Showing posts sorted by relevance for query #socialhousing. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query #socialhousing. Sort by date Show all posts

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Move On

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


Mobile working has come a long way since early days when back in 2007/8, when my old shop was developing on Windows Mobile, almost the only credible game in town, before the growth of Android from 2009, when cheap devices running it became available.

Apple iOS devices also appeared, which meant that customers quite rightly wanted choice, freedom to buy devices to fit their budget & preferences.

That was the point where pretty much a software house could no longer credibly develop mobile, as a side-line, with just the classic ‘two men and a dog’.

Ahh Windows 6.5, not much missed...
The growth of mobile specialists began and the long path to quality integration started. I do feel sorry for the pioneers, during 2010 and 2015, many of whom had bad experiences, that put them off mobile for several years after.

However, in 2019 we are in a better place, particularly in the #SocialHousing sector, where I mostly work. Devices, integration is pretty much there, many have done it before and we have pretty good UK mobile signal coverage these days. Where we have gaps, WiFi thankfully can often take the strain.

Within the sector, we have some key players, all with key alliances or owned by Housing System solution suppliers. Perhaps in some cases, some of these alliances need to be revisited, in the light of two movements in the last couple of months, which may have gone under the radar.

The first is that Kirona, who recently benefitted from an injection of LivingBridge VC, in April were bought by Advanced. (or OneAdvanced as they seem to be branding themselves. What is it with this ‘One’ thing, these days?) Their new owner will be well-known to users of OpenAccounts, various social care and HR/Payroll solutions, popular in the housing sector.

Advanced already have some mobile solutions, within social care and other sectors. This might well take Kirona’s focus from housing, something it has been working on for some time.

Northgate Housing users will be familiar with Kirona, its offices historically just across from the NPS one, in Alderley Edge. Northgate I understand are already working on their own independent mobile solutions, so giving customers a future choice. It will be interesting how Advanced assimilate Kirona mobile & scheduling customers. Do share your experiences via DM🤔

Secondly, it was interesting to see Cloud Dialogs join the fold at TotalMobile. Interestingly Nick Jeffreys has a OptiTime/DRS/Kirona connection, as many in the sector will know, strangely connecting these two acquisitions. More info here.

Many will remember the origins of Belfast based TotalMobile as Consilium https://www.totalmobile.co.uk/news/consilium-change-name-totalmobile/  and many Capita Housing customers will know TM as its default partner for mobile. I think this is an interesting acquisition that may bring the most benefits to the housing & Contractor sectors. It will be interesting to watch what happens with this one.

The other key integrated housing software solution suppliers, pretty much have a default mobile solution by now. Aareon with 1st Touch, Castleton with Agile etc.

While other mobile solutions are available, few have significant penetration within the #socialHousing sector, so carrying some risk. If you are behind the curve and not utilising staff mobile to increase efficiency, always assess risk carefully. Ask how many clients are live and where you can see the effective integration in operation. That might save you some heartache and tears later.

You can of course go it alone with toolkits, like the one from NDL. But do remember, you will be building a 'one of a kind', that should be properly documented, for when your developers move on.

If you think you need help with progressing mobile, or need guidance in dealing with a project that’s going (or gone) off the rails, just get in touch!

Related Post: Have you got your staff just wasting their time, doing stuff that adds no value?  

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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.

White Denim – Move OnWhite Denim – Move On.
(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,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,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,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,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365, 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, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid, 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, 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,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 Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
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Sunday, 1 July 2012

Computer Blue(s)

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @hotpixUK

It’s shaping up to be a rainy and expensive month for housing associations and housing groups as Microsoft have decided that these organisations no longer qualify as charity, for licensing purposes, unless at least 10% of income comes from donations. Now I haven’t seen a technical definition of ‘donation’, although I can guess which one might be appropriate.

This moves housing associations and groups into the public sector licensing agreement and for most a price hike of an eye watering 400% to the PSA12 framework. Changes take place in September, although already budgets will have been revised to take this incredible hit into account. A mad rush to buy cheap licences will surely take place for the next few weeks.

Microsoft said in a statement: “Microsoft's new discount frameworks recognise the increasing importance of the UK’s 70,000 social enterprises in driving public services. The new frameworks for social enterprises complement the discounts and free options already available to 174,000 UK charities, as well as public sector organisations and public sector mutual’s.

