A combination of the increasing IT skills of employees, as distinct from the IT department itself, and the user-friendliness of most business applications is resulting in the creation of employee- and department-specific micro-silos of data within housing associations, usually vital documents, spreadsheets or databases being stored on individual PCs or email accounts. The consequence of…
Islands in the streamRead More →
Contributed Articles
Less is more
Controlling costs is a core objective for any organisation, not least housing associations. As the costs of community needs rise faster than the pace of revenue generation, housing associations need to improve their operational efficiency, with the procurement process offering significant opportunities for gains. Most housing associations have expended little resources on managing the money…
Less is moreRead More →
But is it web-enabled?
I would like to introduce this article by describing a common situation when we are demonstrating our software to housing associations. Imagine a group of people animatedly discussing how the software might help them, when one person, usually a senior director, asks in a knowledgeable tone, “ah, but is it web-enabled?”. When pressed to explain…
But is it web-enabled?Read More →
Some data are more equal than others
The answer is multi-tiered data management – so what is the question? There are many questions to which MDM is the answer. One is ‘How do you reduce the cost of securing the data and information that you rely on for your daily operations?’ Another… ‘Do you set policies to manage the data on your…
Some data are more equal than othersRead More →
Outsourcing – trust and respect are paramount
Pressure on housing associations for cost-effective services and regulatory compliance, and the consequent demand for more effective ICT, has led many housing associations to consider outsourcing all or part of their ICT to a managed service provider. Historically this choice has been seen in terms of cost saving, but increasingly the breadth and depth of…
Outsourcing – trust and respect are paramountRead More →
Good housekeeping
Housing associations and ALMOs across the country face a raft of targets governing future funding and status. The Decent Homes programme, which promised a certain level of social housing by 2010, looks set to miss its target. Combine this with the pressure of successfully passing Audit Commission inspections and Housing Corporation assessments and it’s clear…
Good housekeepingRead More →
