Speakers
View the full conference programme (PDF).
Aareon: Going on a digital journey… With social housing
We will explore the needs of the sector and how the application of digital technology is helping to create more flexible organisations and supporting tenants. The distance travelled and digital capabilities applied will vary by organisation but it may pay to heed trip advice or travel with companions and tour guides. We also plan to look around the bend at the next leg of the journey.
Speaker: Nigel Rees, joint managing director, Aareon UK
Accent Group: People, data and things – Why your ICT strategy isn’t working
I previously worked in the recruitment sector where we spent a lot of time matching people to jobs that suited to them according to whether they liked people, data or things! When I took over the Accent ICT department four years ago, I found out that my ICT staff loved ‘things’ – systems, equipment and gadgets. Yet our wider staff were essentially people-oriented, concerned about their customers and quite afraid of the ‘things’! This is our story of how we’ve balanced the needs of all our people.
Speaker: Steve Dungworth, head of corporate services, Accent Group
Accuserv & Your Housing Group: Don’t put a digital face on an analogue body
In the summer of 2016, YHG had no digital services for staff or customers, all repairs were contracted out and the contact centre did not have any modern tools. With a mission to not fall into the trap of putting a digital face on an analogue body, YHG determined to do things differently, aggressively to go live in Autumn 2017.
Speaker: Neil Beckingham, chief information officer, Your Housing Group
Acutance Consulting: Transforming pre-tenancy in a digital world
Using his experience from a non-technological past, Barry Marlow will reveal how many pre-tenancy offers are based on analogue language and behaviours in a digital world. Often misplaced emphasis on ‘the void’ is blind-sighting us to the potential of digitising pre-tenancy for the benefit of new residents and the landlord. While the technology is actually most of the time already in place, do our managers and users, embrace the full potential?
Tony Smith will then provide practical takeaways, gleaned from years as a systems ‘critical friend’ and based around Barry’s radical thinking. This will help decision makers ask themselves the essential questions to make the best of our significant systems investment.
Speakers: Tony Smith & Barry Marlow, Acutance Consulting
Brighton & Hove City Council: IoT – Using sensor technology to measure building performance
Brighton & Hove City Council’s housing and digital transformation teams have joined forces to deliver a project measuring temperature and humidity in one of our seniors’ housing schemes. We are using sensors to monitor building performance prior and post refurbishment works to the building. We are building a mobile app and working with tenants to evaluate the performance of the sensors.
Speakers: Neil Cholerton, ‘digital first’ enterprise architect, and Sharon Davies, business & performance project manager for property & investment, Brighton & Hove City Council
Bromford Group: Business strategy – Helping organisations unlock digital and agile
Arguably, the lack of understanding of digital on many boards and senior executive teams has resulted in technology being seen as an area of risk and cost rather than opportunity. It’s meant ownership and governance have become neglected issues across almost the entire sector, with few being willing to explore radical alternatives to conventional ways of working. Does the answer lie in how IT engage in strategy?
Speaker: David Anderton, transformation & ICT director, Bromford Group
BT: How do we drive digital transformation?
Digital transformation has created a unique marketplace with challenges and opportunities, as organisations must plan and execute their digital strategy enabling new innovative technologies, while also understanding the cultural impact this change will have on their employees and customers. Will this transformation drive efficiencies and positively affect profit that can be realised swiftly, how can it impact customer experience and enable positive communities to enhance better health and wellbeing?
Speaker: To be confirmed
Capita: An AI enabled world of housing: Skynet or Robotopia…?
In a world where chatbots can support tenant self-service, where connected homes can improve asset management and increase the move to pro-active maintenance… where will your technology be in 10 years’ time? Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just isolated to the realms of science fiction. AI is being implemented right now across the financial, legal and healthcare sectors. With these technologies becoming mainstream, and with development moving at a phenomenal pace, how can social housing begin to reap sustainable benefits from their implementation? In this session, Stewart Davison goes beyond chatbots and headless user interfaces. Building on his popular session from last year, Stewart posits a future for social housing in which it has embraced the world of AI for both tenants and staff. Could we see a social landlord with an AI housing officer in the near future? Stewart will show how the world of tomorrow can inform how we drive organisational transformation today.
