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.

How and Why You Should Use Scalable Technology Infrastructure

All growing businesses know the struggles and challenges that scalability brings on a regular basis. It can seem like an impossible task to accurately predict the growth rates of your company’s technology infrastructure, especially as the businesses needs and capabilities are changing rapidly.

The last thing you want when your business is in a vital growth phase is for your technology to reach its capacity limits and slow you and your staff down. Even the most robust business plan in the world with the most talented leaders in the driving seat can fail if there is no scalability plan in place.

What is scalability and why is it important?

Simply put, scalability is the capacity for a business to adapt and evolve over time. It is an essential part of any business wanting to grow and expand in the future. Usually, scalability involves growth and the adaption of technology systems to sustain expansions and upgrades. If your small business does not have the processes and infrastructure in place to accommodate growth, then you will be limited in how much you can succeed.

A technology system is often considered scalable if it can increase its output and load when additional resources are added. These additional resources are often hardware, software upgrades or storage space that are utilised to meet the new and growing demands on the business. Scalability can also refer to staffing and employees, as some companies may need the ability to scale their workforce up and down to meet the growing needs of the organisation.

As your business grows, the primary objective is to continue to meet market demands, and this can be a struggle when market demands are continually evolving. To stay ahead of competitors your business needs to be able to adapt its approach to filling the ever-changing needs of customer demands.

Adapting your business

As your customer base grows, your resources and technology need to do the same, and if you have no way of handling these increases, then your efficiency and quality can suffer. An effective, scalable technology infrastructure will help to support these increases and allow you to take full control over your business without the need for additional time and resources.

Scalability is an excellent and cost-effective way to manage your business growth and avoid unexpected expenses, including replacing hardware and software that is no longer doing the job it should be. From a financial perspective, scalability drastically lowers your outgoing costs for technology, even if the initial bill is higher to begin with.

For example, if you have 10,000 customers within your database and invest in a technology system to support 500,000, you will not need to replace that system until you reach maximum capacity. It means your technology will not become outdated and redundant quickly and allows you and your staff to focus on the growth and progression of your business.

Many businesses across the country are focusing their time and efforts on creating a scalable technology infrastructure to support their growth. Toto Energy was founded in 2016 with plans to grow rapidly, they fully understood their need for a scalable infrastructure in their early days and recruited the help of technology specialists Cyan Solutions. The company has grown quickly, gaining 55,000 customers within their first year, and Cyan Solution’s cloud-based hosting system has supported and enabled their growth every step of the way; read the full case study here.

How to implement a scalable technology infrastructure?

Once you have decided to take the leap and transform your IT infrastructure into a scalable one, it can be a struggle knowing how and where to start. The use of cloud technologies is highly beneficial for scalable infrastructures and for helping small businesses to grow.

The cloud allows you and your system to be fully flexible and adapt to various changes as and when is necessary, as well as allowing you to make the most of easy implementation processes. Cloud software will enable you to add and remove software and applications without complicated reinstallation processes, making scalability an easy and straightforward process.

It is normal to want to get a head start and make as many areas as scalable as possible within your business, but it is crucial to properly understand that this may not be feasible for everything. This shouldn’t stop you from moving forward with the scalability where relevant though. It just should be taken into consideration when coming up with a scalable system design and purchasing equipment. It is just as essential to understand and recognise where you can’t change as it is to recognise where you can.

Scalability and migrating to a scalable technology infrastructure is not a simple task to tackle alone, but a worthwhile one if you are serious about growing your business efficiently. Often it is worth enlisting the help of professionals such as Cyan Solutions who can help you to understand where and how your IT infrastructure can be scalable, and the best way of implementing a new infrastructure.

Driving Business Growth Through IT Infrastructure

IT infrastructure is often a practice that is avoided or stepped around, with many companies simply going with the flow when it comes to their IT management. Many businesses will only make changes and upgrades when it becomes necessary due to equipment failures. Operating your IT planning in this reactive, fire-fighting way is not going to support and help your business grow. A good and well thought out IT infrastructure should be aligned with the businesses goals and growth plans.

While an efficient IT plan does take time and careful planning to create, they are worthwhile and will help your business reach its goals and prevent issues and faults. Having a decent IT infrastructure in place can help a company to optimise its resources, save costs, reduce dependencies and improve productivity. On the other end of the spectrum, having a poor or non-existent IT plan can result in outdated systems, digital skills gaps and lack of productivity all of which can affect your bottom line.

It can all be a bit overwhelming with where to start when creating an IT infrastructure for your business, which often puts organisations off. However, if it is done properly, it will pay off in the long run. Architecture and Governance Magazine revealed that some Fortune 500 companies and government agencies had validated returns on investment as high as 700% thanks to their investment in IT planning.

Here at Cyan Solutions, we have the expertise and knowledge to assist you in creating an effective and powerful IT infrastructure that supports your business and its long-term goals with a proactive approach. We do not believe in one-size-fits-all, and so our approach to all projects is considered and structured; we highly tailor every detail to fit seamlessly with your business model. Following a plan, create, maintain model, we work carefully at every stage to ensure we develop a service that truly addresses your individual needs – both now and in the future.

Plan: How to prepare for creating an effective IT infrastructure

A thorough audit of everything your business currently has by way of IT and everything it will need in the future is the best place to start when creating an IT plan. On the surface, it may seem that an IT plan only concerns hardware and software, but there is so much more to consider. It is important to think about the human resources of the business, the cost management involved, and also the risk management.

At Cyan Solutions, we work closely with our customers to undergo comprehensive reviews that will give us a detailed insight into the businesses IT needs and assets. This process provides us with the opportunity to integrate our strategic thinking as part of your team.

Once we have completed a comprehensive audit and got a full understanding of your business needs, we can then help to create an actionable IT framework strategy and plan that covers all aspects of the company. At this stage, we will also ensure that your IT infrastructure is fully GDPR compliant.

Create: Designing and implementing the IT framework

Once the plan has been finalised and agreed upon, we will get started on designing and implementing the infrastructure, while ensuring minimal disruption to the day to day running of your business. We will develop your new IT capabilities through the previously planned and agreed software and hardware. Working closely with all vendors and software providers, we will unlock the potential of your IT.

At this stage we also ensure everyone within the business is happy and fully trained on any new platforms or applications that have been implemented. We use technical architecture to tailor the IT infrastructure to be specific to your business needs while ensuring the highest levels of security, flexibility and accessibility. It is the advantage of proven technology, tailored to your individual needs and goals.

Maintain: Proactive maintenance and performance monitoring

We guarantee a long-term solution and offer the highest level of service with a robust set of agreements. Once your new IT infrastructure is up and running, we continue to work hard to troubleshoot for any potential issues and provide proactive maintenance to help keep your systems up to date and running in the best possible way for your business.

We will implement any relevant patches, monitor overall performance, and keep on top of industry issues. Our expert teams will guarantee your new system is upgraded and adapted where necessary and ensure that your infrastructure is properly protecting your customer’s data and is always fully GDPR compliant.

When you choose Cyan Solutions, you can expect fast and responsive help from a knowledgeable team that is always on hand to help. As a result, you will get exceptional service whenever you need it, as well as total transparency on our performance. With your IT infrastructure taken care of, you can reap the rewards and focus your attention on your business growth strategy.

Start your growth strategy today

If you want to find out more about how Cyan Solutions can help you to plan, create and maintain an IT infrastructure that will support your business growth, get in touch with our expert team today.

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