Gentoo Group was Highly Commended in the IT Team of the Year category of the Housing Technology Awards 2026.
Gentoo’s mission has always been to provide safe homes, strong communities and exceptional outcomes for our customers. But achieving that vision requires a modern, reliable and responsive technology and project management service, one that allows colleagues to focus on people rather than processes.
What began as a set of targeted improvements has grown into a sector-leading transformation of how IT and project services are delivered across Gentoo. By unifying teams, embedding automated workflows, and strengthening governance and data quality, we’ve reshaped the way our technology delivery teams collaborate, solve problems and drive value.
This journey has been about much more than upgrading internal IT systems. It has been about empowering people, restoring trust and building an agile digital landscape that supports our colleagues in delivering services that truly make a difference.
From fragmentation to focus – Why the journey began
Our IT and project teams previously operated across siloed tools and inconsistent processes. Service management sat on an on-premise platform while software development worked in the cloud and project governance lived in spreadsheets. This created bottlenecks, frustration and unnecessary complexity for colleagues who simply wanted to deliver for customers.
Recognising the strain this placed on our people, we launched a full ITSM transformation programme. We weren’t just modernising technology, we were rethinking how we worked.
By consolidating ITSM, software development, project delivery and governance into a single cloud-based platform, we created a shared digital environment where teams could collaborate seamlessly. This shift not only modernised our estate but also removed the time-consuming barriers that had slowed our progress for years.
Putting colleagues at the heart of our transformation
Every decision we made was guided by one central principle: improving the experience for our colleagues so they can provide the best possible experience for customers.
Subject matter experts became process owners, shaping new workflows around real practitioners’ needs. We benchmarked ourselves against ITIL, ISO standards, SDI and Prince2 to identify where the biggest improvements could be made. Together with Waterstons (our implementation partner), we built clear, automated processes that reduced manual effort and created consistency across the organisation.
We appointed a dedicated quality and service improvement lead to embed a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring our new ways of working stayed alive and continued to evolve.
With automated workflows, consistent processes and real-time insights, our teams gained the headspace and confidence to focus on meaningful work.
Building trust through transparency, governance & data quality
To truly transform, we needed more than technology, we needed strong foundations. Our redesigned processes, automated workflows and structured documentation created the clarity and visibility our organisation had been missing.
Transparent communication and regular feedback loops built confidence across the organisation. Leaders could clearly see how IT was supporting our strategic goals, and colleagues experienced faster responses, more reliable services and a more predictable change process.
These improvements have helped restore trust in the IT function, demonstrating that well-governed technology doesn’t slow delivery down, it enables it.
A platform for innovation, collaboration & continuous improvement
Beyond the initial programme, the changes have opened the door to a wider cultural shift.
Our asynchronous ‘change advisory board’ model allows faster and more controlled decision-making. Supplier performance is now managed directly through our unified platform and colleagues across the business are benefitting from clearer processes, easier collaboration and faster delivery of digital services.
This transformation has become a blueprint for how IT can provide a modern technology service that is adaptable, transparent, secure and relentlessly focused on customer impact.
Lessons for others
For IT and project teams thinking about embarking on their own internal ‘ways of working’ transformation, our experience has shown the importance of:
- Starting with purpose – technology follows vision;
- Involving your people – co-design creates ownership and sustainability;
- Building on strong foundations – data, governance and process maturity matter;
- Choosing partners who challenge you – to accelerate learning and strengthen outcomes;
- Thinking big but starting small – pilot, learn, adapt and scale.
Looking ahead
Our IT and project delivery transformation has not only given Gentoo a modern, future-ready IT platform, it has also empowered colleagues, improved customer experience and created a culture of continuous improvement that will support the organisation for years to come.
We’re proud of how far we’ve come and even more excited about what comes next.
Paul Brockbanks is the IT director and Michael McCarroll is the head of ITSM and infrastructure at Gentoo Group. The housing provider was Highly Commended in the IT Team of the Year category of the Housing Technology Awards 2026.