Speaker: Stewart Davison, head of business development, Capita’s One Housing
Castleton & Housing Solutions: A true technology partnership, driving change and delivering innovation
Housing Solutions has entrusted Castleton as a key technology partner, maximising this partnership to fulfil their business transformation requirements and demand for innovative solutions. They have worked closely with Castleton to implement software solutions and Castleton’s ‘desktop as a service’ solution to support their ‘digital first strategy’. Richard Harvey, ICT manager, Housing Solutions, will be sharing their journey and why they believe a long-term technology partnership is key for success.
Speaker: Richard Harvey, ICT manager, Housing Solutions
Catalyst Housing: Architecting the GDPR-ready enterprise
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is surrounded by misinformation in the media that is fuelling scaremongering around potential large fines for non compliance. Adrian aims to separate the GDPR myths from the reality. He will provide an overview of the key principles and requirements of the GDPR, giving emphasis to those that are pertinent to the Housing sector. He will then highlight some potential challenges housing associations may face during their journey towards compliance, and will share pragmatic approaches to meeting some of the requirements.
Speaker: Dr Adrian Leung, head of information security, Catalyst Housing Group
Civica: Laying the foundations for transformation
Today’s economic and political landscape presents you with many challenges. Increased demand for social housing, tenant and employee demand for online services coupled with pressure to improve services whilst decreasing costs mean that significant transformation is required in order. Can technology really enable change and if so how? How do you build the business case for investment in technology? Can technology support successful collaboration with other public services providers and stakeholders? Join this interactive roundtable session to share experiences and learnings that can help you agree a technology blueprint that will successfully support transformation.
Speakers: Colin Sales, managing director, 3C Consultants, Richard Hawkins, IT systems & service manager, Red Kite Community Housing, Ian Whitwell, director of ICT, Muir Group, and Paul Aitken, IT manager, South Lakes Housing
CHS Group & Clarion Futures: 4G and five years in Fenland
First-hand experience from five years of delivering highly personalised digital outreach within the nationally acclaimed Making Money Count financial confidence programme funded by the Big Lottery. Engaging over 200 learners, with many experiencing a high level of exclusion, we will share some of the key technical and personal challenges of engaging social housing tenants and describe the broad range of impacts from our interventions.
Speakers: Liz Stannard, guidance manager Clarion Futures (part of Clarion Housing), and James Lewis, digital inclusion officer, CHS Group
Cloud Dialogs & Homes for Haringey: A dashboard revolution
Haringey’s DLO carries out virtually all work on the council’s 22,000 properties under management. The way the service is run has been completely (and radically) overhauled, with live personal KPI dashboards at the heart of every process. This presentation will be a live demonstration and discussion of the dashboards and how they have transformed the way everyone works, from the MD to supervisors and planners.
Speaker: Pete Davey, head of IT, Homes for Haringey
Coastal Housing: Mindset shift – The people stuff
To transform IT, businesses need people who are engaged, invested and committed. How can IT leaders support and inspire valued colleagues during role reinventions, especially when this involves moving significant operations to third-party control, or to automation at the platform level? Hear how Coastal Housing’s IT team adapted when they faced exactly this situation.
Speaker: Mark Elias, IT infrastructure manager, Coastal Housing
Colne Housing: Managing the managed service provider
Your executives have had an idea: let’s outsource the ICT department so that we can focus on our core activities and leverage a skillset we don’t have internally. A stroke of genius or a moment of madness? What works and what doesn’t, the benefits and pitfalls of outsourcing your entire ICT infrastructure, and what you need to be aware of should you set off down this path.
