Wednesday 28 April 2021

Shine Like It Does

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

Around reporting, sadly “The Story Since Time Began”, has been that most standard software reporting is pretty poor, an afterthought if you are lucky, maybe some columns that go to a ‘spooler’. (FTAF is a ‘spooler’?). 

Now this amazes me as so many people are looking to procure new solutions, especially integrated housing systems and then will need a BI tool to make the undoubtedly pretty graphs that make it easy for the Board to understand the data.

Have you ever attended a software demo, where the supplier opened with all their space cadet reports, blowing the audience away, before all that stuff that will support your core processes? Nor me during my time in Social Housing or before that in Healthcare.

I sometimes, especially these days see some sexy PowerBI reports wheeled out, unfortunately excitement going flat, like a day old opened bottle of Prosecco, when these are just ‘examples’ for this particular demo. I despair when the excuse is, “well your organisation might not have the necessary PowerBI licences”. Suppliers don’t seem to see those ‘examples’, if given free, would be the gateway drug to selling much more report consultancy further down the line. It's not how your local ‘Mr Pharmacist’ works.

More likely your prospective supplier will describe how some ‘train the trainer’ will happen and your staff will then be capable of knocking out your 35 KPI’s and board reporting pack. Even more likely, you will realise the 35 reports are missing the week after go-live and you will spend an arm and a leg with your supplier to do them for you, over the next 12 months.

And after having done all this one of the operational departments will turn up with a spreadsheet showing that in fact the performance isn’t as bad as reported because of “data issues” between the different systems.

Is this sounding familiar?

Not surprising within this cats cradle, we don’t have a single version of the truth

Well meaning visionaries for getting on for a half a decade, have sold many seminars & conference slots around agreeing a ‘UK Housing Data Standard’ to overcome the data issues created by the different ways databases hold, structure and update data. Interestingly, software providers have not been killed in the rush to re-write all their solutions, to any of these templates. Its costing many of them short of £10m each to just port solutions to the cloud and browser presentation. The chances of them all reorganising their data structures, is next to zero. Chances of all their customers paying for a project like that, would get even lower odds.

So, clearly a different and much better approach is desperately needed by many, who are struggling to hand craft and hand crank a bespoke framework for reporting. I am aware of two local RSL’s, near me in the North West of England, who are utilising a new innovative solution called Illumar, to organise, cleanse, manage and (at last) properly make data work for them.

Illumar is part of Inprova, best known for hosting PfH, have worked with NHS systems data and is now starting to crack the more popular integrated platforms, such as MRI Orchard/Promaster, Aareon QL and others. From what I have seen, this provides a major leg-up to pull in off the shelf data definitions, with the added layer of innovation around data quality. Readers of this blog will be well aware of my protestations in this area. So many performance teams are massaging/correcting their stats, rather than correcting core data. Its unique ‘Jail-IT’ facility shines a spotlight on poor quality and nonsense data, rather than sweeping it under the corporate carpet. This allows audit right back to source, whether that is in multiple tables or in many solutions. Thus tackling the traditional low levels of confidence in data quality internally and externally when reported.

Seeing the world through your ‘Unified Data Layer’, with validated data

A productised data management structure, driven by low code (surely worth a post all on its own), provides the ‘major leg up’, taking 85% or more of the legwork out of the data discovery phase. Most organisations have some disparate applications and these can be easily knitted in, to a full Microsoft/SQL Server cloud delivered product stack. One of the key benefits is that the system structures documents itself, overcoming one of the major Achilles Heel’s of the traditional internal ICT developer led data management and application strategies. That of building technical debt as the systems typically outlast the tenure of the particular developer who has done the coding.

As more of the ‘usual suspects’ major solutions are mapped, a true off-the-shelf route looks to be available at last, for better corporate reporting. As last many will finally be able to exploit the real value of the data we all hold.

Chatting to Zahir Yasin locally to me at ForViva, it’s clear that with the Illumar tool, they have moved faster in four months, than possibly that same number of years. He describes it as “the fastest way to get an enterprise data warehouse up and running. We're integrating our finance system, QL and Promaster then starting with automating SDR and our board PI's”. 

If I have the opportunity over the next few months, I will try to organise a webinar together with Zahir.  (Update: A webinar will take place May 19th 2021 - reserve your place here)

This shows just what is possible, when with our existing data, we take a very different approach. For those RSL’s considering building new solutions with Microsoft D365, they could also use Illumar in reverse. Start with the unified social housing data layer and use that to organise their new solution, rather than get tied up in MVP and potentially another bespoke data structure.

As the Michael Hutchence lyric goes, ‘You Will Find It’, Illumar will help you find it faster, clean it up and drop it into your initial KPI & board formats. Do check it out and let me know what you make of it.

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Related Post: Big Bang, is that the way you would tackle go-live?


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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

INXS -  Shine Like It DoesINXS - Shine Like It Does.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.


File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica 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Friday 2 April 2021

The Black Hit Of Space

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

One single from my 1970’s, way before Phil Oakey made the Human League 80’s cool with Susan and Joanne, has always stuck with me as lyric brilliance, The Black Hit Of Space. 

Now I love the Human League pre & post the split, but this track must be one of the most brilliant. It’s the tale of stuff getting out of hand. A hit that reaches number one in the charts, then carries on into minus figures.

“I reached for the tone arm which was less than one micron long, but weighed more than Saturn and time stood still”

For some finance teams, their chart of accounts can feel like that turntable tone arm, weighing more than Saturn. That’s the second largest planet in our solar system and I would say that if anyone out there has more than 5,000 cost centres in their chart of accounts, they probably have a Saturn Shaped problem. The big question is ‘Why’?

The answer is usually that staff, managers etc cannot extract reports from feeder systems, so they ask for more and more detail to be recorded within the finance nominal or general leger. The point that is missed unfortunately, is that the detail clearly already exists in the feeder (Housing, Repairs or Contractor etc) solutions. So why push the feeder system problems, further down the line?

I have heard many tales and witnessed a few organisations suffering this issue. Many people tell me they don’t get it. My explanation is the difference between my shopping trips and my credit card bill. The former could include lots of craft beer, fancy cheese and macaroons. Perhaps 50-100 items and lots of detail. I pay using a credit card. When I look at my Visa bill, I can see what I spent at Morrison’s, but not how much of it was cheese. That was detailed on my shopping bill, if I was interested in analysing it.

The detail stays where it belongs.

Organisations need to stay firm to use finance solutions at the level that is sensible. They should not be providing a Band Aid plaster to get around poor reporting facilities, elsewhere in the organisation feeder systems. Finance team manager’s need to be strong in how they tackle this. The answer is not to expand finance, its to sort out detail reporting.

As anyone who knows me from procurements, they know my distain about the general quality of standard system reporting provision. Tragically, some have laid this deficiency at the door of finance teams. If you are a finance manager or director, suffering a chart of accounts looking like Saturn, then revaluate your feeder solution and work to slim Cost Centres down.

Look again and invest in feeder systems, no need to get James Burke on the case….

Related Post:Sick of software providers? Why not DIY ?


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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Human League – Black Hit Of SpaceHuman League – Black Hit Of Space.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.


File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365, ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Firmstep, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,Goss Interactive,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex,Granicus,GOSS HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi 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2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MRI Socialhousing,MRISocialhousing, NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice,Netcall,Netcall Liberty,NEC Software Solutions OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plenfific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent 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