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[chimers] 23/2/2017 10:10

Kingston upon Thames transforms housing services with £300,000 Civica housing system
Kingston upon Thames transforms housing services with £300,000 Civica housing system
Council overhauls tenant services with Civica’s housing system

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is set to transform its housing department with a £300,000 implementation of Civica Housing (Civica’s integrated housing management system) - a market leader in specialist systems and outsourcing services that help organisations to achieve a more cost-efficient way of working.

The housing service is being re-organised as part of the ‘One Council, One Kingston’ strategy of improvement and customer service improvement. As part of this initiative, a corporate ICT Strategy has been developed which recommended the replacement of current Housing IT provision with a fully integrated workflow enabled system. This will deliver process and administrative efficiencies, an improved service for tenants and department-wide operational savings.

Civica’s Housing solution will be delivered in three phases. The first part, which started in January 2011, will be an upgrade of an existing Civica product that manages homelessness cases, as well as introducing a workflow based housing options service.

Once completed, Civica’s Housing platform will centralise all housing related operations. Staff will be able to share information securely, empower tenants to access service on-line, while standardised workflow processes will promote consistent good practise.

Civica’s Housing transaction system incorporates enhanced data recording, automatic recognition of telephone numbers and initiation of repair tasks. It will better manage planned maintenance as well as responsive repairs, rent accounting, arrear recovery and tenancy management.

Stephen Corion, IT Housing Project Manager for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, said: “Civica’s approach is refreshingly different from many other suppliers. Its implementation team have listened carefully to our requirements every step of the way and have provided us with great solutions that will help take the business forward. A fully integrated product will help us to improve the level of service and support we can offer in the traditional areas of housing management and particularly through the prevention of homelessness strategy”.

John Hood, managing director of Civica’s Housing & Asset Management division, said: “Kingston, like other housing providers, faces a massive challenge of improving core services such as maintenance programmes while cutting operating costs. Civica’s Housing platform will help them centralise operating processes to support critical projects like repairs, maintenance and homeless support more effectively than ever before.”

[suneday] 23/2/2017 09:54

What's wrong with you?
I see Muir Group contract was signed in June 2014, before Castleton even made its first acquisition, Montal.

[chimers] 23/2/2017 08:22

Muir Group moves to Civica Housing Cx software to transform tenant services
New housing management solution will improve services for 5,500 tenants and enable mobile working for staff.

Muir Group Housing Association has introduced the latest Cx housing management system from Civica, a market leader in critical software applications, digital solutions and outsourcing services. The new system, which went live in November 2016, will help Muir to improve tenant services supported by mobile working and more streamlined processes for officers throughout the Group.

Muir Group Housing Association owns and manages more than 5,500 homes across 33 local authority areas in the UK and provides a diverse range of housing solutions and services to its tenants, including repairs and maintenance. As well as providing the Association with the technology platform and tools to deliver modern and efficient housing services, Cx supports Muir’s wider programme to digitise services and transform tenant communications.

Ian Whitwell, Assistant Director of ICT at Muir Group Housing Association explains: “Technology is at the heart of improving services and efficiency for Muir Group, and Civica is supporting us in our wider transformation. With more than 72,000 calls to our customer service team annually, we need to ensure a fast and efficient response and also to pre-empt enquiries. Cx will enable us to streamline internal processes and to move more services online, giving us more time to focus on our tenants including more home visits supported by the system’s mobile capabilities.”

Housing Cx helps housing providers to deliver high levels of service and improved efficiency through integrated housing management capabilities and by enabling mobile working for staff. Its application style interface is designed specifically to allow housing officers to work smarter, by allowing them to access real-time information through mobile devices such as tablets, wherever they are, whenever they need.

Jeff Hewitt, Executive Director, Housing & Asset Management says: “We’re committed to supporting the organisation on the journey to face and meet the demands of the modern citizen. The solution will enable the organisation to move to more flexible and mobile ways of working and allow the staff to focus on better outcomes for tenants.”

Implementing Housing Cx is just one of the steps the organisation is making towards a wider transformation programme and goal to become a paperless environment. This year Muir Group is planning to implement a self-service solution through Cx to allow its tenants to access services and enable them to communicate directly with Muir on the spot in real-time. By the end of 2017, Muir will have a single integrated solution to completely manage its customers and assets with Housing Cx and Keystone asset management solution. The seamless integration will transform all data exchange across the organisation for better workload and time management.

[suneday] 23/2/2017 08:22

Civica got a contract with Leeds.

[chimers] 23/2/2017 08:16

Leeds City Council selects Civica to transform services for residents across 57,000 properties
Leeds City Council has chosen Civica, a market leader in critical software applications, digital solutions and outsourcing, as a strategic partner to support its business transformation and improve tenant services through the implementation of its integrated housing management system.

The new Civica software will enhance mobile working and provide better data quality and system integration for Housing Leeds, enabling the social housing provider to serve its tenants and manage its 57,000 properties more efficiently.

This new ten-year partnership, worth more than £2 million, is the first since Civica acquired specialist social housing software provider, Abritas, and includes the use of the Abritas Housing Needs solution, highlighting the new and improved capabilities of Civica’s specialist Housing platform.

