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About Us
Your tech partner
Social housing providers already hold large volumes of data across housing management, repairs, finance, asset and tenant systems. We bring that information together, improve confidence in it and make it easier to use. This gives teams a clearer view of tenants, properties, services and performance, supporting better decisions today while creating stronger foundations for automation and AI.
Strong data foundations are no longer just about reporting. They create opportunities to improve service delivery, increase operational efficiency and prepare your organisation for the next generation of technology. By improving the quality, accessibility and governance of your data today, you create the platform for better decisions, automation and AI adoption tomorrow.
As a Microsoft partner, we combine social housing expertise with experience across Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure and cyber security. We help housing providers connect existing systems, improve data quality and build a trusted data environment that supports reporting, operational planning and future innovation.
DATA EFFICIENCY
Housing providers are working to deliver safe, affordable and stable homes while responding to tighter budgets, regulatory scrutiny and growing operational pressure. Yet the information needed to manage these demands is often spread across disconnected housing management systems, contractor platforms, finance applications and spreadsheets.
This makes operational questions harder to answer quickly and with confidence. Teams may see different figures for the same repair, property or tenant, while leaders spend time checking reports before they can act.
Our Data Challenges in Social Housing research found that data access, quality and integration remain common barriers across the sector. Our AI in Social Housing research also found strong interest in AI, alongside a gap between ambition and data readiness.
Housing associations and councils already hold large volumes of valuable data. The challenge is that it often sits across systems introduced at different times, for different teams and with limited integration between them.
Repairs, housing, finance, assets and resident services may all use different records, definitions and reporting methods. This creates duplicated information, inconsistent figures and manual reporting and excel-heavy processes that make it difficult to build a trusted view of tenants, properties and services.
The impact goes beyond reporting. When data is fragmented, organisations spend more time validating information and less time acting on it. Operational decisions take longer, opportunities for automation are missed and AI initiatives become harder to scale successfully.
We act as your data solutions partner, bringing together the information held across these systems, improving its quality and making it easier to access, trust and use. We work with CFO, CIOs, Heads of IT, data and insight leaders, programme teams and operations professionals to turn existing information into meaningful operational insight.
Through our social housing data services, we help providers create a connected and governed data foundation without replacing every core system. The result is better visibility, more confident decision-making and a clearer route to automation, analytics and AI.
Speak to our team for a data readiness assessment.
QUALITY DATA
Good housing data connects day-to-day activity with the wider purpose of the sector: providing safe, affordable homes, supporting residents and strengthening communities. When information from different teams is brought together, providers can move from retrospective reporting towards timely operational insight.
Better use of data also supports more informed decisions about where limited funds should be directed. This includes repairs, improvements to existing homes, retrofit programmes, new affordable housing and services that support residents and communities. The same connected foundation can later support AI and automation.
Bringing together repairs, complaints, ASB, tenancy management and resident contact data gives teams a fuller view of service experience. This helps providers identify recurring issues, respond with better context and focus action where it can support tenant satisfaction measures and resident outcomes.
TSMs, Consumer Standards, the Decent Homes Standard, building safety and EPC reporting all depend on reliable records. Connected data reduces manual reconciliation, creates clearer audit trails and gives compliance teams a consistent view across homes, repairs, assets and tenant services.
Current data helps managers see where repair backlogs, void turnaround or rent arrears are moving away from plan. Teams can respond earlier, manage resources with greater control and spend less time waiting for reports to be manually prepared.
DATA SERVICES
Through our end-to-end data services, we bring together information that already exists across housing systems and make it easier to manage, trust and use. Our work covers data strategy, integration, cleansing, modelling, analytics, governance, Microsoft Azure and cyber security.
We begin by understanding the operational problem you need to solve. We then assess where the relevant information sits, how it moves and where quality or reporting issues appear. From there, we create a practical roadmap covering integration, cleansing, data modelling, warehousing, governance, security and reporting.
We use Microsoft Fabric to bring data integration, storage, engineering and analytics into one Microsoft platform. Information from housing, repairs, finance and asset systems can be centralised, cleansed and presented through a governed data estate without replacing every core system. Microsoft Fabric gives teams a shared foundation for reporting, analytics, automation and AI. It can reduce the complexity of managing multiple technologies across the data lifecycle.