“Charitable organisations and social enterprises looking to buy new technologies from Microsoft will be entitled to different levels of discount depending on their levels of voluntary contribution or how they generate their revenue, if applicable.".

Microsoft will also be increasing private sector prices by at least 25% too this month, in order to “harmonise prices and licensing terms across Europe”. This is a major part of its world portfolio and as many others have said, it risks alienating some of Microsoft’s best customers.

So what are the alternatives? Many of the base components are out there, but how well would the mainstream HMS (Housing Management System) providers interface to OpenOffice or some of the other open source alternatives? Some food for thought here http://www.junauza.com/2010/06/10-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft.html 

We may not particularly like Microsoft, but housing has got quite hooked on its Office Suites, server software and other applications. Now we are all going to pay for it. Too late now to consider what else you could have bought. From now on, we all need to have every option on the table. Stretching software for longer, missing upgrades for example might help in delaying the pain.

There is still the CTX programme. See http://www.ctxchange.org/ . This would help many of the smaller organisations and even the community library project, which I am involved with in South Warrington, Cheshire. But you have to be a true charity. Even after an admin fee, savings of 92-96% on retail prices are claimed.

With these additional strains on budgets, many will be tempted to approach their bigger HMS and infrastructure suppliers for some annual savings. It’s certainly worth a try, particularly when you size up the cost of a new system compared with your existing annual maintenance. With 10 or more years of RPI adding compound interest every annum, you may be re-buying your system every 3 years. Come to think of it, that Microsoft price hike may not be that large after all......

Oh, and a last thought..... There is one big cloud platform supplier with a massive charity arm, with licences a real fraction of real world ones. Maybe Salesforce.org will prevail one day in the future, for #SocialHousing

The only thing for sure, cash spent on this will be just a little more having to be diverted from neighbourhoods, residents and front line services. Give it a few years and the Microsoft CRM product will be watered down within #SocialHousing so its true benefits cannot be realised, or some backdoor cheaper licence will need to proliferate on the platform, to bring it within reasonable budgets. Lets just see!

Read on to : Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger..

Prince. Now would he have put up with this?...




(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk

File Under: 360,1stTouch,4Js,Aareon,Academy,ActiveH,Alignment,ALMO,Anite,Apex,ArchHouse,Archouse,asbestos,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Aurora,Average IT Costs,BO,BPR,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Process Review,Business social networking,Castle,CBL,Cedar Open Accounts,Change,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics,

CHR,Citrix,Civica,Clearview,CMS Template,COA,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Competitive Dialogue process,complex IT procurements,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation,Consultancy,Consultant,Contact Manager,Context, MD , Director , Housing software, UK, United Kingdom,
Contractor Systems,CORE,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,CRM,Crystal Reports,CTI,CTX,Customer Relationship Management,Deeplake,Development Systems,Document Management,Documotive,ECMK,EDRMS,England, English,EnterpriseBI,ERP Systems,Finance,Financial Systems,Getting best from,Grasp,Grip,hardware,HG,Housemark survey,Housing Blueprint,Housing Group,Impact Response,implementations,In House,In4,Infoflow,Information Technology,Informix,inHouse,in-house workforce, HousingIT, Innovation,Inside Housing,Internet Portal,Invu,Ireland,Irish,IT Budget,IT Training,iWorld,Keylogic,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,management reporting,Measuring Change,Mebus,Miracle,MISCS, mobile functionality,Monopoly board images and pictures, Montal,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Northgate,Notice,NROSH,OA,OGC Buying Solutions,Ohms,OJEU  Limits,OmFax,Omniledger,Open source software,open tender,OpenHousing,Opti-Time,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,Paloma,performance management systems,PfH,Pick,PIMMS,pimms4communities,Planned maintenance,Plus,PM,Progress,Promaster,Proval,Pyramid, QL,QLX,Registered Providers,Registered Social Landlord,Rent Increase Freezes,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,ROCC, Rocket,RPs,RSL,Saffron,SAP,Scots, Scottish,Scotland,SDM,sector,Server Virtualisation,servicing, Servitor,Servitor,Sharepoint,Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Media,Software,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting Services,SQL reporting services,SQL Server,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic Asset Management,Sunguard ,Surveys,Sx3,System alignment, Systemwise, Factorwise, Blockwise, Block wise, Task,Terminal Services,Three Star,Today,Total repairs,Tribal,Twitter,U2,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,Universal Housing,Universe,Unrest,Van Stock,Voice and data,Wales,Welsh,Windows Server,Workflow and tasking,Xmbrace,XML, 07854-655009 , 07854655009 , 07854 655009 , "07854 655009" , tonysmith , thathousing , thathousingit , thathousingITguy, guy

Saturday, 7 September 2019

Black Out

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


On the recommendation of a clever German friend, I recently read Marc Elsberg’s Black Out.

