Working from Mario's Café

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


I heard an interesting story a few weeks ago, about a senior manager having read in a magazine article about Agile Working. They thought, “Nothing wrong with that” and fancied getting the staff to try it.

The week before leaving for a big chunk of annual leave, somewhere exotic hopefully, they declared, “get yourselves Agile, out of the office, make it happen by the time I return”.

As you might guess, it wasn’t a storming success.

Now, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with Agile working, but to make it a success, some planning is essential. There’s more to it than just working from the Italian café that does great flat white’s. Also, its good to think when its best to implement too.

Some of the common drivers around this, that I have encountered, include:
•    Introduction of new or emerging technologies. Maybe we can now provide tablets, apps or smartphones to staff, so they can carry out more work, where it actually originates
•    Office re-location or refurbishment imminent
•    Management structure change. New directors, CEO or senior managers, moving to an organisation, might want culture to change, to improve productivity or motivation.
•    Expansions and merger activity

In all of the above, “just get on and do it”, has rarely been practical or effective on its own. It generally needs a mini-project team putting together, consisting of a range of staff. So who should be included? Spookily enough in a project to build a short to medium term digital transformation plan, for a UK housing group, we are currently answering that very question.

Be sure to give this transformation or change management team a useful name, that will help later with joined up communications. ICT & HR need strong representation. The former as they are the engineers to plumb the IT/telephony tech in securely and the latter even more, as working patterns may need to change, even contracts of work if core hours and locations of working may change. HR teams tend to like a move to Agile working, as a modern, flexible work environment, improves prospects of employing interested and high quality staff. 

Operations / facilities will also have a lot to bring to the project, as processes may change, office layouts or the need for one or more offices, may change and they will almost certainly be interested in the costs & benefits of a move to Agile working. Can an office environment be planned and made flexible, sizing to fit the new work habits, created by Agile working.

Comms and marketing should also get involved, to keep staff informed about progress to expectations that have been set. If offices, self-service or the wider digital offering are to be re-branded, think about a consistent approach. Once the tech is in, testing starts internally, have these teams engage with customers. This might be to outline that better self-serve offering, or to spread the good news that service will be transformed, by staff doing more for customers in real time.

Finally, have a sponsor from above. The CEO or a key director, putting their weight & gravitas behind the project is key. They may need to reassure staff as to what can be expected and that the appropriate tech and training will be provided, to ensure when you go Agile, all staff have the right tools to do a better job. Also what new policies will look like, when working away from the office, homeworking and aspects such as health & safety, security of data & GDPR implications.

Lastly, going Agile means more of an emphasis on getting work done, rather than where its done. In the past, it was permissible for managers to expect to see ‘bums on seats’, during core hours. Moving to a more ‘trust-based’ model can be one of the hardest transitions to make. Again, leadership for that is best to come from the very top of the organisation.

If you are considering self-service, see you in October, at a new special conference

Related Post: Ensure you actually allocate a realistic amount of time to your transformation project 

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.

Saint Etienne - Mario's Café.
(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,Housing Portfolio Management System, HRA,housingtITguy,Housing Support Pro,HousingSupportPro,Housing Options,Hometeam, Housing Group,hotpixuk, HousingIT,hotpix,Hardware,Hitex,Housing Contact Company,housing predictive analytics, 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,Portfolio Management System, PM,Progress,Promaster,Proval,Pyramid,PRINCE2,prince,Pamwin,PlanForm, Propoints, Pro-Points,predictive analytics for housing, 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, Social Housing Software Applications, 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,Valueworks,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Windows Server,Workflow and tasking,Wheatley,Works Connect,worksConnect, Xmbrace,XML ,XenApp,Xen App ...

My Perfect Cousin

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

Interesting recently to hear the recent discussion on ‘Digital Twins’, particularly in regard of the Social Housing space. One where sometimes we have not managed data particularly well, or done a sterling job of turning it into practical ‘information and insight’.

In many cases this is not down to a lack of places to store it coherently in our integrated (or not so integrated) housing solutions, its often down to a plain lack of data. Too often its in the heads of staff long since retired, plans tucked away at this or that councils archives, from the 1950’s/60’s, or just never ever collected. Another thing I have seen over the years is the habit of engaging external surveyors for asset surveys and leaving that data in an inaccessible format, often (in over 50% of cases I see), never getting it into primary systems of record, attached to assets or properties.

