Digital Transformation Of Social Housing – Top Five Trends

It is necessary for every business in every industry to adapt and change their business model to accommodate their customer’s changing behaviours and expectations, and housing associations are no exception. Digital technology is not only about conversions, transactions and growing revenue; it is vital for streamlining processes, optimisation and improving the customer experience.

As digital technologies take the world by storm, embracing these is vital for a housing association to grow and thrive. Some have already begun to tackle this challenge by transforming their IT infrastructures to keep up the high demands of today’s digital world.

Social housing is a rapidly changing industry with many housing associations struggling because of funding cuts, rent freezes and reduced investments. When it comes digitalisation, the social housing sector is not as far advanced as other industries, with many housing associations sceptical of investing in a digital transformation or not having the budget to do so.

However, this is slowly beginning to change as more and more housing associations are starting to see the benefits of going digital. Here are the top five trends we expect to see a rise with the digital transformation of social housing:

Five Digital Trends For Social Housing

 

1. A Remote Workforce

With the rise of cloud technologies, it is now possible for housing association teams to work remotely, allowing them to focus their time and energy on being out among their tenants. Having a digitally enabled and mobile workforce reduces the need for physical office locations within neighbourhoods.

Remote working allows workers to be more connected with those that need help the most. Less time will be spent on the mundane transactions, and more focus can be made on what really matters; enabling the organisation to become more human with greater face to face interactions.

2. Online Processes

Embracing advances in technology can reduce the amount of paperwork and manual processes required. Customer applications can be moved online which will not only provide a seamless and easy experience for customers but also reduce costs and response times compared with manual, offline applications.

Removing paperwork will free up resources for employees to focus their time and effort on other areas of the business. Moving transaction processes online also offers excellent cost savings for housing associations, with online payments being 20 times cheaper than phone transactions and an incredible 50 times cheaper than face to face.

3. Better Connected

The Internet of Things (IoT), connected devices and smart metres offer a great opportunity for housing associations to diversify their offerings. Embracing these innovative technologies within social housing can detect how people are using their accommodation and allow providers to alter services, such as heating, in real-time.

When used effectively, this technology can help housing associations to anticipate and handle issues faster, as well as be more proactive and strategic in commissioning repairs or replacements quicker in order to minimise costs and disruption.

4. Enhanced Customer Service

One of the most significant benefits that digitalisation has in the social housing sector is that customers will receive a better all-round service. Advice and help can be made available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the help of a knowledge base and online account information that is always accessible.

The digital transformation of the housing industry will allow most actions to be completed online, meaning customers have no restrictions on when they can resolve their issues or speak with the correct department. Housing association workers will also be able to provide a better service to customers by spending more time out in their neighbourhoods offering a face to face service as opposed to stuck behind their computer screens.

5. Data Analysis and Record Keeping

In a world of GDPR, there are some real benefits to those within the social housing sector making a move to keep all customer data and records online as opposed to offline. A well planned online infrastructure can provide greater security for keeping online records safe and secure.

Utilising digital technologies for customer data is also an excellent opportunity for better data analysis and upkeep. Maintaining customer records online allows them to access and edit them as required, providing housing associations with current information that is easy and simple to manage.

How to embrace these digital trends

Embracing the digital transformation of social housing will bring significant efficiencies, financial stability and customer engagement. Currently, the social housing sector is being squeezed by reduced investments, funding cuts and rent freezes. At the same time, there is a growing demand from increasingly vulnerable and diverse citizens. Those housing associations that want to thrive rather than simply survive should be utilising and embracing digital solutions to transform their organisation for the better.

To help your housing organisation transform, speak to our IT specialists at Cyan Solutions. We can help your team to implement a digital strategy that can cut costs and increase the service experience.

Myth-busting Cloud Technology

Five Top Cloud Technology Myths

Cloud computing has been growing in popularity in recent years. However, there are still some regular misconceptions about the platform and how it works. In simple terms, cloud technology refers to storing and accessing programs and data over the internet as opposed to using a computer’s hard drive.

With an online connection, cloud computing can be done at any time and from anywhere, which is just one of the reasons that it is so popular among businesses and individuals. For something that has become so mainstream in recent years, cloud computing is still not properly understood by many. This article will reveal the truth about cloud technology and most common myths associated with it.

The Cloud Isn’t Secure

Many people seem to believe that using cloud technology is less secure and safe than traditional IT solutions. In actual face, maintaining cybersecurity is all about staying ahead of the attackers, and this is the same whether you are using cloud technology or traditional solutions. The main difference when using cloud technology is that both you and your cloud provider have a shared responsibility for maintaining the security of data stored in the cloud.

As cloud providers are professionals in the field of cloud technology and security, they usually have the investment resources, experience and knowledge to maintain high-end security technology. When it comes to both security and compliance, a cloud provider can generally invest vast amounts of resources that far exceed what an independent business could realistically manage.

The Cloud and The Internet Are The Same

There is often confusion about what the cloud really means, and usually, we interpret saving something to the cloud as saving it to the internet, which is figuratively true, but the two things are not the same. Put simply; the cloud is a network of remote servers that can only be accessed using the internet. The internet is one huge global network of connections, and within it, there are hundreds of thousands of clouds.