It’s a bestseller about the effects an outage of power has on a swath of European countries and the US. Without giving away the plot, it was a coordinated attack which could have been by industry insiders, terrorists, or a rogue state.

It’s a gripping storyline, so I will let you find out by yourself!

With the current suspicion of external actors such as North Korea, China, Russia and others closer to home, it puts an interesting spin on how without secure and constant electrical supply, our interconnected and largely segmented & privatised society, could literally grind to a halt in days or a few short weeks.

Increasingly, we rely on embedded software code to enable access to homes and buildings, regulate our environments and supply our amenities. Stuxnet showed us how vulnerable our software is, when in 2010, over 200,000 machines were affected. It had been five years in development, longer than the planning that goes on behind some revolutions!
You might remember the London & South East electricity outage in Aug 2019, crippled 300,000 customers and brought some rail services to a standstill. That showed how fragile our systems can be.

With the rise of IOT (Internet of things), which overall is a positive thing I believe, how can security be guaranteed? Programmers love black doors and Easter Eggs. While perhaps a bit of (harmless) fun, these all add vulnerabilities, often at firmware level. Apart from the ‘published methods & functions’ in our devices, how many lay dormant, waiting to be activated by activists, terrorists, a foreign power, or even our own governments? In the recent turn that Brexit has taken in the UK, some info has been leaked about the powers, being prepared, just in case of civil unrest.

Any programmer knows that one persons bug, can be another’s ‘feature’. I am sure some readers of this will have experienced this phenomenon in the past where an upgrade removed an old bug, that was being used productively. Its certainly happened to me.

How good will QC (Quality Control) be, as IOT makes even greater use of AI? Potentially daily, Gigabytes or more of data is going to be being processed from each of our homes. How will that be protected, whether running through home assistants/Smart Speakers etc, or protected in the very core of the new (Huawei or not) 5G networks?

The point is that we layer software on software to run our world and increasing farm it out to the cheapest bidder. Good QC is expensive, often 2-3 times more that writing the original code if done seriously well. You only have to see some of the bugs that I encounter, from a variety of #SocialHousing systems each month, to see that cutting corners on quality testing costs everyone more in the long run. That includes keeping those software suppliers help desks staffed up with (in some cases) hundreds of calls to chew through daily.

It might be the right time now to think hard and deep about our software vulnerabilities. Do read the book, Black Out by Marc Elsberg. If you work in or rely on embedded software, it might just be your wake up call 🤔

Related Post: Beware Alexa, she listens all the time you know....  
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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.

David Bowie – BlackoutDavid Bowie – Blackout.
(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,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,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,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365, 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, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid, 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, 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,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 Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
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Friday, 1 November 2019

Big or Small, its Complex

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


One of my aims when originally setting up my consultancy nearly nine years ago, was to bring better use of Social Housing ICT solutions, to all sizes of RPs and RSL’s.

There’s such waste in organisations of all sizes, which could easily be ploughed into core services, more or better staff, better targeting of value time with potential residents who need it, or better repairs & capital works. ICT systems need to earn their keep.

While I work with many providers managing thousands or tens of thousands of homes, recently I have done a lot of work with much smaller landlords, of 400, 160 and just 34 properties. I have met some incredible staff and some residents too, who often see housing as well as support from these landlords.

In a recent procurement process, with a client with under 2,000 properties under management, one supplier declined to submit a completed ITT. The reason given amounted to the client wanting ‘functionality that was more common in a larger RSL’.

Now bidders quite often pull out of procurements for a wide range of reasons, not always citing the real reason why. A prospect could be qualified out by a sales manager, maybe because its felt too ‘cold’ an engagement – i.e. there’s no existing relationship. Perhaps a supplier is already suitably committed or want to concentrate on more ‘solid’ prospects. That’s not a problem, some great proposals came in, however it got me thinking.

