The Right Tech Outside

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

It’s great to see the forward thinking suppliers, who are not already all browser and fully in the Cloud, scrambling to take our Social Housing solutions there. Obviously avoid the Silverlight, design it to be responsive and exploit the great functionality of HTML5 that will work on any browser. Lately, the message I am getting from my clients are very much Cloud & Browser, or bust, which is very refreshing.

Clearly, now having solutions available quickly in a browser, possibly after fast two factor authentication, we have all our tech outside on the patch. So in theory, we can update details, set up agreements, carry out repair tasks, collate survey information. I am working with a few clients who hope to soon be moving to browser presentation and the natural question is, “Do I still need a dedicated mobile working solution”?

It’s a great question too, particularly if you have one already (at possible significant annual cost), or considering one. So, what’s to consider?

Often in the past I have been asked, why might we need a mobile working solution? For me if a process is transactional and significant volume could be completed at the place the data update originates, we have candidates for mobile app forms. When we have a browser based solution, could we use that instead?

Clearly, when the postman or UPS delivery person delivers and asks for our signature, it’s a convenient form that is designed for us to sign & be finished in about five seconds. If that were a signature in a box as part of a browser form that needed pinching and scrolling, that would seriously slow the transaction down. Not all our housing processes are as transactional as that and its no surprise that in social housing, it was internal repair contractor/DLO, where mobile working first took off. Our skilled trades are not ICT space cadets and apart from a few exceptions, I don’t think we would expect them to be.

So, what’s to be done with new browser versions of our solutions? Might they be suitable for outside the office, just as good as mobile working?

Well, the first question for me is, what sort of coverage have we got in our stock and geography? If we are in many rural locations with significant not-spots, browser presentation will struggle to cut it. However, mobile rollout is improving all the time and there are other means of having choice of the strongest network using multiple SIMs or an always roaming SIM, such as Manx Telecom. Solve any connectivity blockers and the first hurdle is jumped.

The next job is to do a direct comparison of individual mobile forms and the browser, full fat, system equivalent. This part of the task almost takes me back to 3 months I spent in an estimating department, in a switchgear factory as part of a technician apprenticeship, back in the early eighties. If the role/task can be tackled in a browser, within no more than a third of the time of the mobile form, it’s probably acceptable.

I have done this exercise with a client and you know what, in the system we were looking at, a lot of the housing and arrears functions were all feasible in a browser. Clearly staff working mobile on the patch or the scheme need to have been trained for the wider system, rather than mobile form users, who in theory should (if the forms have been thoughtfully designed), should pick up a new form in minutes, much like we are used to picking up a smartphone app. If that is not the case, for goodness sake, look again at your design or the app developers. Great apps are picked up quickly, poor apps end up on your page 6 & 7 of your smartphone/tablet don’t they?

In this recent exercise, it was clear than the housing, arrears and contact/CRM functions easily had potential be supported as pure browser by staff. However, the blind spot was clearly assets (condition surveys in particular), multi-use void inspections another area, all ones that clearly a mobile form driving a pathway through what is needed to be done. No DLO/internal contractor was present here.  I suspect that might be similar in other organisations, with other solutions out there.

Every solution is different and your organisations needs are too. How well trained are your staff, are they ICT literate enough, or are they your person people? That should be taken into account, particularly where your primary integrated housing system provider, has not already produced a promised all browser solution, or its still festering on their roadmap. As we know there’s still a few of those around.

If you are experiencing similar ponderings, I hope this has been of use. My conclusion is that we need all solutions in a browser as soon as possible, yet the mobile (staff) app is not dead and buried yet. Far from it. Comments as usual welcomed from users in the sector and suppliers (I would be surprised if you guys & gals would not have a view).

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Related Post: Why do females do so badly in Social Housing ICT, a sector dominated by women?

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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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.

The Fixx – Outside.
(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.

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. . . . . . . . . . . .

Becoming Cx

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @hotpixUK
or LinkedIn here uk.linkedin.com/pub/tony-smith-bsc-hons-acih/a/979/351/

I must have written in these posts the phrase sometimes good things go bad and occasionally bad things come good somewhere along the line. It is a truism and I saw one positive one being played out at this last week’s Civica Conference held at Manchester Central. It was great to meet some old pals and some recent good eggs! If you are reading this, you will know who you are.