Speaker: Andrew Harris, interim ICT director & head of service, Colne Housing
Engage Property Technology: Stop focusing on your staff and start looking after your customers!
A look at how system design is shifting away from satisfying what staff think they need and to delivering what customers are demanding. PRS organisations are championing this approach and the social housing sector is quickly catching up. Engage will look at how starting with the customer needs delivers a system that is fit for purpose.
Speakers: Peter Watson, director, and Huw George, business development manager, Engage Property Technology
Flagship Group: How we learned to stop worrying and start changing
What is innovation, why do we need it, and how do we do it? This presentation gives an overview of Flagship’s approach to ‘innovation’, showcasing the real-world impact emerging technologies can have on both customer service and cost, and discusses how embracing change can drive a culture of relentless, continual improvement.
Matt Brazier, chief executive, Flagship Group
Futures Housing Group: Operating model disruption and the journey towards an agile organisation
Futures Housing is transforming its operating model as it seeks to be lean and local, built for growth, financially strong, flexible, provide effortless customer experiences and operate as one organisation by 2020. This presentation will overview the wins, losses and learning points from the implementation of agile working practices and technologies (including Microsoft Skype for Business and Enghouse Contact Centre).
Speaker: Gavin Hitchcock, head of ICT, Futures Housing Group
GreenSquare Group: Moving DR to Azure Site Recovery
GreenSquare has implemented Microsoft Azure site recovery to reinvent its business continuity and DR capabilities. The use of hybrid cloud for this purpose has reduced costs by 70 per cent and increased recovery timescales from four days to three hours. All on-premise virtualised servers and now live ‘streamed’ to the cloud continuously which results in 15-min recovery points for the entire infrastructure, with three days of chronological roll-back points for the entire technical estate. Come and hear about how we did it and what we learned along the way.
Speaker: Rob Fletcher, group head of ICT, GreenSquare Group
Hightown Housing: Implementing systems in a non-perfect world
A successful change programme must have user engagement and buy-in from the outset. In order to get new systems to work you must have the right data. Without money and resources you can’t affect change. At the very least, you’ve got to have something that works! But what if you don’t have any of the above? This presentation explains how Hightown has successfully implemented IT systems from this situation.
Speaker: Mark Carter, director of business transformation, Hightown Housing
Hitachi Solutions Europe: Are you looking beyond just new software?
Hitachi Solutions has spent two years working with one of the UK’s largest housing providers to create the only fully-integrated digital system on the Microsoft platform in the market today. But we don’t just provide impressive technology. We provide trusted partners to work alongside you, because we employ housing professionals. Come to this session to find out exactly how you can succeed in your digital transformation.
Speaker: Cher Lewney, head of housing, Hitachi Solutions Europe
iomart: How to kickstart your journey to Microsoft Azure
This presentation will explain how iomart has helped organisations use Azure to enable successful business transformation. We will talk through the steps required to overcome the challenges of legacy infrastructure, how to move your workloads, and how you can achieve significant cost savings, promote service innovation and reinvigorate your IT team. Using examples from recent projects, we will show you how to unlock the power of the cloud.
Speaker: Nick Martin, director of consultancy, iomart
Link Group: Facing the challenges of a digital world
It is often said that the pace of digital change will never be as slow as it is today. That could be a frightening prospect for some and the sign of a better future for others. This presentation shares the challenges, successes and frustrations of digital transformation for a medium-sized housing provider, as it modernises service delivery, moves to protect its data and take the opportunities that a digital world could bring.
Speaker: Ken Fox, head of ICT & digital technology, Link Group
Mobysoft & Smart DCC: The biggest digital transformation in UK history and how it will drive the new economy of big data and predictive analytics
Matthew Roderick, CIO of Smart DCC, will discuss the biggest digital transformation in British history, as they roll out and connect every household in Britain with smart electric and gas meters. Matthew will explain how big data and predictive analytics can be used to identify and improve households affected by fuel poverty. Glenn Phillips, technical director of Mobysoft, will also further discuss how predictive and prescriptive analytics can be used to mine the Internet of Things to deliver real value to social landlords and their tenants.
