 365), Housing Partnership new telephony software with unified Galloway Housing communications and an omni-channel contact centre. Castleton was chosen following a Partnership has Hugh Carr, director of finance, HR and rigorous assessment carried out with awarded a unified IT, Dumfries and Galloway Housing help from Alysium Consulting, DGHP’s Partnership, said, “This exciting independent advisors, who helped communications development marks the next stage in our identify which tools were needed to journey to become the best landlord in achieve the housing provider’s digital contract to Castleton Scotland. Our programme is ambitious ambitions. but it will confirm DGHP as a progressive Phil Riley, lead technical consultant, Technology as part housing association of the future, enabling Alysium Consulting, said, “Castleton us to continue to provide excellent demonstrated throughout the tender and of an ongoing digital services to our customers and create a implementation process not only that it great place to work for our 200 staff. transformation has innovative services but also a good Castleton’s managed service will include understanding of the needs of housing programme. ongoing application hosting, business providers.” continuity, information governance, network management and cyber-security management, as well as continual service 40 | GENERAL NEWS
Popstar turned curate turned housing patron…
Reverend Richard Coles, Vicar of St Mary’s The Virgin (Finedon) & Patron of Wellingborough Homes
Housing Technology’s publisher and One is that housing providers are forums in One of the ways technology can really which all kinds of creative thinking about help is by developing metrics that can founder, George Grant, interviewed social enterprise can happen. Resources capture and reflect the social value of Reverend Richard Coles, the self- can be mobilised from across a wider what we do and to make a more powerful spectrum than in the old days of local case; numbers can tell a story, but not the styled ‘popstar turned curate’, authorities and that creates all sorts of whole story. opportunities. patron of Wellingborough Homes Secondly, it’s being able to respond and one of the keynote speakers at The other is that we are, I think, the biggest better to the needs of our tenants. stakeholder in our communities so we Through technology, we have much March’s Housing Technology 2019 know what’s going on because we have a better individual knowledge of our tenants conference, about parish life, social direct link to the people who form those and from that you can build a picture communities. So we’re aware of problems about whether things are going well or housing and IT. that emerge, particularly around antisocial not, if we’re meeting their needs and behaviour, parking and all the everyday expectations, and indeed whether their As a parish priest and BBC broadcaster things that erode people’s wellbeing, and needs and expectations are realistic or how do you juggle life? we’re able to draw on other agencies. unrealistic. It’s a much more informed and With varying degrees of success! I’m a reciprocal conversation. Tenants can now At our advice centre in Wellingborough, ‘half-time’ vicar (at St Mary’s The Virgin, engage with us far more easily if they want, people can come and get support not just Finedon in Northamptonshire) because and that all requires management. my parish can only afford a half stipend, for housing, but for any social problems but there’s no such thing as a ‘half-time’ they might have. We provide support Like many organisations, particularly those expectation or a ‘half-time’ life, and for those resources so people can get with a public-sector background, we used broadcasting takes up a lot of time too. what they need to sustain their lives in to think of IT as being like paperclips – it sometimes very difficult circumstances. was like stationery, it was something to I aim to hold them together by having in do with office supplies. What we’ve come A lot of our tenants are not well paid or mind a standard to which I aspire. I try to understand is that IT drives everything are on benefits, and some of them have to host sensible, civilised conversations we do. To be what we want to be and to particular needs which make day-to-day that assist and enable people to live lives do the best we can for our stakeholders, living harder. We’re able to provide for that produce public benefit. It’s about we need to make sure we have the IT that those people in ways that are, I hope, how you sustain the life of a community works for us. imaginatively and practically. thoughtful and imaginative. What’s changed since you’ve been patron How do you think technology is impacting Is housing a problem in your parish? of Wellingborough Homes? life in a social housing context? Yes, there’s far more demand for social I’ve really noticed the impact of IT in There are two answers to that. Firstly, housing than we have the housing to meet. making us a more confident organisation. Wellingborough Homes recently had One issue is that we are a very coherent The big story over the past 30-40 an audit so we can establish our NPVs community that people wish to stay in years has been the flow of wealth and (net present values) – it’s amazing how and we don’t always have