Thinking about my recent client with under 200 managed homes, its amazing how sophisticated this organisation is, compared with ones maybe of 7,000 homes or more. Under UK legislation, the smaller organisation still has Gas safety, EPCs, Asbestos, all kinds of other compliance to deal with, in addition to asset management, Universal Credit rollout (& attendant issues that brings) and GDPR. These add a massive overhead if solution features are missing or poorly integrated.

In some ways a procurement with a bigger socialhousing client can be an easier prospect than with a more compact one, as there is more likely to be a few ‘spare’ admin staff (or more likely admin staff with some ‘spare’ capacity), who might take up the slack, for missing or lightweight system features being offered.

Smaller providers are the backbone of much provision these days, in small towns, all across the UK. While working hard to make a difference, these smaller RPs/RSLs need innovative ICT solutions that ease the burden on staff, when trying hard, delivering top notch service. So suppliers, I would expect more requests for functionality just like the ‘bigger players’.

The challenge for suppliers, particularly as all the mainstream players migrate to browser delivered solutions, is how to deliver solutions while keeping implementation days low. That might be by delivering more of an out of the box ‘best practice’ config, or simplifying that whole integration phase, taking a leaf how we work with apps. No one trained us to use Amazon or online banking, but we managed it, didn’t we?  

Once our #socialhousing suppliers crack that, they will seriously crack that smaller market, who are suffering pretty much most of those same complexities as larger organisations, but with maybe 200, not 20,000 homes.

Related Post: Fail to prepared for UAT and you have prepared to fail...  
 

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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.

Lana Del Rey – Mariners Apartment ComplexLana Del Rey – Mariners Apartment Complex.
(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,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,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,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365, 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, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid, 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, 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,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 Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
. . . . . . . . . . .

Monday, 17 April 2017

Paid In Full

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


Anyone who knows me, I am sure understands that I am a firm believer in a ‘hand up’, rather than a ‘hand out’. My involvement with my local voluntary community library, documenting my (relatively) small provincial town’s night shelter probably make that obvious. If someone can put on my gravestone, ‘This chap made the world a little better than when he came into it’, I would be quite pleased. Obviously some muppet could cremate me, sh*t happens.

Last month I got involved with a funding project to assist a credit union and local signposting organisations to create something to help the growing number of people out of financial security. It was in the central west area of our capital city, London. A place I hated in my 20’s & 30’s and somewhere I have come around to in a big way in my 40’s & 50’s for all sorts of reasons.

London is certainly a city of extremes, we have the very rich and the very poor rubbing shoulders.

The project was to explore funding to improve Credit Union systems, with a twitter chum of mine, the brilliant Lizzie Spring @ESpringW11, who single handledly brings me down to earth, on a regular basis, as to what we are really looking to achieve for residents in socialhousing. I need more Lizzie Springs in my twitter Stream, believe you me.

Anyway, a lot of what I looked into was around self-service and what we might technically call #channelshift. Blimey, it is 2017, don’t we all do our stuff on the web? I think we do actually. Credit Unions need an easy way for people to open saver as well as loan accounts.

The takeaway for me was that where banks lead, we in the other strands of society, need to catch up. If credit unions are not attracting customers who can sign up instantly, some Building Society will. If lenders cannot access affordable funding easily, they will end up at the Wonga’s, loan sharks and Brighthouses, which are ultra-easy to engage with, but not the best with expected outcomes, of thousands of percent interest. Where the homeless or needy have access to a Smartphone, the usual conduit to the web, there surely should be a better way.

In UK #socialhousing we cannot judge ourselves by what suppliers provide for us as ‘products’. These are pretty comprehensively poor, except for a few notable exceptions. I was surprised to find credit union software somewhat ahead in places of socialhousing offerings. How has our sector fallen that far behind? Its pitiful.

There’s no excuse for supposedly key software suppliers offering half built or bog standard closed offerings. Because at the end of the day, our residents and customers, won’t use them. So instead of channel shift for pence per transaction, we risk wasting money on expensive white elephants.  At the end of the day we could have just employed two more staff in the service centre.

Related Post: What can Social Housing learn from Donald Trump? 