The conference does cover the vast range of Civica’s portfolio, but clearly the housing related features were of most interest to me. There were some inspirational speakers too. Andrew McMillan, Consultant and Former Head of Customer Service at John Lewis, was particularly good. He highlighted how consistency can create an exemplary customer care culture. Something that many RSL’s and housing organisations are struggling to achieve across all their channels, telephone into the customer service centre, interactions on the web and with repair operatives, (who because they wear a florescent jacket or fleece with your organisations name on it, should be able to deal with any request....).

The new Cx housing system was getting a good airing and quite rightly so I think. If I had £50 from all my more clued up housing system contacts who have asked me about it, I would have about £450 by now. Everyone switched on is curious. It’s the first new designed from the ground up housing system in 10 years and some features like the Contact Management truly are designed with future needs in mind, rather than ‘preferences for email etc bolted on later’.  Very brave in MHO and just one of the clever aspects that will make this a true player in a marketplace, against some aging solutions. If too many of your housing systems still look like DOS or Windows95, don’t bank on keeping it if you get involved in a merger. Civica are potentially on to a winner here if handled well.

On securing a drink at the Hilton bar on Deansgate, from Martyn Rees he was typically conservative about the significance of Cx, which was understandable. I would expect him to under-promise and do his best to over deliver. That's how you surprise.

I am sure he knows how good this all should be and Michael O'Reilly gave it a great overview at the Civica Housing User Group session on Thursday afternoon. I was pleased to see some of the sexier features shown, such as the forms & questionnaire designer and the Lettings application progression widget looked so good. Also proud to say to Mark Holdsworth, “that was my idea buddy”.

If handled well, implemented quickly, stops pulled out at some significant sites that are already signed up to upgrade, when its available for them, Civica have a real chance with a game changer on their hands. As any procurement person knows, for five years plus, tenders have been asking for pure browser delivery plus SQL Server.

Citrix, Terminal Services or Oracle in a browser etc, are the standard responses. With Windows8, touch screens and gestures will soon reach the office after mobile workers start to have them. If your device has a browser, your staff can join the Cx party.

Civica are tooling up too for the implementation phase of Cx. A tricky act to get that right that one, as I know myself, I have implemented enough tricky projects. Hopefully Jeff has got the A-Team signed up for that delivery outfit, hope he has got some black transit vans with red stripes on order...

If you are a UH, 4Js, CTX, Saffron or Genero user, do contact me and let me know what you think about Cx, is it something you are considering or are you squeezing more value out of what you have? Find me using the links on the right or via Linkedin.

You can link with me on LinkedIn here - uk.linkedin.com/pub/tony-smith-bsc-hons-acih/a/979/351/ It would be great to connect !

The Sneaker pimps - Becoming X .


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

PS As usual, if there are subjects you might like me to tackle on this blog, please get in touch and let me know!

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Losers & Winners

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

The socialhousing software & solution sector changes through the years, I have seen it in my nearly three decades doing this stuff. Tech changes, discontinued languages, suppliers challenge, often innovate/develop then become established and at times become slightly complacent.  

It’s how this business works. Who would have guessed a decade ago, there would be a rush for Cloud, browser presentation, working hybrid, mobile and flexibly?

I remember Aareon UK winning pretty much everything  for a while in the 2010’s, and quite justifiably with a traditional Client Server solution. These days the norm is very Cloud and responsive browser focused. This is an avenue that this supplier has actively turned away from, for some strange reason. Yuneo was the QLX/QLF future, until suddenly it was pulled.  Now these guys might well know something others are not aware of, and that would be pretty interesting. However this is a supplier I am sure needs some new and cool leadership, otherwise core products maybe going the way of the InHouse, Saffron’s, the Wheatley DLO & Aurora solutions etc. Alternatively, Arthur & Fixflo might be the future, as the big sellers.

On Linkedin, Aareon is a company keen on celebrating time served of existing staff, clearly less mention of staff leaving.  Worth a mention is the departure of Aleksandra Legosteva, previous ('awesome') product guru. I had significant hopes she might sort product out, I have huge faith in females working with ICT and particular in ICT management positions.  We certainly need more of them in the sector. A missed opportunity there IMHO.

This week Mark Le Pensee you may have spotted (or not), was appointed this week as Aareon UK VP of Product. Will this now be the turning point for this housing solution supplier ?