I like the idea of Digital Twins, and did some work a few years back with some developers doing ‘Smart Cities’ work in the South East of England, where it totally fitted what we were working on. It worked a treat because everything being proposed was brand new development. IOT and Smart Data Controls were all part of the development and data was being captured as part of BIM from the early designs. An ideal situation for the technology.

The inevitable elephant in the room for most SocialHousing providers, is that for the majority, over 99% of managed stock was built prior to 1980 and is not new build. Affordable new build these days tends to be more closely aligned to the expectations of traditional mortgage house owners, making capture of data more possible as a ‘Digital Twin’ and providing potential for enhanced management, transformation at lower costs, leveraged by higher efficiencies. I have seen this recently with some work I am undertaking in a London Borough.

Shiny & lovely, ‘Digital Twins’ are, so what is to be done for the 99% of much older stock?

All is not lost, but in all seriousness, dreams of building ‘Digital Twins’ for this stock is a challenging goal, maybe too difficult. Hence ‘Digital Cousins (once or twice removed!) might be a more practically achievable aim. More work using what we have, consolidating in our systems, so future data AI can draw conclusions and similarities together for your stock, is the starting point. As said in the ‘Good Friday Agreement’, agree with your asset teams to ‘put their spreadsheets beyond use’ and prevent any more being created, is the first step for many.

Secondly, identify the gaps that really must be filled and would add value to data analysis and insight. For example, can really simple things be determined, such as what number flat sits above the resident in the flat now reporting water coming through their ceiling? Do we even have a simplistic textual data view of the building structure? Storage of the most elemental of these types of things is enabled already by most HMS & Asset Management solutions out there (if RSLs care to make use of them). Reporting (although rarely out of the box) is possible with a little imagination, to give a helicopter’s eye-view.

ESRI's concept

Thirdly, consider some of the services that some surveyors are now providing to provide ‘fly throughs’ of stock, such as pre-1970’s tower blocks. While not cheap, if focus is made on potentially troublesome stock, this can pay dividends in shoring up safety regimes and future reducing repair costs. I have seen good examples from West Midland based RSL’s, which add additional insight way beyond what a conventional asset condition survey might provide.

A shame no-one had even considered ‘Digital Twins’ back in the 1960’s. I wonder if even the ‘Gilbert Strip’ had even been invented by then?

Related Post:If you are considering playing with predictive analytics, look at improving your data 1st

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.

The Undertones – My Perfect Cousin.
(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,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365, ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion, 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,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, 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,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,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,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . .

Inside Looking Out

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


When looking to improve use of digital channels and self-service, its always essential as a starting point, to know what mix of interactions we have from customers, as a starting point. You are inside, looking out.

I will use the noun ‘customers’, that might be tenants, leaseholders, factors, shared owners and others. These all consume a service and should be treated with the respect that any supplier should provide for them. In everyday life I get agitated when landlords do not see the world that way and ‘customers’ get a raw deal and lack of respect.

I work with many organisations looking to digitise. One of my first questions is often, “what mix of interactions do you receive currently”?

That can be a very difficult question to ask. Could you answer it?

That starting point, enables areas to digitise to be identified. If an organisation already has CRM and uses it throughout the whole business, that may be an easier task. The challenge to that is most often cultural, not an ICT one. Understanding the mix now, is a great starting point to examine alternatives. Here are some hypothetical splits, that will not be too off the mark annually, for many typical housing associations, with minimal digitisation currently.

• Office visits 8%
• Phone calls 29%
• Home visits 11%
• Emails & letters 12%
• SMS 15%
• Payments 19%
• Misc’ or uncategorised 6%

Now, if you cannot catagorise accurately, then that is a challenge that needs to be addressed. Procure a CRM (or solution(s) to record the data reliably) and maybe develop KPI’s and reporting.

All of the above might well also split into team tasks, from logging repairs, taking payments, responding to queries, complaints, (compliments), ASB, letting issues etc.