housing stock dynamism away from the public sector many housing providers don’t know what available in the right place at the right time to the private sector, so trying to address they have because the way they acquire for particular tenants. Sometimes they those questions and using the energies properties can be complicated. We found are offered a move out of the community of the private sector to do so has been out what we’ve got and what we’re worth and it may only be a few miles away, but very interesting. Getting that into shape, so we could raise finance to fund our nevertheless, it is out of the community giving us a clear knowledge of what we building plans and other projects. they want to be part of; managing that can are doing and a confident ability to plan be quite difficult. But it’s not just about your balance-sheet for the future, has made Wellingborough How important is social housing to your values. The enormous social values that Homes much more dynamic – we’ve really local community? come out of social housing are much been able to invest in our IT and it has It is fundamental; the provision of decent harder to measure. Sometimes you would transformed the way we do things, and housing is the foundation on which thriving like to show the board not just the financial that creates an organisation that has a very communities are built. And there are two value of your material assets, but also the positive feeling about it. other roles which are now important. social benefits involved. www.housing-technology.com GENERAL NEWS | 41
Popstar turned curate turned housing patron… Continued from previous page
What message would you give today? Create an atmosphere of possibility and you don’t get that right, you’re never going I would be really excited about the a culture in which transformation is not to get the whole thing right. opportunities of working to mobilise all just an empty word but is actually linked Reverend Richard Coles is the vicar the expertise, experience, creativity and to positive, concrete steps that take your of St Mary’s The Virgin, Finedon in imagination in the IT end of what we do to organisation to where you want it to be – IT Northamptonshire, and a patron of inform everything else we do. is the most essential tool in all that, and if Wellingborough Homes.
Housing Technology 2020 – Now open..
Advanced sponsors already confirmed...
Housing Technology 2020 will asset, finance, mobile, CRM, etc, and incl. Technology 2020 is already open legacy integration). (www.housing-technology.com/ take place on Wednesday 04 and • Digital transformation – From tenant events/htc20) for anyone keen to Thursday 05 March 2020 at portals, self service and UX to data reserve their place (including onsite hotel DoubleTree by Hilton The Oxford management, automation and accommodation). collaboration. Why you should attend: Belfry. Our annual conference • Seriously mobile – Moving towards is now the leading and longest- ‘mobile first’ now that smartphones are • Meet all of your peers… Compare your almost ubiquitous. business & technology priorities with running technology event for • Small but perfectly formed – IT hundreds of your peers who’ve already senior IT and business decision- strategies, software (incl. COTS) and registered. services for smaller housing providers. • Be inspired… Break out of your daily makers in the UK social housing • Refreshing your infrastructure – Cloud environment, spark new ideas & refresh sector. Through 40+ detailed migration, unified communications, your enthusiasm for what you could talks and multiple networking PaaS, cyber security and DR/business achieve. continuity. • Proven, unsurpassed quality… Always opportunities (including three • What’s next? Low code, AI, machine 100% relevant to you & a brilliant use of informal evening events), you’ll learning, STP, robotic process your time. automation, ‘digital twins’ and other • Make new connections… The best come away with enhanced innovations. networking event for housing IT. knowledge and confidence to help • Join the housing IT ecosystem… Find Please note that after the overwhelming new ways of doing things & gain new transform your organisation. success of this year’s conference, each perspectives on future IT trends in day of Housing Technology 2020 will be housing. capped at 300 participants, with staggered Housing Technology 2020 will mainly • Share best practice… Learn from others presentation times throughout to maximise focus on the following core topics: with the same goals & problems. networking opportunities and reduce • Business imperatives – Using technology over-crowding. Please contact alastair@housing- for cost reductions, business change and technology.com if you or your organisation As a consequence, while the roster of innovation. is interested in sponsoring, speaking or speakers, presentations, sponsors and • Solid foundations – Making the most of exhibiting at Housing Technology 2020, exhibitors will only be announced from your core business applications (housing, or visit www.housing-technology.com/ July 2019 onwards, registration for Housing events/htc20 for further information. 42 | GENERAL NEWS Do your projects use colourful language? Steve Dungworth, Founder, PeopleDataTech, Simon Green, Interim Director of Digital Transformation, Accent Housing, Suzanne Shaw, Facilitator & Trainer, Ascent Development