Aareon UK are clearly thrilled & excited (based on the socials PR), but will this make any difference to existing UK RSL or LA customers? Many are already assessing marketplace options. Will Mark manage to turn this suppliers product around to be a winner again? Give it two years would be my guess if I were a betting man (when the fun stops, stop! - As Gambleaware say), otherwise maybe a merger might be as some think, on the cards.

Failure to bow to SAAS & true responsive browser delivery can be a brutal lesson to come to terms with. Maybe some suppliers can bounce back, in some cases, maybe not. Possibly is time for Aareon to acquire one of the new young pretenders. Otherwise for existing QLX uses maybe get rid of that ridiculous 1980s scheduler. Who knows - watch this space!

Others have shown it possible that a whole new modern multi-tenanted housing & finance solution can be built from the ground up, in just a couple of years. Some work to be tackled, challenging, but proved to be possible!

Reviewing your current legacy solutions ?

Get in touch, for a chat soon over a brew & some chocolate digestives ☕

       Related Post: With modern full browser solutions, do we still need so much of the mobile apps? 

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ *** Join the discussion with Claire & Aiden *** _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Accept – Winners & Losers.
(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,Affinity,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Arthur Online,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 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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, 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,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,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 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,Plenfific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,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,Rubixx, 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,SDM,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,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,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, Yuneo,TS Acutance Consulting, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK

 

Fragile

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

In my very first exposure to IT in early 1980’s, I experienced a small part of a large engineering company where raw data was keyed in by a team of female admin and submitted to a mainframe down in Stafford. If you were lucky you got a result four hours or longer later, if it wasn’t an ‘Abend’ (An abnormal end error message – technical but correctly spelt) probably due to strange data, or a comms issue down the very expensive leased line. If the mainframe was off-line or busy, your ‘job’ could not be submitted up the line sometimes for hours, maybe days.

Moving on in the late 80’s, t'internet was being imagined as a distributed network by Paul Baran and others, who originally worked to create a communication system that could withstand a nuclear attack by having no central point of control. This vision was a response to Cold War concerns about vulnerable, centralised phone lines and led to the development of ARPANET. The concept was a decentralised network designed to remain functional even if parts of it were destroyed. So far, so good.

Since the 2000’s as we know, we have seen the growth of most of our internet resources in far fewer hands. No more so than in the provision of Cloud storage and technology. This is now dominated by Amazon (AWS) approximately 30-32%, Microsoft Azure 20-23% and Google Cloud with around 11-13%. The dangers of concentration of so many eggs in so few baskets was brought home last week, as a AWS outage. We were told this was due to “a latent defect within the service’s automated DNS (domain name system) management system”. This was apparently down to an empty DNS record for the Virginia-based US-East-1 datacentre region. Well it certainly was a problem that affected many well beyond the US East Coast between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains.

Around 2,000 organisations were affected including Banking sites (Lloyds/Halifax), HMRC, parts of the NHS (at least ten sites), DWP, Ring doorbells, Duolingo and Strava. “The Cloud” in this situation feels less good than my old friend the IBM mainframe situated in Stafford in the 1980’s. Its just a big computer in someone’s big shed ! Many organisations rely indirectly on AWS. This occurs through our partners, third-party services, or SaaS applications. How aware of this are we within our supply chain? Do we even ask about it in sufficient depth?

AWS storage and Agentic AI has been enthusiastically marketed within the socialhousing sector, non-profits and among other parts of the UK public sector. AWS is in use at quite a few HA’s, such as Aches Housing in Sheffield and Housing Plus Group, in Shropshire. 

One Social Housing Management System, is also currently being marketed, which operates behind AWS AppStream 2.0 as a means of browser delivery of a legacy solution. Users and residents of that one had an outage last week until around 10am on Monday, although could have been worse. Unless an ITT tender purchaser of a HMS had their wits about them, it could be easily sold as a modern browser solution, with the true platform being spotted much later. Always ask the right questions in procurement's, or have a Critical Friend along to help you do that and interpret the answers properly too!

While ‘lightning might not soon strike twice’, this shines a spotlight on the fragility of our supposedly smart technology. Amazon's massive AWS outage here, points to a key weakness in the modern internet. I have read multiple articles and listened to a tech podcast that basically took the view that ‘errors are understandable and inevitable for so-called “hyperscalers” ‘. It shows just how difficult it is, to prevent every single failure,

While no one I know really would like to return to multiple rooms of refrigerated tin, what is to be done going forward? What appetite might there be for the big three to work together to enable redundancy? Are organisations better looking for smaller alternatives or spreading their risk (with the downside of potential duplication and additional expense). 