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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.

Eric B Rakim – Paid In FullEric B Rakim – Paid In Full.
(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: 360,1stTouch,4Js. , 07854655009 ,365Agile," """" ",,#UKHousing,#HousingDAY, #HomesForBritain,#InternetOfTenants, #Shout,1st Touch,3squared,Accuserv,Acutence,Aareon,Academy,ActiveH,AirWatch,Alignment,ALMO,Anite,Apex,ArchHouse,Archouse,asbestos, Asprey e-state pro,ActiveHousing,Asset Management,Aurora,Average IT Costs,App,Associates,ACL,Abritas,AMS,AX,aspireview,Agile365, BO,BPR,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning, Business Process Review,Business social networking, Blockwise, Block wise,BI,BancTec,BluTek,Bluebox, Castle,CBL,Cedar Open Accounts,Cx,Change,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, CHR,Citrix,Civica,Clearview,CMS , CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,Civica Genero,Contractor Systems,CORE,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,CRM,Crystal Reports,CTI,CTX,Customer Relationship Management,Cashflow, COA,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Competitive Dialogue process,complex IT procurements,Component Accounting, Community Reward Services, Consilium, Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Contact Manager,Context,CIH,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cadcorp,Cerrus Saturn,convergeOne,CACI,CPL, CRS Director, Deeplake,Development Systems,Accuserve,Document Management,Documotive,datasystems , Microsoft dynamics GP 2013, DynamicAI, Dynamic AI, ECMK,EDRMS,England, English,EnterpriseBI,ERP Systems,ERP,Elmhurst,Estatecraft,EDM,ESRI,Exponential-e, Finance, Financial Systems, Financials, Factorwise,Facebook ,Footprint,Fusion, Getting best from,gotonysmith, Grasp,Grip,GeoSolveIT,GIS,GGP,Genero,GCloud,G-Cloud,HouSys,Housing software,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,Housemark survey,Housing Blueprint,Housemark, HRA,housingtITguy,Housing Support Pro,HousingSupportPro,Housing Options,Hometeam, Housing Group,hotpixuk, HousingIT,hotpix,Hardware,Hitex,Housing Contact Company,Impact Response,iPayPro,implementations,iRobot,In House,InHouse,In4,InMotion, InMotion2016, InMotion2015, InMotion2016 , Exhibition, conference,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Management Consultants, Infoflow,Information Technology,Informix,inHouse,in-house workforce,Information@Work components, Innovation,Inside Housing,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Information Management Server,IMS, Invu,Ireland,Irish,Inphase , IT Budget,IT Training,iWorld, Innovation Group Apex,ITIL, In4Systems Promaster,IT,Insight, iSupport,iSupportPro, Keylogic,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keypera Hometeam,Keyfax,Ledgers,Linkedin,Locality,Liquid Voice,MD ,Mr Void , MrVoid, Measuring Change,Mebus,Miracle,MISCS,mDesign,mobile functionality,mobile platform,Monopoly board images and pictures, Montal,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Miracle Software,MDM,Management,CRM2013,Reporting,MI,M3,MIS,MIS-AMS,Mobysoft, Northgate Codeman,Neighbourhoods and Communities,NPS,NPS Housing,NPS CRM,NPS Job Manager Mobile, Northgate,Notice,NROSH,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,Natural Forms,Nintexworkflow,NPS ASSIST, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,Ohms,OJEU Limits,OmFax,Omniledger,Open source software,open tender,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Oracle,Orchard,Optitime DRS,Outsource and outsourcing,OpenContractor,ORS,OneServe, PIMMS Data Systems, Paloma,performance management systems,PfH, Pick,PIMMS,pimms4communities, Planned maintenance,People Value,Plus, Peoplevalue, PM,Progress,Promaster,Proval,Pyramid,PRINCE2,prince,Pamwin,PlanForm, Propoints, Pro-Points QL,QLX,Quiss,Qlikview, QueryView,Queryview reporting,Registered Providers,Registered Social Landlord,Rent Increase Freezes,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,ROCC,RobotAutomation,Rave Technologies (India) PVT Limited, Rocket,RPs,RSL,Reality,ReAct,reidmark,RM865, Saffron,SAP,Scots, "Social Housing IT",Social Housing ICT, Scottish,Scenario, Scotland,SDM,sector,TonySmithHou,Safron,Server Virtualisation,servicing, Servitor,Sharepoint, Simdel,Simdell,SimPro,Sim Pro,Slash and Burn,Social Media,Software,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting Services,SQL reporting services,SQL Server,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic Asset Management,Sunguard ,Surveys,Sx3,System alignment,Symatrix Human Capital Management, TonySmithHousing, Systemwise,SM,Sequoa,Serros,SP,Scout,score,Swordfish,Serengeti,SOTI,southview,Sunguard,Service Charges,Spotlight Service, Spotlightservice, SunAccounts, Template,Task,Terminal Services, tonys , tonysm , tonysmi , tonysmith, tonysmitht, gotonysmith, tableau Business Dashboards, tonysmithth, tonysmiththa, tonysmiththat, tonysmiththath, tonysmiththatho, tonysmiththathou, tonysmiththathous, tonysmiththathousi, tonysmiththathousin, tonysmiththathousing,Tony Smith That,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT, guy,tonysmiththathousing, tonysmiththathousinguy,tony smith housing guy,sharepoint, share point, SHBVN, Three Star,Today,Total repairs,Tribal,Twitter,U2, tonysmith , tonysmiththat , thathousing , thathousingIT , thathousingITguy, TED,Tagish Casework,TP Tracker,Telecetera,Tagra,Trace, Totalmobile, Total Mobile, UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,Universal Housing,Universalcredit, universal credit, universal credits,UC,Universe,Unrest, UK, United Kingdom ,Ukhousing,UK Housing, Van Stock,Voice and data,Vantage Sentinel,verse one,verseone,vWork,Version One,Visualmetrics,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Windows Server,Workflow and tasking,Wheatley,Works Connect,worksConnect, Xmbrace,XML ,XenApp,Xen App ..

