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Late autumn this year I found myself doing something that felt oddly symbolic of where #socialhousing systems tech is right now. One day in London, I was sat in a room full of people talking about CRM platforms, cloud everything, Agentic AI and transformation. The very next day I was with a long-established UK HMS supplier, still wrestling their way through cracking full browser compatibility, legacy architecture, and the sheer effort of dragging decades of product forward into a modern world to make it saleable.
The contrast could not have been sharper.
The CRM event had an almost evangelical feel to it. Satisfied users. Big smiles throughout. Big stories. Also some big price tags for some. Organisations talking openly about spending significantly more than they ever would have done on a traditional housing management system, but justifying it because it delivered what they needed operationally with less grief. You could feel the belief in the room. Not just belief in the product, but belief in the journey they had chosen. OK Rev Blackgrape, "Whose souls are we gonna save" ?
The HMS day felt very different. Not bad, not negative, but grounded. Practical. Good to see they were honest about the challenges. You could sense the effort going in, but also the drag. The dead-weight of history. The compromises that come from having to modernise something that was never designed for browsers, cloud delivery, SAAS or rapid iteration in the first place. You can see why some recent would be ‘has-been slayers’ thought it best to just start from scratch.
Which pretty much sums up 2025 for me.
Across this last year I have helped some clients decide that a CRM platform genuinely was the right answer for them. Others who had already gone down that road and then needed help finding a way back to a more traditional HMS. And plenty where CRM was never really a contender at all, because the complexity, user seats cost, current absent IP or operational risk just did not stack up. There truly is something for everyone, as I proved for the small (under 190 homes) up to the large (over 38k homes) providers.
So where is the market actually up to now?
There is a growing narrative that only CRM platforms can innovate. That they are the only ones moving fast, experimenting, releasing new functionality, AI Agents and responding to modern expectations. Meanwhile some HMS suppliers are still accused of undertaking radial rubber tyre 70's style retreads. Recent HMS supplier consolidation has certainly not helped. New user interfaces bolted onto old cores, maybe flat text data exchange. Browser layers masking systems that were never meant to live there. Old legacy functionality dropped and not carried through. Innovation slowed not by lack of intent, but by technical debt.
There is some truth in that I think, but its not the whole story.
CRM platforms absolutely can move fast, especially when they are not carrying decades of housing-specific programming baggage. But speed comes at a price. Cost, complexity, dependency on extensive reseller led configuration, and the need for organisations to effectively build their own housing system on top of a general purpose CRM platform. Easy and flexible access to data, often assumed / promised, often not so seen in reality. For some providers, that is empowering. For others, it becomes exhausting, after all we are in the business of managing stock, not developing software !
On the HMS side, the big question is whether serious innovation is possible while parts of the product estate are still incomplete, partially browser based (on the journey..), or constrained by older architectural decisions. Can suppliers genuinely leap forward while also keeping the lights on, via potentially a shrunken help desk, for thousands of existing customers. Some will manage it. Some will struggle. And some will quietly fall further behind than they care to admit in their Powerpoints..
For housing providers, councils with retained stock, the last ALMOS, AHB’s, and charities, this leaves a pretty uncomfortable middle ground. Do you bet on the flexibility and promise of CRM and accept the cost and effort. Do you stick with traditional HMS and hope the innovation curve steepens. Or do you end up walking one path, only to later retrace your steps when reality bites?
I have seen all three this year (and the fourth choice of the ultra-modern HMS cloud built from the ground up too).
What feels certain is that 2026 is not going to be any calmer. Housing system procurement decisions will be likely to get harder, not easier. The stakes will keep rising. And the gap between what suppliers say is possible and what organisations can realistically absorb will be tested more than ever.
Interesting times ahead. Not always comfortable ones. But definitely interesting for journeying beyond this first 25% of the twenty first century. If what I have covered here sounds familiar to you and your organisation, maybe that’s a ride we might be able to work together on getting you to where you need to be.
Related Post: The right Critical Friend will save you stress, time (and money) ?
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me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this
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New Order – Times Change
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
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