The questions for management and their boards following this should include, “do we have good enough dependency mapping” also “have we effective business continuity planning” ? Does the potential fragility of our core storage choices make our organisation fragile too. In previous blogs I have shone a light on the tech beneath, another latent issue. 

Boards should consider specific due diligence regarding reliance on automated systems managed by the hyperscalers. If a latent defect in an automated process can bring down critical infrastructure affecting major banks, government services (HMRC, NHS, DWP), and consumer services, the question must be asked: What is the specific risk quantification tied to single points of failure within provider automation layers?

Fingers crossed, the next major Cloud outage may spare you !

Are some suppliers right to turn their back on Cloud/browser solutions? 

Get in touch , I will drop in for a cuppa & bring the Custard Creams ☕

       Related Post: If we implement new browser based solutions, do we still need mobile apps?

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Wire – Fragile

(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,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 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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,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, M3,MadeTech,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 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,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,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket,Rubixx, 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,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, ...

. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK

Apple Tree

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


Why-aye, interesting news for the North East this morning, as MRI Real Estate Software ‘broadens capabilities’ an acquisition of Orchard Information Systems.

Veterans of social housing asset management, might remember Qube, quite a ‘family atmosphere’ outfit in the day and also RAM (which many RSLs have purchased for Component Accounting), all part of this big US software group.

While rumours have done the rounds for a decade (like a few other UK standalone social housing software houses), that the for-sale signs were up, this is an interesting development. Orchard may well see a large injection of cash, similar to when NEC acquired Northgate recently. Alternatively, some consolidation, particularly around asset management solutions, may be on the cards. I would certainly consider some of the latter myself, even if investment was forthcoming. Many peers in this tight market are now scrambling to move to SaaS/browser delivery, or successfully implement new adopters. Slow movers stuck on traditional client-server models, will soon not be long for this world I fear.

MRI certainly have deep pockets and it will be interesting if some of it will be coming to ‘toon soon, to revive Orchard’s Progress based integrated housing solution and successfully move it to the SaaS space. Orchard have had a few false starts and there is a risk that once royal customers, may find they need/want to go to market sooner than development roadmaps permit. I have encountered a few sites where often perfectly happy housing teams, have been corralled to OJEU, due to having deemed to have hung on to a solution too long.

It’s a fair point, as RPI/CPI accumulates, like compound interest on annual maintenance, these organisations can be effectively re-purchasing the solution, very 2-3 years or so. Not brilliant value for money. Orchards relatively static and broadly content customer base, might well be the biggest attraction to MRI. It will be interesting what differences Orchard customers will experience going forward. I will keep an eye on this one (from my lock-down household  )

Full press release here

***************** 15/04/2020 *** U P D A T E ********************************
MRI Software Enters Agreement to Acquire Castleton Technology PLC
**********************************************************************************

Related Post: Covid-19, is it changing the way your organisation measures staff contribution and throughput?
 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Wolfmother – Apple Tree.
(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,acquisitions, 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,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 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, ...
. . . . . . . . . . .

Barfly

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

There is something properly refreshing about seeing a software company do something a bit different and actually mean it. 

Far too much of the social housing (or maybe ‘Real Estate’ 🤔) systems world still feels like it is run from the same old script. Same polite corporate waffle. Same safe office parks. Same legacy thinking with a bit of new AI branding chucked on top and called transformation. So when the Rubixx folks, a UK software house decides that the right next step is not some identikit glass box, but an ex-country club in Staffordshire, and the FT writes about it    that gets my attention straight away.

And honestly, good on them.

There is a confidence in that sort of move. It says we are not trying to cosplay Silicon Valley from a business park off M6 junction 15. Doing our own thing, in our own way, on our own patch. In proper potbank oatcake land too, which only adds to the charm. Stoke-on-Trent City Council apparently seem to like the mood music as well, and fair enough. If you are trying to bring jobs, energy, innovation and a bit of life into an area, you could do a lot worse than backing a growing UK software business that is clearly not short of ambition and attitude.