Thursday, 22 January 2026

Make A Move (exit the 18 month club…)

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

On Critical Friends, Critical First Steps, and the 18-Month Limbo Club, the other day out of the blue, a director from an organisation I’d recently worked with dropped me a note to say thank you. Not for rescuing a go-live, or untangling a programme that had quietly drifted into spreadsheet archaeology. Not for stabilising something already wobbling. They thanked me for (just) getting them started. 

Started on their procurement journey to new systems that is.

That small detail stuck with me, because it highlights something in my three decades in the sector, I've noticed we do not talk about enough in #socialhousing, asset management, repairs, customer services etc. A lot of organisations are not failing at implementation. They are not even failing at procurement. They are stuck somewhere earlier, in a kind of organisational limbo where everyone agrees change is needed, but nobody quite pushes the first proper domino over.

The “Critical Friend” role I have often written about previously is often seen as something you bring in once procurement is done & dusted. Contracts signed, steering groups formed, and the inevitable workshop where someone asks what success looks like, (while everyone avoids eye contact). But by then, many of the most important decisions, or non-decisions, have already been made. Being a Critical Friend much earlier is different. It is less about fixing a plan and more about helping an organisation admit that it does not yet have one, (or at least sometimes not one it is prepared to act on).

What that usually means is asking awkward but necessary questions before anything has gone to market. What problem are you actually trying to solve? What is the real cost of staying as you are, beyond the collective sighing in meetings? What does “better” look like on a grey Tuesday morning when the phones are busy and a system is under pressure? And perhaps most importantly, are you genuinely ready to move, or are you still doing a bit of superficial browsing and tyre kicking?

Browsing is where a lot of organisations get stuck. Suppliers engage positively. Demos are attended. Workshops are run. Requirements are discussed and refined and discussed again. Suppliers may suggest a dodgy feeling direct award. Someone produces a draft options appraisal that feels reassuringly substantial. And then time passes. Eighteen months. Sometimes two years+. Nothing formally progresses, but everyone feels busy and involved, which can be oddly comforting.

Software suppliers have pointed this out to me more than once, (usually with admirable diplomacy OBVs). They will honestly say that engagement has been good, which is true. It just has not gone anywhere. And the reason is rarely a lack of intelligence or intent. It is usually fear or inexperience, dressed up as prudence.