Accent Housing, with help from Ascent Development. This was designed to explore the Insights Discovery colour Ascent Development, has been model of behaviour, with all of the using ‘colour workshops’ to improve ICT managers completing an online questionnaire so that their personal communication and collaboration profiles could be produced. within and between its technology Self-awareness through colour team and other departments. The model is based on the work of Carl Jung and enables individuals to increase self-awareness with the simple Accent Housing’s digital team of around yet highly-effective use of colour. This 30 people includes business analysts, data enables individuals to better understand analysts, technicians, product managers others and adapt their communication and and developers as well as team members behavioural styles accordingly, creating working on the service desk managing more productive and effective working the needs of their internal customers. The People relationships. It can also be the bedrock of internal customers comprise a variety of now have a common language which developing ‘emotional intelligence’. people including senior managers, finance, enables the team to work better together. housing officers, the contact centre staff, The exercise was widened to include As other teams within the business HR and the communications team. the whole team and a ‘team wheel’ was started to work with Insights Discovery, produced to show the team members’ understanding other people’s behavioural different behavioural preferences which preferences helped to improve helped them to understand why some communication with internal Accent working relationships were easier than customers. others, both within the team and in the Behavioural strengths wider business. As well as the way in which people ‘Light bulb’ moments communicate, Accent’s digital team has The first workshop had an immediate developed some ways of working which impact. A couple of people had ‘light bulb’ has helped embed the language. The digital moments when they realised they were team’s aims and objectives have been opposite types; there had been some ‘coloured up’. Senior managers now have previous irritation between them because responsibility for the area which plays to their one of them needed precise, detailed behavioural strengths, and ‘red’, ‘blue’, ‘green’ information whereas the other colleague’s and ‘yellow’ team meetings are now held. Accent’s director of digital transformation preferences were the antithesis of that. For example, the red meeting is a at the time, Steve Dungworth (see Their new-found understanding enabled 30-minute Monday morning meeting where opposite), wanted to find better ways them to agree how to communicate with service-desk performance is reviewed of collaborating with the digital team’s each other better which had a massive and the priorities for the week are decided, internal customers and improving impact on their working relationship. whereas the blue meeting is the more in- coordination within the ICT team. In As a result of the first workshop, Steve depth CAB style where details of projects particular, when dealing with internal Dungworth understood why different and changes are examined in detail. customers, it was often felt that ICT and strategic views occurred with his right- the wider business were speaking different Steve Dungworth said, “We revitalised the hand man, Simon Green, because they languages (after all, ICT professionals team and have come away with tangible were opposites (Steve is what is known can sometimes be seen as different and working practices that have really helped our in Insights terminology as a ‘motivating reserved or defensive). business. Insights Discovery has completely director’ whereas Simon is a ‘supporter’). surpassed our expectations – it’s a really A one-day ‘Insights Discovery’ personal- Similar stories emerged as people finally inspiring and practical way of working.” effectiveness workshop was initially understood why some of their intra-team held with the digital leadership team, relationships had been strained. Accent’s digital team is much more coordinated by Suzanne Shaw from aware of their strengths and areas for www.housing-technology.com GENERAL NEWS | 43
Do your projects use colourful language? Do your projects Continued from previous page development. They are great at the Ultimately, performance is driven by Having been Accent Housing’s director technical and analytical aspects, being able behaviour. Now that the team understand of digital transformation until April use colourful to react to incidents and crises, and looking their behavioural preferences, they are 2019, Steve Dungworth has since set up after each other as a team. The areas which more in control of driving performance PeopleDataTech (peopledatatech.co.uk). language? need some work are marketing themselves, excellence, particularly when working with Simon Green is the interim director of communicating with customers, saying ‘no’ customers and each other. digital transformation at Accent Housing. (politely), and not allowing meetings to run Suzanne Shaw is a facilitator and trainer on and on and on. at Ascent Development.
