TSG Housing

Cloud migration transforms how housing associations operate. Remote working becomes seamless - no more clunky VPNs or slow connections when staff visit properties. Your data becomes accessible from anywhere while remaining secure. Infrastructure costs become predictable monthly expenses rather than surprise capital expenditures when servers fail.

The real benefit? Scalability. When you acquire new properties or merge with another association, your IT scales instantly. No more scrambling to buy servers or expand data centres. Honeycomb Group migrated 80+ physical servers to Azure and transformed their ability to serve 14,000+ tenants across multiple locations. The pandemic proved their decision right - staff worked from anywhere without missing a beat.

Housing associations are prime targets. You hold vast amounts of personal data - names, addresses, financial information, vulnerability flags. Criminals know smaller housing associations often lack dedicated IT security teams. Ransomware attacks can lock you out of critical systems, preventing repairs, rent collection, and tenant communications.

The threats are real: phishing emails targeting housing officers, compromised supplier accounts, and increasingly sophisticated social engineering attacks. Your teams deal with vulnerable residents daily - one successful phishing attack could expose thousands of tenants' details. 

The secret is maximising what you already have. Most housing associations sit on Microsoft 365 licences they're using at 20% capacity. Power Platform tools included in your existing licences can automate repairs reporting, tenant satisfaction surveys, and compliance workflows. No additional software costs - just better use of current investments.

Most housing associations lack the scale to justify a full IT department. You need expertise in cloud infrastructure, cyber security, compliance, business applications, and user support. That's five different specialisms before considering cover for holidays and sickness. The maths rarely works.

Managed services give you enterprise-grade IT without enterprise costs. You get 24/7 monitoring, guaranteed response times, and access to specialists when needed. More importantly, you get a partner who understands housing - someone who knows the difference between urgent repairs systems going down and a printer issue. The question isn't whether to outsource, but finding a partner who understands your sector's unique challenges.

Start with what impacts tenants most. Repairs reporting and tracking systems reduce complaints and improve satisfaction scores. Document management systems ensure compliance while making information accessible to staff anywhere. Tenant portals reduce call volumes while giving residents 24/7 access to their accounts.

Don't try to transform everything at once. Pick one area, get it right, then move to the next. Adra started with Microsoft Teams deployment, achieved 87.7% adoption, then expanded into Power Apps and automation. Success builds momentum. Focus on quick wins that demonstrate value, then use that credibility to tackle bigger challenges.