What I particularly like is that this is not style over substance. It would be easy enough for some firms to get attention with a quirky office and then have nothing behind the curtain except a beanbag, company strapline on the backwall, a neon sign and a waterfall product roadmap held together with hope. But that is not the story here. In about three and a half years they have produced three genuinely modern SaaS browser-based products across Housing, Finance and Support Planning. Full cloud. Proper Responsive Browser. Modern delivery. Over 30 live customers. And, from what I keep seeing & hearing, a very decent number of them are not just live, but actually happy. In housing software, that is not a small thing. That is the bit worth pausing on.

Because as we know, anybody can sell the dream in a demo. Plenty do. The trick is in migration, delivery, cutover, support, stabilisation and whether the customer still sounds cheerful once the consultants have gone home and the final invoices have landed. That is where things get real.

Over Easter I was involved in helping a good-sized and complex provider in Scotland get live with Rubixx housing and finance. That sort of go-live does not happen by accident. It takes nerve, hard graft, responsiveness, teamwork, supplier effort, customer effort, and a willingness to deal with the awkward realities rather than just admire the PowerPoint. So when I see a supplier building momentum and getting complex organisations live successfully, I take that seriously. It matters more than polished sales patter ever will.

And perhaps that is the bigger point. The housing sector does not need more fake modernity. It does not need another tired old platform with a thin browser wrapper and a fresh logo pretending to be born in the cloud. It needs suppliers who can think differently, build properly, implement competently and support customers like they matter. It needs suppliers that feel like they are moving forwards, not just charging annual maintenance on yesterday’s architecture while telling everyone “to be patient”.

So yes, the country club thing made me smile.

In truth it gave me a slight flashback to the 1980s, when work culture in some places still involved the odd liquid lunch and a level of informality that would send today’s HR departments into cardiac arrest. I am not necessarily recommending a full return to three pints and a prawn cocktail before a finance workshop, but there is something appealing about a software business whose workplace has a bar on site. It beats the usual modern corporate bribe of a sad fruit bowl, a branded hoodie and the once-a-month Friday pizza session that everyone is expected to be wildly grateful for. If they are really serious, they will make sure the bar includes some proper real ale and not just the usual fashionable fizzy nonsense. As a CAMRA member, I feel duty bound to mention that. Of course if getting Cask Marque certified might be one step beyond, maybe just some interesting bottles & cans might suffice. As Frank Cartwright told Brian Potter in Phoenix Nights, “they are the future” !

But beyond the humour, there is a serious point here too. Culture matters. Environment matters, standing by your promises matters. The physical place a company chooses says something about how it sees itself. A former country club is not just a gimmick if it helps attract staff, gives customers a memorable experience, creates a bit of buzz and reflects a business that is prepared to be bold. In a sector where too many suppliers still feel like they were assembled by committee, a bit of personality goes a long way.

And I suspect customers notice that difference.

Housing providers have spent years being told to make do with legacy platforms, sluggish development, shrinking dev teams, expensive change requests still on hold and the general sense that they should be grateful for whatever turns up in the next release cycle. So when they encounter a supplier that feels more modern, more human and more switched on, it stands out. When they then go live and start seeing benefits, the contrast with older, almost Mesozoic Era supplier experiences becomes even sharper.

That is why this matters beyond one interesting office move. It is a sign, perhaps, that some parts of the housing software market are growing up a bit. Becoming bolder. More confident. More willing to challenge the old order. Not by shouting loudly, but by building, delivering and steadily winning contracts and trust.

There is room for that in this sector. More than room, actually. There is a need for it.

So yes, fair play. A growing UK software house, no offshoring, modern cloud products, strong customer momentum, and an HQ that sounds more like somewhere you might actually want to visit than a beige office cube with bad coffee and worse acoustics. That is different thinking. And in a housing systems world that can still be painfully conservative, different thinking done well is something to celebrate.

Now then, if the next customer briefing starts with a decent pint of real ale in the clubhouse bar, or a bottled Impy Stout rather than a curled-up sandwich and a stale biscuit, I may start insisting all software procurement's are run that way. Some old traditions are worth keeping.

Are you lumbered with legacy solutions & unsure whats out there ? 

Give me a call, I will drop in for a brew & bring the Tunnocks Teacakes ☕

       Related Post: Remember that soft-market exploration is a great way to see whats out there.

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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.

Ray LaMontagne - Barfly

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


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