Speakers: Glenn Phillips, technical director, Mobysoft, and Matthew Roderick, CIO, Smart DCC
Northgate Public Services: 公営住宅の明るい未来に向けて – Come along to find out what we mean
Join our celebration and watch the panel debate the future of housing technology.
Is technology transforming the traditional view of social housing? Can technology complement those views? What’s the impact of technology for tenants? Do tenants want the changes they are likely to see in the next decade? Is invasive tech the solution? What’s the future of Big Data and predictive analytics in a data-driven sector? Can technology provide protection against fraud?
Speaker: Trevor Hampton, product director for housing solutions, Northgate Public Services
Orchard: Data-driven housing – Unlocking the power of data science
In this session, Orchard will explore the power of data science and how this is influencing Orchard’s product delivery. The world is consuming and storing data at an exponential rate: with GDPR around the corner, how do we navigate the challenges ahead to deliver intelligent, secure and compliant solutions that deliver benefit to customers and providers alike? Also, hear about how Orchard has reshaped its product management philosophy to accelerate digital solutions delivery and why now, more than ever, it is essential to adopt an agile approach.
Speaker: Chris Masey, digital solutions manager, Orchard
Paradigm Housing: Ditch Dynamics – Invest in low code & RAD…
Gartner estimates demand for mobile apps will grow 5 times faster than IT’s capacity to deliver; low code is the solution. Paradigm Housing is ahead of its time having adopted low code for our in-house developed housing management and finance system. We have one version of the truth, we develop our own apps and have a significantly lower cost base than our peers. What’s not to like… Low code and RAD may be for you.
Speakers: Maureen Hopcroft, interim head of IT, and Adam Smith, business systems analyst, Paradigm Housing
PowerObjects, an HCL Company: Maturing the commercial business model in housing
Housing associations are becoming more commercially oriented. This means having to balance commercial growth with optimising service levels and improving operating margins. In this session, hear how progressive housing associations are adopting IT solutions and standardising IT capabilities on a world-class solution from Microsoft, allowing them the flexibility and focus to deliver wider transformation where it really matters.
Speakers: Paul Rogers, director of Microsoft Dynamics housing solutions, & Marco Amoedo, housing solution director, PowerObjects, an HCL Company
RackSpace: How to ensure flexibility & scale when faced with the housing sector’s evolving ambition?
Today’s cloud services can help you become more profitable, manage resources and improve productivity. But how do you use it to create more resilient, commercially focused organisations and which cloud solutions are best placed to support your ambitions? Rackspace is a market leader that works with the forefront cloud providers to enable, accelerate, and secure cloud technology adoption. Lee James, Rackspace CTO, will share his thoughts, practical guidance and real-world examples of how IT leaders, both within and outside the housing sector, are re-thinking IT delivery and steering cloud-enabled business transformations. Lee will be joined on stage by Chris Cliff, IT Procurement Specialist, who will share his unique perspective on IT transformation in Housing.
Speaker: Lee James, CTO, Rackspace
RHP: The evolution of the goldfish
Amina Graham and Jonathan Creaser return to this year’s Housing Technology conference to provide an update on RHP’s digital journey so far and, a year on, how has the sector’s digital only service for customers been progressing. They’ll share with you how their innovative online services have increased customer satisfaction and achieved cost savings.
Speakers: Jonathan Creaser, IT director, and Amina Graham, executive director of corporate services, RHP Group
Soha Housing: Procuring and implementing a new system
Soha Housing recently implemented a new housing management system. The project sponsor and project manager will explain why Soha purchased a new system, how they planned and resourced the implementation project and give an honest assessment of what went well. They will also talk about what obstacles they faced, what they would have done differently, what impact the project/system had on the business and what lessons have been learnt.