High hopes for low-code projects
Nick Pike, Regional Vice-President, UK & Ireland, OutSystems
Any public-sector organisations digital transformation partner, can prove example of this was OutSystems’ delivery difficult. With housing providers being of a brand new app for Worcestershire providing a service, especially those squeezed financially, balancing tenants’ County Council within eight weeks. This for which people have to pay, such demands and doing more with less make demonstrates that, if approached correctly, as council tax or parking permits, it hard for IT teams to deliver. new digital transformation projects and new solutions can be quickly introduced using Housing providers’ IT teams are typically are expected to provide a seamless, low-code development platforms, helping to small and are often focused on day-to- deliver a positive return as soon as possible. digital solution for technology- day objectives, reducing their ability to In addition, moving from a capex to an foster and deliver innovation. And there savvy users. And as with many opex approach to paying for IT equipment is inevitably resistance to immediately areas of the public sector, housing and services, where data is migrated from discounting legacy systems and moving expensive legacy systems, frees up capital providers are under increasing straight to a hosted approach. and supports scalability for growth. pressure to meet the challenges and That said, when budgets are spent on Although numerous challenges can make new, more efficient technologies, the opportunities presented by modern it difficult to start a digital transformation long-term costs of manual process are project, the opportunity for greater technologies, forcing them to reduced. While public sector budgets are efficiencies and growth can justify the challenged by myriad political pressures, quickly and efficiently adapt to the journey. Some of the benefits include: the opportunity to innovate can be trend for digital transformation. revolutionary if funding can be found for • Better ability to meet tenant expectations; new digital initiatives. Furthermore, when • Increased collaboration between There will always be a certain level of starting a new project, migrating away from departments; resistance, on immediately discounting legacy systems will ensure the amount of • Improved IT agility to meet the business legacy systems and swiftly deciding to technical debt is minimised. needs; move to another approach to develop • More innovation across the business; While the initial outlay of moving to customer-facing services. However, • Faster strategic decision-making; another provider may be high, the long- lasting, positive changes can be made • Greater productivity in core areas; term efficiency and financial benefits can through using a low-code approach to • Reduced operational and IT costs. digital transformation projects, helping be extremely fruitful, saving money in the housing providers to overcome the long-run. However, this will be likely to If housing providers can obtain the problems associated with legacy systems. involve not only a significant technological required internal support, as well as gain but also a cultural shift; quickly adjusting the much-needed funding and showcase Moving away from legacy systems to this may require the support of a a positive RoI, then they will be able to However, there are a number of digital transformation partner, such as readily make improvements to yield short- challenges that housing providers face, OutSystems, to be layered on top of the term operating efficiencies and lay the one of which is the resources needed for core IT team. groundwork for the long-term process of long-term digital transformation initiatives. digital transformation. Furthermore, the logistical problems of Low-code development moving from legacy systems to new ways Furthermore, public-sector budgets are Nick Pike is the regional vice-president of working, such as collaborating with a tied to political cycles, which means that for the UK and Ireland at OutSystems. new projects must show results quickly. An 44 | GENERAL NEWS
Why mums are the missing link in the ‘women in tech’ discussion
Holly Rafique, Head of Digital, #techmums
“We need more women in tech!” enhance our lives in an increasing number of getting her children engaged. We work of subtle ways. It allows us to work to change that and show every mum That’s the rallying cry being remotely and flexibly, promoting a better that technology is also for her and that shouted from every corner of the work-life balance and making a career a she can benefit so much from having an more feasible possibility. We stay in touch understanding of technology. country. with family, friends and colleagues who The confidence conundrum might be abroad or outside our immediate Many mums suffer from a loss of There are countless organisations and locale. For those of us with communication confidence after having children; no matter initiatives aimed at achieving this, ranging difficulties, it gives us an alternative to how many books you have read or classes from addressing the gender imbalance the dreaded phone call. We can monitor you have attended, there is nothing that when selecting further education, through our expenditure and are not restricted can quite destroy your confidence like your to making it easier for women to return to the products and prices in our local own tiny little baby who will not stop crying to work after a career break. These are neighbourhoods. all commendable activities, and yet the no matter what you