Ivan Blythe, consultant at Xledger UK, explores what it means for housing associations to have access to more data today than ever before
From financial performance and tenant information to asset records, repairs activity, and regulatory reporting, associations generate and store vast amounts of information every day. But many still struggle to turn that information into meaningful insight.
In my experience, this isn’t because organisations lack data. More often than not, it’s because data is spread across systems, tied to processes that rely on legacy technology, or is formatted incorrectly. As a result, finance is forced to spend time gathering, validating, and reconciling data rather than performing value-adding analysis and supporting decision-making.
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How to understand your data during a migration project
Data migration isn’t just about moving data from one system to another. The bigger challenge is understanding what information is genuinely valuable to your organisation and what role it needs to play in the future.
Housing associations often hold years of financial, tenant, and operational data, but not all of it needs to be actively used and therefore migrated in the same way. Before starting a migration project, ask:
- What is the data actually for?
- Is it needed for audit and compliance purposes?
- Or is it information that will support ongoing reporting, forecasting, and decision-making?
Without that clarity, housing associations can spend time and effort migrating large amounts of data that adds little value, whilst potentially not paying proper attention to information that is critical to day-to-day operations.
A successful migration starts with understanding what your reporting requirements are going to be, with blue-sky thinking included! Once you know what matters, it’s much easier to create the data that builds a reliable foundation for reporting, governance, and better decision-making across the organisation.
Why should we think about data?
It’s a housing association’s duty to interrogate data to ensure their operations support their communities as effectively as possible. Without this interrogation, communities inadvertently suffer. This isn’t because the association is deliberately misaligning their operations with their community’s needs, but rather because the way the association records, manages, and reports on data doesn’t support effective decision-making.
Imagine an association that needs to understand its rising repair costs, recurring damp issues, or changing tenant needs across its stock. The data required to identify trends and respond proactively often already exists within the organisation, but it may sit across siloed finance, housing management, asset management, and repairs systems. When that information isn’t connected or easily accessible, finance and other senior leaders are forced to make decisions using incomplete or outdated information.
By contrast, associations that can bring together financial, operational, and tenant data gain a much clearer understanding of where resources should be invested, allowing them to make decisions that deliver better outcomes for both residents and the wider organisation.
The future of Housing Association data strategy
What excites me about the housing sector’s ongoing investment in digital transformation is the opportunity it presents for change. Modernisation is an opportunity to rethink how new data is captured and managed alongside legacy data across the organisation, with software replacement as a key but not the sole factor in this.
After having worked with housing technology solutions since 2004, I’ve seen the most successful organisations approach data migration projects not as standalone projects but as part of a wider strategy to improve reporting, strengthen governance, and support compliance leaders with the value-add information.
Our latest guide, Building a Data-Driven Housing Association, explores the key considerations for housing associations embarking on that journey.
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Whether you’re planning a migration project or preparing for wider transformation, I hope the insights shared throughout the guide pages help you build stronger foundations for the future.
Housing Digital Stakeholder Xledger is a global leading cloud finance solution provider. Working with over 10,000 organisations in over 60 countries, Xledger’s finance software equips finance teams to transform their business now and into the future.
Is your housing association looking to undertake a finance digital transformation project? Get in touch with our dedicated team or visit our website to learn how we support organisations like yours in their migration to the cloud.
Main image: Nichcha/Shutterstock
Read next: What disconnected data is costing housing associations
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