Our Power BI services turn connected data into dashboards and reports that are easy to use. Executives, service managers and frontline leaders can access information relevant to their role through one reporting environment, without needing to understand the technical processes behind it. Role-based dashboards can provide an organisation-wide view while giving individual teams the detail they need for repairs, compliance, finance, tenancy management or asset planning.
USE CASES
A strong data solution begins with a recognised operational challenge. We bring together the information connected to that challenge, create a trusted view and measure the effect on service delivery, productivity and cost. The approach can then be extended across other teams and priorities.
Repairs data may be split across the housing management system, contractor portals, vehicle systems, asset records and spreadsheets. Connecting these sources gives teams a clearer view of demand, location, engineer availability, repeat visits and backlogs. This supports smarter scheduling, more efficient travel routes and faster access to information when planning repair activity.
A connected view of tenancy history, contact records, complaints, ASB and support needs gives staff better context when responding to residents. Teams can spend less time searching across systems and more time resolving cases, improving communication and supporting more proactive tenancy management.
We bring together the information used for TSMs, property safety and service standards, replacing repeated exports and manually assembled reports with governed datasets and automated dashboards. This improves consistency, provides clearer data lineage and gives teams earlier visibility of potential risks.
Connected operational data can reveal delays, duplicated activity and avoidable costs that are difficult to see within separate systems. At Torus, bringing information into one platform supported route planning across a fleet of around 600 vans, productivity reporting and more informed one-to-one management conversations.
Linking stock condition, EPC, repairs, retrofit, rent and finance data gives leaders a clearer basis for planning. Providers can compare property performance, forecast future demand and understand the financial effect of different choices when balancing investment in existing homes, new housing development and community services.
CONNECTED DATA
A connected data estate gives teams a shared view of performance and a clearer route from information to action. By bringing together records from across the organisation, staff spend less time reconciling figures and more time improving services, controlling costs and planning investment.
We help teams spend less time searching for information and more time improving services, supporting residents and planning ahead. We connect housing, repairs, finance, asset and compliance information to create an end-to-end view of tenant, property and service activity.
Leaders and service teams can identify pressure sooner, prioritise work using current information and respond without waiting for manually prepared reports.
Automated datasets and dashboards reduce repeated exports, duplicated work and time spent checking which report or spreadsheet contains the correct figures.
Shared definitions and role-based reporting help teams work from the same information across repairs, tenancy management, compliance and resident communication.
Clearer insight helps providers improve response times, target support more effectively and make better-informed decisions about homes, services and investment.
AI AUTOMATION
AI can help housing providers improve repairs triage, identify maintenance patterns, support resident communication, automate routine processes and strengthen forecasting. The value it delivers depends on how ready the underlying data is.
If information remains spread across housing management, repairs, finance and asset systems, AI will not deliver accurate and reliable outcomes if it is working from incomplete or unreliable data for tenants, properties and services. Duplicate records, missing fields, inconsistent definitions and unclear permissions can limit the accuracy, relevance and usefulness of its outputs.
We bring those sources together, improve data quality and introduce the structure, access controls and governance needed for wider AI use. This helps housing providers understand how ready their data is, where gaps still exist and what needs to change before AI can be used to its full potential. Our AI and automation services provide a practical route from data readiness assessment through to suitable use cases and controlled adoption.
HUMAN-LED DATA
Technology should give housing teams better information, not replace the judgement behind service delivery. Bringing together resident, property and service data helps frontline staff understand case history more quickly, while managers gain a clearer view of demand, performance and areas requiring attention.
Dashboards, automation and AI can reduce repetitive administration and highlight useful patterns. Your people still decide how to respond, where to intervene and what support may be appropriate for an individual resident or community.
DATA GOVERNANCE
Housing providers manage sensitive information relating to tenants, employees, homes and finances. Bringing that information into a connected data environment requires clear controls around who can access it, how it is maintained and where it originates.
We build role-based permissions, clear ownership, validation rules, audit trails and cyber security controls into the data solution. Microsoft Azure, Fabric and Power BI provide a secure environment where information can be traced, governed and used with confidence.
This approach helps protect tenant information while giving approved teams access to the data they need for reporting, planning and service delivery.
