Over recent weeks we’ve been exploring how housing associations can achieve success by adopting modern business practices and transforming their business processes. Specifically we have focussed on Google Cloud technology and the need to create a supporting IT infrastructure that provides a platform for change. Allowing housing associations to deliver more for less, help staff be more productive and allow more mobile ways of working.
As a result we launched Ancoris Maps for Housing - a web application that empowers housing associations to reduce costs, improve operations and enhance tenant satisfaction.
How did Ancoris Maps for Housing come about and what was the idea behind it?
Most housing associations are still in the early stages of understanding how the cloud can help them transform their operations. However for one housing association - during an email project, it became apparent that they didn’t have a mapping solution in place and we began to explore cloud based solutions that would support the organisation's vision, allow staff to make better decisions and improve their operational efficiency.
How does Ancoris Maps for Housing differ from other mapping solutions in the industry?
As the project advanced we realised that through bringing different data sets together and overlaying them onto a familiar to use Google Map, it would help them to make better and more informed decisions about their properties. This wasn’t just a one off challenge that only one housing association faced, but a common challenge shared by many others in the sector. With information held in many different systems, it is difficult to get a comprehensive view of a housing associations entire housing stock. It was from our work with Waterloo Housing that Ancoris Maps for Housing was born.
With Location being a major consideration in many housing association processes, from allocating property and providing maintenance services, to carrying out assessments and safety checks. It was essential for Waterloo Housing to have a secure cloud based solution with faster and easier access to location-based data. With tools that help them to plan and manage location-dependent operations, and enable their staff to become more productive and make smarter decisions.
The solution differs greatly from specialist GIS systems, which are often expensive, complicated, require detailed training and are only used by %5 of employees. Ancoris Maps for Housing is intuitive, easy to use and available to all who need it.
Which groups of housing association employees benefit from this application?
Ancoris Maps for Housing, built on the Google Maps platform, has been designed specifically to help estate, rent and allocation officers, maintenance staff and other field staff such as advice workers handle their daily workload more efficiently and more effectively.
How have customer operations improved? What has been made possible that wasn't possible before?
Planning can be executed seamlessly, through to targeting rental arrears blitzes and building correlations between renting voids and other areas such as anti social behaviour.
What is the ROI of Ancoris Maps for Housing?
ROI from one housing association to another could differ greatly depending on many factors including number of properties or staff for example. Whilst working with Waterloo Housing we helped them to write a business case to understand what type of return on investment they were likely to benefit from.
For more information about how we are helping other housing associations, read our recent customer success story - “Salix Homes looks to Ancoris Maps for Housing to implement organisational vision”.
If you would like to begin your own digital transformation journey, or if you would like some more information, please contact us on 0845 363 6747, alternatively email us at info@ancoris.com.