Speakers: Nasreen Hussain, director of finance & resources, and Steve Bromley, implementation project manager, Soha Housing
Sovereign Business Integration Group & Thrive Homes: Migration to the Cloud – Microsoft Azure & Office 365: A review of why, the risks, the challenges and the business benefits
Thrive Homes migrated to the cloud, in this instance Azure and Office365, in January 2018. Sovereign supported the move following a great deal of due diligence by both parties. The presentation will cover the reasons for the move, the challenges encountered and the practical business benefits. The presentation will stress that this is not an overnight transition and getting the right solution is essential. The most challenging part was securing buy-in from the business which Sovereign and Thrive both felt was critical to ensure company-wide adoption.
Speaker: Joanna Sedley-Burke, managing director, Sovereign Business Integration Group
Trafford Housing Trust: The future is now
A quick look at where some customer-facing businesses have taken their online offer makes most of the offerings from social landlords look quite dated. On top of this, there is potential for voice and video to further transform customer interactions; of smart materials to revolutionise construction and maintenance and for ‘blockchain’ to create unprecedented levels of trust with customers and our supply chain. The technology landscape for UK housing has never looked so promising…
Speaker: Matthew Gardiner, chief executive, Trafford Housing Trust
TSG: Supercharge your Office 365 investment – What are you missing out on?
Find out how GreenSquare, Vivid and Broadland are maximising their Office 365 investment with TSG. Most organisations don’t know what they can achieve with Office 365, so if you need to improve collaboration, automate processes, deploy enterprise level document management, share knowledge, achieve compliance, manage quality and have all this integrated with your core housing management solution, you can’t miss this session. Coupled with Live Tiles, we are bringing these Office 365 tools together to create next generation intranet, or more accurately a genuine digital workplace.
Panel discussion: Paul Burns (CTO, TSG), Tony Hughes (SharePoint specialist, TSG), Rob Fletcher (group head of IT, GreenSquare Group), Anthony Hedges, (head of digital engagement, Broadland Group) and Neil Charlton (head of IT, Vivid Homes)
United Welsh: What does the housing provider of the future look like?
Like many organisations, Caerphilly-based housing association United Welsh is tackling the digital transformation journey; coming to grips with what it is and what it means for our business and customers, as well as the dilemma of understanding what is ‘business as usual’. What is evolutionary and what is truly transformational? Is it true innovation or a tick-box exercise? This is our story so far.
Speaker: Tracy Williams, digital transformation project lead, United Welsh
Upstream Works: Building the capabilities for next generation omni-channel CX
Today’s customers expect a simplified, personalised experience across every interaction, every channel and every time they engage with an organisation. Successfully meeting these expectations requires innovation, and a strategy to balance that innovation with measurable business value. Join this session to explore a practical guide for next-generation tenant and resident engagement and discover how to derive the most benefit from your omni-channel connected CX platform.
Speaker: Andy McDonald, VP & GM, Upstream Works Software
Wales & West Housing: Keeping the plates spinning – The impact of the move towards greater IaaS and SaaS
As services move into the cloud as IaaS or SaaS, IT departments’ ability to control what is delivered to users is being eroded. Testing for compatibility has become crucial and the window for testing is getting ever smaller. This session will case study the set up and effectiveness of a testing regime for Office 365.
Speaker: Richard Troote, head of ICT, Wales & West Housing
Wrekin Housing Trust: Mind the skills gap! An alternative to the struggle of the IT skills hunt – growing your own
Finding it almost impossible to attract talent and condemned to paying fat finders’ fees through agency recruitment (with no guarantee), we discovered a better way. As many perils and pitfalls as there are glorious opportunities – spotting potential is tougher than evidencing existing skills (and that’s tough enough). Hear about our journey, how it has given us back the hope that we had lost in finding and securing vital IT talent.
Speakers: Paul Dudley, business systems manager, Adam Lawrence, senior business systems manager, and Danny Rushton and Jake Thorpe, Wrekin Housing Trust
