Sovereign gets ‘future ready’ with Dynamics 365 roll-out in 2019
Sovereign Housing Association will work with global technology firm HCL PowerObjects to configure a £1.3m Dynamics 365 solution, that links its customer contact, tenancy management and home ownership teams together all on one system.
Rather than opting for a dramatic ‘big bang’ launch, Microsoft Dynamics 365 will be rolled out over the next two years, giving the organisation the ability to grow system capability iteratively, and staff within the business an opportunity to understand how best to use the system and enable them to make suggestions for improvements.
At present, the various teams use half a dozen systems to manage their information workloads including ActiveH, Uniclass, and Keystone. As a result, customer contact staff in particular have to master a number of different programmes that do not ‘talk’ naturally to each other when responding to enquiries.
Natural links
Sam Dart, Head of Digital Technology Services, said: “Dynamics 365 will help us to manage our customer relationships more efficiently, both within the business and externally. When we are all looking at the same system, we should all be responding to the same information, coming up with the answers and therefore giving the same advice. We’ll be able to see natural links between seemingly unrelated situations and be able to respond accordingly.
“Our home-owners, affordable renters, private renters and shared ownership customers are all equally important Sovereign customers. If we can gather all of the knowledge and data that we need to support them in one place, then we can make sure that they enjoy a modern, connected experience, whether that’s when we’re carrying out work on their properties, helping them move to a new home or supporting them in their day-to-day life.”
The roll out of Dynamics is just the latest in a series of digital improvements that Sovereign has made over the past two years, since merging with Spectrum Housing Group in late 2016. Residents can now manage all of their tenancy needs online at times to suit them, from asking permission for a pet, to paying their rent, to booking repairs.
Nicole Sharp, Housing Integration Director, said: “Sovereign just announced the creation of a Chief Information Officer position on its Executive Board, emphasising the importance we place on data management and IT Infrastructure. But this is not just about systems – this is about placing people at the heart of what we do. We want to make life easier for our employees and our residents, saving them time and effort and providing the best possible level of service.”