There is often a quiet fear of procurement itself. Not because procurement colleagues are unreasonable, but because procurement is where thinking turns into doing. Up to that point, it is all hypothetical. Once procurement enters the room, it becomes about routes, governance, compliance, and decisions that have names attached to them. It becomes harder to stay safely non-committal. My attitude is very much to engage with procurement early however, they are not to be feared! Its a fallacy that your procurement team are there to prevent you buying anything. 

There is also anxiety of the marketplace. Housing has a long memory, and system changes that went wibble linger in organisational folklore for years. People worry about picking the wrong supplier, or missing a better one, or being dazzled by shiny dashboards, or that integration disaster, while the fundamentals quietly disappoint. That anxiety can keep organisations circling the runway long after they should have taken off.

Above all, there is fear of making a mistake. In social housing, mistakes land on real people. Rent/Service Charge accounts, repairs, compliance, damp & mould, and trust are not abstract concepts. No one wants to be the person whose name is later associated with an “unfortunate outcome”. So the safest option can feel like not deciding at all.

The problem is that no decision is still a decision. It just spreads its impact quietly over time. Limbo has a cost, even if it feels calm. Good people burn energy propping up creaking processes and legacy systems. Workarounds and spreadsheets harden into unofficial policy (the Shadow IT). Data quality never quite even starts to improve, because nobody wants to invest effort cleaning and preparing data for a system that might be replaced “soon”. Transformation opportunities are missed, not because the ambition is lacking, but because the foundations are not moving.

After a year or two of this, organisations often feel tired before they have even started. So much discussion has taken place that the emotional energy meant for delivery has already been spent. At that point, ambition gets trimmed. Scope is quietly reduced. Or the whole thing is deferred again, usually until after the next restructure, which in housing terms can sometimes mean a very long wait indeed.

I sometimes wonder whether more organisations are stuck in this early limbo than are struggling with delivery programmes that never quite land. Implementation failures are visible and noisy. Pre-procurement paralysis looks sensible from the outside. It gets described as caution, or due diligence, or waiting for the right moment. Housing is very good at creating more moments to wait for.

There is a simple test I often come back to. If you had to state, honestly, the single biggest thing stopping you from moving to procurement, what would it be? Not the long list of issues, but the real blocker. Until that is named, organisations tend to orbit the problem rather than tackle it.

If any of this feels uncomfortably familiar, it is not something to be embarrassed about. The pressures are real, the risks are real, and the environment is unforgiving. But organisations that move well are not those that eliminate uncertainty. They are the ones that acknowledge it early, structure it, and move forward anyway.

That is where the right experienced Critical Friend can genuinely add value, long before a contract is signed. Not by telling you what to buy, but by helping you move from “we should” to “we are”.

So if your organisation recognises that it is blocked at the very start, do consider reaching out to me at some point. Not when the programme is already smouldering. Earlier than that, when you are still standing on the touchline, debating whether the ball is regulation size*, and wondering why the match never seems to start.

* Size 5 in case you were wondering - circumference of 68 to 70 cm (about 27 to 28 inches) and a weight of 410 to 450 grams at the start of a match. The internal pressure should be 0.6 to 1.1 bar, which is 8.5 to 15.6 psi. 

Is your organisation doing more pondering than transforming  ? 
Get in touch , I will drop in for a cuppa & bring the Hobnobs ☕

       Related Post: A Critical Friend may be what you need to evaluate your supplier options

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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.

Lostprophets – Make A MoveLostprophets – Make A Move

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting 
www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here , what projects do we get involved in? Access them 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,ActiveF,ActiveFinance,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,Aidenn,Agile,Agile365,AHB,AirWatch,Alscient,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,BrikHousing,Browser Applications,BC, Business Central, 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,Cx Assets, 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,CxFeedback, DRS,Deeplake,Datatank,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Esynergy,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, F&O, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,FLS,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HCL,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw,HousingOne,Housing-One, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IPC,iProperty Cloud,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfinityGroup,InfoBoss,Infoshare+,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab,InclineIT, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz,Looking Local, M3,MadeTech,Manifest Software Solutions,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ, MRI,MRI/Capita,MRI Housing One, 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, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omni,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,Plentific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propeller,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,ROCC Orchestrator,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,ROCC Attend,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket,Rubixx, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,Sava,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,TAIM,Techlabs,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Tilt,TiltAffinity,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visitour,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voicescape,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, Yuneo,TS Acutance Consulting, ...

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