do. Digital literacy is now as important a skill figures don’t seem to be changing. Then as they grow and you hit new for this generation of children as the parental challenges, you increasingly In a recent report by PwC, only 27 per cent ability to read and write. They don’t even feel that you have no idea what you’re of young women said that they would recognise these devices as computers any doing; you are constantly bombarded with consider a career in technology and only more; internet connectivity is as natural conflicting advice on the ‘right’ parenting three per cent said that technology was to their generation as free-flowing water approach so it’s not surprising that a large their first choice of career. The reality is and electricity is to ours. When we turn proportion of mums feel powerless. For that women fill only 17 per cent of all the on the tap, we expect there to be water, those mums who were working before jobs in technology. Some of that is just a when we turn on a light switch we expect having children, they are likely to have matter of time, so we should have patience there to be light, when our children turn on missed the introduction of all-pervasive to see the results of better inclusivity a device they expect it to connect to the technology in the workplace and now feel and awareness in school children, but in internet. part it seems that society is treating the that they can’t catch up. The internet has opened up our worlds symptoms rather than addressing the These days children pick up digital skills and, with the amount of time we spend underlying problem; women and girls do very quickly, with a large number of mums using technology, you would expect not see where they fit into the technology already feeling that their children know everyone’s trust and confidence in it to be sector. There remains the perception of a far more about technology than they do. pretty high, not to mention it leading to white male playing computer games; even Parents want to protect their family from equal opportunities for everyone. when we know the stereotype isn’t the online dangers but they lack the skills truth, it is still hard to dispel it. Except it’s not. It is a sad truth that far to do so and they know it; they become At #techmums, we want to change this; too many households are still struggling so terrified that a knee-jerk reaction of we want to rewrite the narrative to ask to engage with technology. Recent data restricting access to technology seems to “how can we bring technology into more privacy scandals, hoaxes and media hype be the only option. have lead to fear rather than enthusiasm. women’s lives?” By reframing the problem Challenging the patronising rhetoric Furthermore, most people see their role this way, we can immediately widen our Patronised by a world that uses phrases in technology as being consumers, not audience to include all women and all such as ‘mumpreneur’, ‘mom jeans’ and creators, subsequently feeling at the households. We are not insisting that “it’s so easy even your mum could do it”, mercy of technology. women abandon other industries and the whole image of a mum is not dynamic, passions but, instead, we are encouraging At #techmums, we believe there is one exciting or intelligent. Hard-working and them to think about how they can use new person in the household who can change all frazzled certainly, but mums are rarely technologies creatively to enhance what this but who is too-often overlooked: mum. portrayed as capable and connected. they are already passionate about. We’ve seen at first hand how a woman’s Our mission at #techmums is to empower whole attitude and posture changes Embracing digital literacy women, their families and communities when she discovers that she is far more For many of us, the internet is an integral through technology. The average mum knowledgeable and capable than she and pervasive part of our lives in modern usually puts her children first and is only originally thought. society. We rely on it to support and engaged by technology initiatives in terms
www.housing-technology.com GENERAL NEWS | 45
Why mums are the missing link in the ‘women in tech’ discussion Continued from previous page
When you take all these issues together, in the workforce. Not only are diverse technology and increasing knowledge it’s easy to see why many women have a teams generally more successful but they around the technology sector. By using negative attitude to technology and don’t are necessary to tackle any unconscious social media and Home-Start centres, embrace digital solutions in their home. bias in solutions (particularly in artificial we were able to reach demographics of intelligence) and to ensure products meet mums who are particularly hard to engage Digital parenting the needs of all members of society. Many with through other methods. The beauty of upskilling mothers is that products are designed by all-male teams you touch at least two people’s lives – the Our new initiative for 2019 is the so that the different needs of women are mum and the child. Children increasingly #techmumsclub, an informal gathering of unconsciously missed. need access to technology for their 20 mums where they are introduced to a homework; they can quickly be left behind Beyond the obvious benefits to wide range of topics from blogging and if their home is negative towards the use of communities, educating mothers will web design to app design and coding. technology. In addition, parents hold a lot also lead to a more sensible community We currently have five clubs running at of weight around