Housing Leeds aims to make its city one of the best places to live by creating sustainable communities and promoting independence. To achieve this goal for both tenants and employees, the council sought to update its IT systems, selecting Civica’s end-to-end, web-based housing management solution.

The seamless integration of Housing Cx, Keystone and Abritas Housing Needs software will provide Housing Leeds with a 360-degree view of tenant and employee interactions and deliver the flexibility to meet the changing needs of the housing market. Working with one single supplier to implement an end-to-end solution will help the council to minimise the amount of data duplication and enhance the collaborative working experience across the teams. Crucially, it will equip Housing Leeds with the right tools to better advertise and allocate properties, empower employees with more control over day-to-day property management and provide a central information point for suppliers.

Councillor Debra Coupar, Executive Member for Communities at Leeds City Council, comments: “I am delighted to announce this major new partnership with Civica after a competitive tender process. We have sought a single supplier to provide a functionally rich, fully integrated, end-to-end Housing Management solution that will transform services to our tenants via enhancing mobile and remote working, better data quality and integration, and increased functionality and efficiency. We look forward to commencing the implementation and to a long and successful partnership with Civica.”

The solution will also enable Housing Leeds to automate and streamline processes, allowing housing officers to spend more time with tenants. Employees will be able to access real-time customer information through their mobile devices, both on-site and on-the-move. This includes details of all contact with the organisation and services received, allowing the social housing provider to resolve tenant queries faster and more efficiently. The system will also support tenant interaction and engagement, allowing people to self-serve on many services including rent and repairs. This will release capacity for housing officers to spend more time face-to-face with residents and reduce contact centre hours.

Jeff Hewitt, Executive Director, Housing & Asset Management at Civica, added: “Housing remains high on the agenda for all councils across the country. With new targets set by the government in its latest whitepaper, ‘Fixing our broken housing market’, and clarification that the 1% rent reduction will remain in place until at least 2020, the task ahead only becomes tougher.

“Leeds City Council is a great example of how to address the demand of the modern citizen by positively transforming the business. Our integrated digital solution will help Housing Leeds to streamline processes, accurately collect tenant data and enable tenant self-service to achieve improved outcomes for all residents.

[suneday] 23/2/2017 08:15

No app for Ctp either, because no hardware to run it with when 365 picked Wireless things to provide it.
Who knows, they may now find somebody with working hardware, and stick it into 365.
Maybe.

[suneday] 23/2/2017 08:11

Slater gone. Again old news.
Like acquisitions. Happening actress sector and consolidating around half a dozen main players.
Been going on before Castleton went into business, and took out a few. Nothing new - sector been bemoaning the decreasing competition, whilst hoping for the greater integration consolidation may bring. Castleton solved that particular aspect.
There you go. Repeat away.

[chimers] 23/2/2017 08:08

Mind you in your defence I will admit that they DONT have an app that tells you your boiler is going to breakdown 5yrs before it does!!!!

[chimers] 23/2/2017 08:06

About Abritas
Incorporated in 2000, Abritas is an independent supplier of web-based systems to local authorities, housing associations and social care providers. The company’s software solutions include Housing Register, Choice Based Lettings, Enhanced Housing Options, Housing Advice and Homelessness, Mutual Exchange, Social Care and Rents applications.

[chimers] 23/2/2017 08:02

Probably why Mark Slater DUMPED!!?

[chimers] 23/2/2017 07:55

The housing sector represents a strong niche for Civica. In FY16 it added 28 new customers and improved revenues by 13% compared to the previous year. The acquisition of Abritas, which took place just after the end of their financial year, has helped Civica build on this position and it now provides housing systems for approximately 400 organisations

[razmo1] 23/2/2017 06:00

Thanks for joining just to tell us that aslan

[aslanjohns] 23/2/2017 01:23

A quick Google for 'Housing Software' makes me ask "Are there not already too many players aiming software at the Social Housing Sector. Some of these are huge multi-nationals and others are niche specialists in this area. Check out the following (and others):
Capita
Northgate
Civica
Aareon
SDM
Orchard
Paloma
MIS
Omniledger
...etc

[chimers] 22/2/2017 19:11

I agree and CTP 's imminent demise will drag it down further imo.
CIVICA will slaughter this minnow.
Didnt Leeds housing use to be a CTP customer ?
Im absolutely sure they were!!

No wonder Marke Slater DUMPED and ran.

[joseph moran] 22/2/2017 17:26

Mxcp stuffed as well

[chimers] 22/2/2017 12:45

Civica
A few days after their annual report hailed 15 years of unbroken, profitable growth (see 15 years of growth for Civica), Civica is celebrating securing another significant contract. Leeds City Council has awarded it a ten-year deal to supply the software to manage the 57,000 social housing properties run by Housing Leeds. The £2m deal represents Civica’s first housing management system win since it acquired Abritas in December last year (see Civica houses Abritas).

The housing sector represents a strong niche for Civica. In FY16 it added 28 new customers and improved revenues by 13% compared to the previous year. The acquisition of Abritas, which took place just after the end of their financial year, has helped Civica build on this position and it now provides housing systems for approximately 400 organisations.