Many people make the mistake of thinking there is one single cloud when in actual fact there are thousands of different clouds located on the internet. These various different clouds could be either public or private. A public cloud is a service that can be accessed by anyone from anywhere with their own individual account, such as Dropbox or iCloud. A private cloud is dedicated to one specific company and can only be accessed by those with access to that particular server.

Cloud Migration Is Difficult

Years ago, when the cloud was a relatively new technology, there were plenty of horror stories around from early adopters who moved their business onto cloud technologies. Just a few years ago, cloud technologies were still a relatively new thing, and the power of them was unproven, leaving enterprises to figure them out on their own with little guidance or help. This led to implementation nightmares and gave cloud technology a bad name.

The technologies have come on in leaps and bounds since then, and now implementing cloud technologies could not be easier. The technology has improved significantly in recent years, and there are experienced and knowledgeable professionals out there to assist businesses in implementation and training. If your current servers are outdated, then some cleaning and architecture revisions may be necessary to migrate to the cloud, but with the help of a professional, the migration process can be seamless.

Cloud Technology Is A Fad

Many people still have this common misconception that cloud computing is simply just another fad. Its fast rise in popularity makes some people believe that the cloud is just another marketing buzzword that will be soon forgotten, but this is not the case. Cloud technology has actually been around since the 1960s and has become increasingly popular in recent years as technologies have advanced and improved.

Hundreds of companies across all industries rely on cloud computing for their day-to-day. IT needs, making it far too big and popular to be regarded as a short-lived fad. Cloud computing is expected to continuing growing and advancing over the next few years and is showing no signs of slowing.

Cloud Technology Is Cheap

It is a common belief that cloud technology is a cheaper way to run a business than traditional methods, but this is not always the case. Moving a company’s systems and data to a cloud platform will reduce the need for expensive hardware and in-house servicing costs, but there is also a financial investment involved in migrating everything over.

While the initial cost of moving over to the cloud may be pricey, the ongoing management costs are generally low and make up for it in the long run. Cloud technology also provides a more significant amount of flexibility and scalability once the transition is complete, resulting in a better performing business.

At Cyan Solutions we are experts in working with our customers to smoothly transition them onto the right cloud platform, tailored to their needs. Contact us now to discuss how cloud technology could transform your business.

Cloud computing terms – what do they even mean?

Cloud computing has become the mantra in businesses worldwide. It has revolutionised data storage and access. It has also improved the ability of organisations to work remotely, network and collaborate. However, many organisations don’t know some of the terms. If you want to brush up on cloud computing jargon read on!

Cloud computing is here to stay so it’s time to get to grips with a few buzzwords. Whilst lots of us can use it, we might not know the professional terms or what they mean. So to talk the talk about the cloud here’s a guide!

Storage-as-a-service

This is probably the most used aspect of the cloud – storing data and files remotely. It’s the foundation of what cloud computing can do for us to make remote working commonplace. Storage as a service gives a flexible way to increase storage and scale your business upwards when you need to. It’s also offers foolproof backup and recovery should disaster happen so you can have a full mirror image of your files restored. Great for businesses of all sizes as it takes care of your core working and lets staff collaborate remotely and easily.

Database-as-a-service

With Database-as-a-service you can tap and use a remotely hosted database even if you neither own nor host it. DbaaS saves on hardware, installation time and software configuration as well as maintenance costs. The database will function as though it is locally stored, allowing you to do everything from setting up tables, adding, extracting and deleting data. It has higher performance than a locally stored database and is easy to scale, removing worries about backups and recovery.

Application-as-a-service/Software-as-a-service

Commonly known as SaaS, Application-as-a-service is an application which is delivered via the internet direct to end users, primarily through a browser. These are often the most common cloud-computing services used by enterprise today, and include services such as Google Docs and Salesforce CRM.

Platform-as-a-service

Platform-as-a-service or PaaS is a category of cloud computing services that provides a full-service platform for users to develop, run and manage applications. The advantage of PaaS is that users can develop and test apps remotely without having to build and maintain the infrastructure associated with app and software development. It’s a virtual go-to shop for users who build and deploy apps and is great for remote collaboration.

Security-as-a-service

Security-as-a-service (SECaaS) refers to systems that enable delivery of core security services via the internet. This can be anything from business continuity disaster recovery right through to email security, encryption, identity and access management and data loss prevention. As a service, it has the potential to prevent a lot of headaches and downtime for business and will cut costs of a multitude of other security solutions.

Testing-as-a-service

Testing-as-a-service (TaaS) gives users the power to test local or cloud-delivered systems using remotely hosted software and services. It allows for applications to be tested without having to purchase test servers or testing software. A great way to cut costs and solve your testing problems efficiently. There are also a range of testing services under this umbrella including mobile testing as a service, and security testing as a service to name a couple.

Infrastructure-as-a-service

Infrastructure-as-a-service model means that a third party hosts all your infrastructure for your organisation. This means that hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure constituents are hosted on behalf of the organisation. Using the IaaS model enables  businesses to be more scalable as demands grow or reduce. There is a big advantage in terms of saving on time for maintenance, backup, security monitoring, and reduced capital costs.