children’s aspirations and response to potential threats. A lack of various host partner’s across the country attitudes. Children need their parents to understanding leads to fear and hysteria, and have two more launching after Easter. act as their digital guides; someone whom particularly when the sensationalised We work with the 20 mums across a 10- they can trust to teach them to navigate news headlines are the main source of week period, with sessions lasting two the online world. A child needs to know information. Incidents such as the recent hours, usually within the school day. We that their concerns will be met with an ‘Momo hoax’, supposedly challenging support partners with facilitator training understanding attitude and an informed children to self-harm, and fears over and provide all course materials and online response. computer game addiction can be far support throughout the programme. better handled when the women in the Despite family dynamics moving towards #techmums is also working with the community have confidence in their own a better balance, in many families the University of Leeds, FutureLearn and Black understanding of technology and its mother is still the parent that children Tech UK to produce a series of online associated risks. interact with the most. Mums tend to courses to bring 21st-century workplace organise extra-curricular activities, #techmums are connecting with mums digital skills to those who don’t usually playdates and camps, and if they don’t through a number of digital outreach engage in online working. understand the benefits of technology programmes. In 2018 we launched By giving mums the foundation digital then it’s far less likely that they will arrange #techmumsTV in partnership with Home- skills that they are missing, we can help technology-based activities for their Start UK and Facebook as a live-streamed them to pursue their passions and become children. Future jobs will almost all require chat show to demystify and normalise the positive role models that their children an element of digital awareness, so when discussion of technology. The key concept will need as they venture into their digital parents engage with technology they are of #techmumsTV was to celebrate young future. We are confident that these three furthering their children’s social mobility mothers, how they are using technology in programmes will bring technology to more and career aspirations. their everyday lives, how they are running women and in turn get more women into businesses from their phones and to Spreading the knowledge technology. positively tell their stories, with the other Empowering women in technology aspect of #techmumsTV being to upskill Holly Rafique is the head of digital at clearly has a positive impact on the viewers about online safety, financial #techmums. community through increased diversity
Skillsarena launches housing employment tests
Skillsarena has released its new Jason Pierce, managing director, Skillsarena, said, “Although we cover all business sectors, one area we now specialise in is providing pre-employment employment tests created exclusively assessments for positions in housing. for the housing sector. The tests “With our extensive library of ready-to-use housing employment tests, we have been created in response to a now provide dedicated tests for a variety of housing positions and areas including contact centres, care and support, finance, property services, marked rise in enquiries regarding housing operations and housing options. Alongside these tailored tests, pre-employment and skills testing we also offer our bank of popular core skills assessments which evaluate literacy, numeracy and IT competency in Microsoft Office.” from housing and care providers and local authorities. 46 | GENERAL NEWS
What does productivity actually mean?
Stephen Green, Chief Marketing Officer, TSG
Productivity is one of those the potential to transform productivity One key piece of DNA that they both share across multiple areas of your organisation. is their contribution to productivity. Let’s business terms that is over-used ‘Potential’ because most haven’t looked face it, there’s nothing productive about and misunderstood yet critically beyond the obvious, hence the title of our collecting grubby, moth-eaten paperwork presentation: ‘Hidden Treasures’. and manually inputting data to process important when it comes to and analyse. Your Swiss Army knife business process, efficiency and It’s probably more than two years ago Frustration and insights ultimately successful delivery, that we started referring to Office365 as The number of different solutions we’ve a ‘digital Swiss Army knife’; you’re armed built over the past couple of years is regardless of the objective. It’s fine with tools that you might not use all the almost equal to the number of housing when used as a high-level concept time but will come in pretty damn handy if providers we’ve worked for, and that’s both and when you need them. frustrating and insightful. but what does increasing your The reality is that the tools are multi- Frustrating because we, or rather the productivity actually mean? How functional and can be applied almost sector as a whole, run the risk of re- do we translate a concept that has universally. So, it would appear that inventing wheels, and insightful because Microsoft’s mission to “empower every we’re gradually building a bank of use its origins on the shop floor to the person and every organisation on the cases that we suspect are universally back office? Most importantly, how planet to achieve