DATA IN PRACTICE
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With their outdated infrastructure fast approaching the end of vendor support, Southway Housing Trust needed to find a modern solution and a provider who could deliver it quickly. The not-for-profit organisation, which provides quality affordable housing in south Manchester, didn’t simply want to upgrade their systems, they wanted to build a new modern, cloud-first IT environment. BCN was able to quickly and successfully migrate the trust and its more than 300 users to a bespoke Azure infrastructure that provides a flexible, scalable and secure environment that’s fit for the future.
Discover how Vertas Group partnered with BCN to unify data, automate processes and drive efficiency using Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Dynamics 365.
Cutwel needed their data insight strategy to be as precise and effective as possible. They enlisted long-standing partners, BCN to help them.
DATA TRANSFORMATION
Including every system, report and department in the first phase can make a programme difficult to manage. We recommend beginning with a focused use case, such as repairs performance, void turnaround or TSM reporting, then using the results to guide wider delivery.
Bringing information together does not automatically make it reliable. Duplicate tenant records, missing property fields and inconsistent definitions need to be identified, cleansed and assigned clear ownership before teams can rely on them for reporting, planning or AI.
Without named owners, access rules and shared definitions, the same fragmentation can return. Governance needs to be designed into the solution so teams understand who owns information, who can access it and how it should be maintained.
Technology should be selected around an agreed operational problem. Starting with the platform can lead to reports and systems that teams do not use. We define the decision, process or resident outcome first, then design the data solution around it.
DATA READINESS
Improving data for social housing does not require every system to be replaced or a large programme to be launched immediately. Our data and AI consultancy gives providers a structured starting point, bringing together the information needed for a focused use case before wider rollout.
We can begin with a discovery conversation or data assessment to understand your current systems, operational priorities and reporting challenges. This creates a practical route into a focused pilot rather than committing to a large programme before the opportunity is understood.
We help you select a problem with clear operational value, such as repairs backlog, void turnaround, rent arrears, TSM reporting or stock condition visibility. We then agree what should improve, who needs the insight and how progress will be measured.
We map where information sits, how it moves, who owns it and where quality problems appear. This identifies gaps across housing, repairs, finance, asset and reporting systems before technical delivery begins.
We connect a limited number of sources and create a governed dataset, dashboard or workflow for real users. This provides evidence of value, tests the technical approach and gathers feedback before further investment.
Once the first solution is delivering results, we bring further data sources into the same model and extend it into other priority areas across housing, compliance, finance and asset management.
BCN SESSIONS
We combine social housing knowledge with Microsoft data, Azure, AI and cyber security expertise. As your data solutions partner, we help bring together information from across your organisation, create a practical strategy and deliver systems that support operational priorities, financial planning and resident services.
We assess your systems, reporting processes, data quality and operational priorities, then create a roadmap for connecting the information needed to support better decisions and service outcomes.
We bring together data from existing systems, build governed data models and create accessible reporting through Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.
We define ownership, access, validation, lineage and audit requirements alongside Microsoft Azure and cyber security controls.
We assess whether your connected data, access controls and governance can support AI. We then identify realistic use cases and the work required before wider adoption.
Where qualifying funding is available, we can support applications for assessments, proofs of concept and implementation work. Approval depends on the organisation, technology and proposed project.
Our data specialists work with IT, insight, operations and housing teams to connect existing systems and design solutions around service priorities, resident outcomes and long-term plans.
FAQs
The most common barriers are fragmented systems, inconsistent definitions, duplicated records and limited integration. These problems make it harder to bring together a trusted view across tenants, properties, repairs, assets and compliance, while increasing the time teams spend preparing and checking reports.
No. Microsoft Fabric can sit alongside your existing housing management system and connect it with repairs, finance, asset and resident service platforms. This allows you to bring information together in a governed environment without the cost and disruption of replacing every operational system.
Connected data helps teams see resident history, repairs, complaints and service activity in one place. This supports faster responses, better prioritisation and more consistent communication, while helping providers identify repeat issues or delays before they affect more residents.
AI needs structured, accurate and accessible data supported by clear ownership, secure permissions and agreed definitions. Bringing information together across systems gives providers a clearer basis for assessing their readiness, selecting suitable use cases and understanding what needs to improve before AI can be used to its full potential.
Begin with one operational use case that has a measurable outcome. We can start with a discovery session or data assessment, connect the required information and deliver a focused pilot. This provides evidence before the same approach is extended across other services.
We can help you bring together the data you already hold, improve confidence in reporting and create a clear route towards AI-ready information.
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