This is ground zero of your organisations digital journey. Without this, it is impossible to monitor progress and improvement. Once we have the stats as at now, its essential the management team agrees a target for digital transformation. I always despair a little, when the answer back from management is ‘Just a bit more Tony’. Pick a number and lets aim for that, exceed it and then congratulate everyone afterwards.

In my experience, only by having targets, will we be successful. That’s because moving to a digital mindset is 25% an ICT problem and 75% a transformational cultural change.  The former is essential and enables the latter. Never confuse these estimates, but get both right, to improve internal efficiency and also customer service and satisfaction, achieving more with less.

Related Post: Help your next project go even more smoothly...
 

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.

Grand Funk Railroad – Inside Looking Out.
(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,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, ...
. . . . . . . . . . .

Ten Year Story

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


I remember in my days at MIS-AMS, at a NHF IT Conference at Olympia (remember those?), a man in tweed, spookily named Tweedie too, visited my stand. He explained he was involved in starting a new Social Housing ICT magazine and was I interested, as a supplier in getting involved.

Well I was, and for many years, sponsored the bottom inch of page one, a very specific piece of magazine real estate. There had been different attempts at bringing out a socialhousing ICT magazine before, with success of various degrees.

Bennett Arron in action on identity theft

Who would have thought that ten years on, the magazine ‘Housing Technology’ would still appear every other month and grow to around 36 pages per edition. Also that what started from small conference beginnings, would end up as probably the ‘one’, for anyone interested in socialhousing ICT, or improving it. What an achievement for George, Alastair and his wider team.

Standing room only

This years’ event was the largest, with nearly 500 attendees and more than one attendee commented to me, almost on the verge of being bigger than the Oxford Belfry venue, it’s been anchored in for the last few years.

Who ate all the cakes? Decisions for Rob Fletcher of green Square Group

If you were elsewhere last week, you missed a cracker. Opening keynotes both days were as ever really good. Comedian & comedy writer Bennett Arron (or Arron Bennett, as some call him) , author of the C4 documentary ‘How Not To Lose Your Identity’ was an outstanding start. I will be waiting for my signed copy of ‘Heard the One About Identity Theft?’.

The sessions had a great mix of the new and what’s just a wee bit over the horizon. It highlights that at last ‘Big Data’ might be just about becoming truly useful for UKhousing. Suppliers who can exploit it properly and RSLs/RPs who can successfully make it work for residents and customers, will be truly ahead of the curve. Those bog standard out of the box resident portals ‘going digital’, look pretty last century, compared with Alexa or similar answering your queries, or verifying you are safe in your supported accommodation, via your ‘Headless’ device.

My annual portrait with Helen Rogers

It was great to hear how some are pushing ahead with voice analytics for CRM, as many still haven’t  properly leveraged just bog standard CRM yet. Full marks to the former and ‘Could Do Better’ to the latter. Transformation featured in many sessions, which is quite apt considering the pressures all housing organisations are experiencing with LHA caps, rent reductions, HB cuts and Universal Credit rollout. There are many ways to tackle it, depending on your budget and how long you want it to take, as was evident in a number of sessions.

First to the bubbly

My favourite session on transformation, had a touch of the ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’, from 23k home Torus Housing Group. I was part of the transformation of getting nearly thirty ICT & service applications, boiled down to a core sourced from just three main suppliers. Transformation takes certain belief and a lot of imagination, as you dive down the ‘Rabbit Hole’ into the unknown. Make the wrong transformation choices and you may well encounter ‘The Pool Of Tears’. I was involved in that project and acted as a critical friend. It was hard work, but we carried everyone with us, who will be using all the systems once live. Do get in touch if you too need the Cheshire Cat to help with your transformation(!).

Amelia, the customer services assistant at Enfield Council

Well it was a roller-coaster event and I met and chatted to so many friends, people I have worked with, suppliers, business change managers and a number of directors. A great pinnacle of a decade, for Housing Technology and I for one will be looking forward to #HousingTech2018.     

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://archive.org/details/@housingitguy

Related Post: SocialHousing Systems training, is it ever as good as it could be? 

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

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 Stone Roses - Ten Storey Love Song.
(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 ..

There's a guy works down the chip shop, swears he's Elvis

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

There is a chippy not far from me. Nice place. Dearer than your average Friday night grease station, but fair play, the food is properly good. It has just come second in the North West Chippy Awards. Well done to them too, because if the fish is decent, the chips are right, and the queue keeps coming back, that is not luck. That is somebody doing the basics properly, day after day.