more” is all about applicable. productivity and it’s an ethos that’s well Expenses management, holiday approvals will it help you achieve your goal of and truly embedded into Office365. and tracking, declarations of interest, board improving the service you provide The challenge lies in the fact that very governance and task management, audit to your tenants? little in terms of what can be achieved systems, task and case management, tenant with these multi-functional tools is explicit; onboarding… the list continues to grow. having a powerful workflow automation The results are as myriad as the tools are Ultimately, it’s about freeing up your staff tool, app builder, all-in-one storage multi-functional; a reduction in paperwork, to focus on adding the value only they solution, collaboration suite and data elimination of unwieldy email trails, can add, whether that’s enabling your visualisation tool at your fingertips is great replacement of spreadsheets (which seem customer services team to deal with more if you know where to start and what you’re to multiply like rabbits), greater accuracy, queries, giving your engineers more time trying to solve or achieve. data completeness, improved visibility, to spend evaluating or repairing property Shared DNA huge savings in time and resources… issues or implementing new procedures That’s where use cases come in; and those sounds remarkably like a definition of dedicated to supporting vulnerable use cases might be as diverse as basic productivity. And, we suspect, result in tenants. internal processes or complete systems people achieving more. The importance of use cases or complex projects. Break them down Every little helps… When it comes to driving productivity into their component elements and we’d To quote another household brand (albeit by deploying technology, particularly suggest that there’s a significant amount of completely out of context), ‘every little in the social housing sector, use cases shared DNA. helps’; while your starting point might be are essential. The more you can identify For example, data capture, information a small project, we would argue that the and resolve, from the very simple to the sharing, approval processes, tracking, results will be anything but. At a relatively very complex, the more likely it is that document retrieval and reporting are all basic level, we’re also seeing the idea technology can make a contribution to common building blocks but it sometimes of ‘self-serve’ emerging; although that helping your housing association achieve takes a bit of imagination to understand brings with it the challenge of control and compliance with the value for money that an audit tool actually shares the governance, so tread carefully. standard. majority of its DNA with an expenses The real game-changers come when Our recent presentation at the Housing management solution. Of course, they entire processes are tackled and Technology 2019 conference highlighted fulfil very different functions and support revolutionised. one technology investment that many in completely different departments across the sector have already made, that has the organisation.
www.housing-technology.com GENERAL NEWS | 47
What does productivity actually mean? Continued from previous page
A combination of intelligent forms, Byker Community Trust team so that they Maureen Duff, Energetics’ systems workflow automation and data visualisation can keep track of the project’s progress associate director, said, “The digital job built by TSG experts helped H. Malone and, more importantly, import data into management solution has delivered & Sons, an M&E contractor to housing their own asset management tools. We are significant back-office savings in time, provider the Byker Community Trust, to almost at the point of achieving the holy resources and costs. However, what’s fully digitise a discrete project to audit the grail of a ‘paperless office’ on this project.” been more satisfying is the response of heating and domestic water systems of our team managers and the impact they’ve Cultural changes more than 2,000 properties. It also tracked reported on their daily operations.” An improvement to your operations is the progress and cost of remedial and essential to any project you undertake, The link between Office365 and your repair work and provided full management otherwise what’s the point? But it’s tenants’ experience sounds a bit tenuous reporting. More importantly, it’s a stepping important to understand the impact it until you really dig deep into it. Making stone towards the strategic goal of can have on people, too. By making the your employees’ lives easier sounds great, maximising its investment in technology lives of your staff easier, it inevitably sure, but it’s the tenants that really matter. through digitisation. also has a positive effect on your But you can do both, and it’s not too good George Smith, H. Malone & Sons’ IT customers. By implementing a digital job to be true. If that’s what productivity is manager, said, “The solution TSG has management solution that integrated with about, then bring it on. provided not only streamlines our daily the organisation’s ERP system, TSG not Stephen Green is the chief marketing data recording tasks but also simplifies only saved Energetics a lot of money on officer at TSG (Technology Services our back-office invoicing and payment postage, labour and invoicing processes, Group). workflows. It has the added benefit that we we also helped its people. can pass important asset data back to the
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