But it did get me thinking. We seem to have awards for absolutely everything now. Best chippy. Best pie. Best hospitality team. Best digital transformation. Best innovation. Best customer journey. Best procurement. Best use of AI. Best critical friend. Best use of coloured sticky notes in a workshop, probably. Give it another ten minutes and there will be an award for Best Award Submission Written About Another Award Submission.

Social housing is no different. In fact, if anything, it can be a little worse. Have a dig around and you find a small mountain of them. Housing Innovation Awards. Northern Housing Awards. Digital Innovation Awards. Housing Technology Awards. Then plenty more besides, once you start lifting the lid. There are awards for landlords, awards for suppliers, awards for projects, awards for leadership, best customer service, awards for teams, best kept data awards, awards for resident engagement, and no doubt awards for turning up in a smart jacket and smiling next to a branded backdrop with a glass of warm fizzy white wine.

Now let us be honest as numerous jobbing suppliers have often told me, because somebody has to be. Some of these awards are fair enough. Some will have decent judging, sensible evidence, and proper scrutiny behind them. Some winners will absolutely deserve the recognition. But equally, there is a fair question to ask. If you buy a table or two or more, put together a slick entry, wheel out a bit of polished marketing fluff, and get your people scrubbed up and into the room, are you suddenly in with a better shout? And if you buy three tables, is that even better? Does the trophy go to the best solution, or the best-presented evening out?

That might sound cynical, but only because plenty of people in this sector have seen how the game works. Awards can easily become part celebration, part marketing exercise, part sales tactic. There is nothing illegal or shocking about that. It is just real life. The problem starts when people begin treating awards as if they are proof. They are not. At best, they are a clue. At worst, they are shiny nonsense in a glass cabinet. A little vulgar to many in a sector increasingly squeezed and needing to give more to residents. Lets not lose sight of them.

A supplier having an award does not automatically mean their product is right for your organisation. It does not mean the implementation went well. It does not mean the reporting works. It does not mean the users like it. It does not mean the data migrated cleanly. It does not mean the repairs team are happier, the finance team are quicker, or the housing officers are no longer swearing at the screen by half nine on a Monday morning.

And that is the bit that matters.

In social housing especially, too many buying decisions still get nudged along by noise. A strong brand. A glossy stand. A confident sales team. A case study that sounds a bit too perfect. A 12 month implementation that actually took four years from contract signing. An award logo dropped into the slide deck as if it settles the argument. It does not. Contracting bodies should not be choosing solutions just because somebody won something in a hotel ballroom. They should be matching their own needs to what a solution can actually be proved to provide.

That means proper evidence. Prescriptive demo’s. Asking all the right questions. Real reference sites. Clear fit to requirements. Strong data migration thinking. Reporting that works in the real world, not just in a scripted demo. Customers who have stayed the course and still speak well of the product after the confetti has been swept up. Not just who bought it, but who kept it. That last bit matters more than suppliers like to admit.

Because in the end, whether it is a chippy or a housing system, you cannot beat pure graft. You cannot beat a great product, nor service consistency. You cannot beat customers who come back because they want to, not because they are trapped, too tired to move, or halfway through a ten-year contract.

That chippy near me probably did not come second because of a clever awards strategy alone. It likely came second because enough people rate the food (including me), the standards, and the experience. Fair play. But in social housing technology, the stakes are a lot higher than who gets the nicest plaque and a few LinkedIn likes the next morning.

So yes, enjoy the awards night. Clap for the winners. Put the photo on the website. But do not confuse trophies with truth. In this sector, the real prize is not a shiny logo for the footer of a bid document. It is delivering something that works, keeps working, and keeps customers satisfied.

Everything else is just batter my friend 😉

Are you looking for transformation and the right solutions for you ? 

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

       Related Post: Maybe the right Critical Friend, is what you need.

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

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.

Kirsty MacColl - There's a guy works down the chip shop, swears he's Elvis

(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,Fast Lean Smart, 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,ROCC, 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, Solvares, 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,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

Shadowplay

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

Let’s talk about the dangers of shadow IT in social housing, that awkward family secret everyone knows about but nobody wants written down in a board paper. Only last week, a client asked me in the review I am involved with, “Will you be rooting out the ‘Shadow IT’ around here”? Every landlord has it. Most pretend they don’t. And many are quietly running large chunks of their service on it while telling themselves the “core system” is well under control.

In housing, shadow IT isn’t some hoodie-wearing tech rebel spinning up servers in a cupboard. It’s far more British and far more tragic than that. It’s the Excel spreadsheet that started life as a “temporary tracker” during a HMS system or reputational issue back in 2018 and is now the only place anyone can reliably find your damp and mould cases. It’s the Access database built by someone “who was quite handy with IT” and left three restructures ago (we love restructures folks, don’t we?). It’s the compliance supplier web portal that everyone logs into because, frankly, it works, while the landlord’s own system gets updated later, badly, or not at all.

And before anyone gets sniffy, this stuff doesn’t exist because housing staff are idiots. It exists because systems don’t quite do what was promised, change requests (RFC’s) take forever, reporting is weak, and people are judged on outcomes, not architectural purity. When a neighbourhood officer is told to manage risk, meet deadlines, and keep tenants safe, they will use whatever tool actually lets them do that. Governance doesn’t fix a leaking roof.

The problem starts when the workaround quietly becomes the truth. That spreadsheet stops being “just for now” and becomes the thing everyone checks first. The core system becomes something you update to keep ICT happy. Extracts start doing the rounds by email. Versions multiply. Someone adds another tab. Someone else adds free text. Before you know it, you’ve got personal data, compliance information, and operational decisions sitting in a file called “FINAL_v7_REALLYFINAL.xlsx”. Strangely enough, organisations big & small all suffer from this.

At this point, congratulations. You don’t just have shadow IT, you have mission-critical housing services running outside any meaningful control. No proper security. No real audit trail. Poor or no clear ownership. No resilience when the one person who understands it goes on leave or, heaven forbid, leaves the organisation at the end of their contract. (where’s the knowledge transfer, good question?) 

In a regulated sector, this should be setting off alarm bells. Boards are signing off assurances about data quality, compliance, and risk while large chunks of the evidence live in places the organisation officially doesn’t recognise. Auditors ask for a report and suddenly there’s a very awkward conversation about which system is “the real one”. Spoiler: it’s usually not the one that was procured quickly & cost seven figures.

Excel deserves a special mention here. Excel is brilliant. I use it daily. It is not, and never will be, a housing management system, an asset register, a compliance or any other kind of a database. The moment someone says “don’t worry, we manage that in Excel without really understanding how a VLOOKUP works”, what they really mean is “we hope nothing goes wrong and nobody looks too closely”.

Supplier portals get a free pass far too often as well. Portals are fine if they’re part of a proper data flow. They are not fine when they quietly become the system of record and your own system is playing catch-up. At that point you’ve effectively outsourced control of your data without admitting it, documenting it, or governing it. That’s not innovation or disruption, that’s drift.

The most corrosive impact of shadow ICT is what it does to trust. Once staff learn that “the real numbers” live somewhere else, the core system becomes ceremonial. Data quality drops. Reporting becomes a debate rather than a fact. Digital transformation stalls because nobody wants to give up the thing that actually works, even if it’s held together with formulas a hope and a prayer. I should know, I am a fallen Catholic.

This isn’t an argument for banning spreadsheets or telling staff off. Shadow IT is a symptom. It shows you where systems don’t match reality, where governance has slipped, and where organisations have quietly accepted risk in order to cope.

The danger isn’t that shadow IT exists. The danger is continuing to rely on it while pretending it doesn’t.

Because the moment Excel, a portal, or a side system becomes the place the real work happens, your “core system” isn’t core at all. And everyone in the room knows it, even if nobody wants to say it out loud.

Maybe its time a third party came in and rooted out all your organisations “Shadow IT” chief?

Is your SocialHousing  ICT / transformation project drastically overrunning  ? 

Get in touch , I will drop in for a coffee & bring the KitKats ☕

       Related Post: The right Critical Friend will save you stress, time (and money) ?

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

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.

Joy Division – Shadowplay

(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,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,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/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,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