.png)
Conference Agenda
Browse the conference agenda to discover the range of talks we'll be hosting. We're currently building the agenda and finalising further speakers, so please stay tuned. Presentation titles may be subject to change.
Keynote: Midge Ure OBE, Musician & Campaigner
Music, technology and making the change
In the 1980s, music was instrumental in fundamentally changing the world and the way we perceived society. Teamwork and motivation were pivotal bullet points in the process and Midge Ure talks about this journey through the decades and the effects that were triggered by events. Adequate housing is obviously essential to engender a sense of society and that can only be achieved by sufficient funding, teamwork and motivation, all aspects that Midge has great experience of obtaining. Synonymous with Band Aid, Live Aid, Ultravox and tireless charity work, Midge Ure’s commitment and campaigning to ensure better lives for those in poverty have earned him an OBE. In this candid and moving talk, he communicates details about his career and the story of how musicians came together to try and change the world.
Midge Ure OBE, Musician and campaigner
10:00 - 11:00
3rd March 2021
Aareon UK
Data & the acceleration of the ‘digital ready’ agenda
Tina Kennedy, Aareon’s head of digital, will discuss how new ways of working in the housing sector have made it necessary for housing providers to accelerate their digital-ready agendas, exploring the themes around the three key topics of data, differentiation and disintermediation.
Tina Kennedy, head of digital, Aareon
11:00 - 11:40
3rd March 2021
TSG
“I’m on premise…Get me out of here!”
Supported by TSG customers demonstrating their own uses of AI-driven document management, RPA and Power Apps solutions, TSG will share updates from its work in housing during 2020 and present the next generation of AI-driven Microsoft 365 features, highlighting how digital transformation isn’t just about shifting servers and applications to the cloud.
Tony Hughes, Microsoft 365 housing strategist, and Kirsty Marsden, senior housing service design lead, TSG
11:00 - 11:40
3rd March 2021
Islington & Shoreditch Housing
How to analyse repairs data using Power BI
Learn how you can use Power BI to deliver a better repairs service; help reduce costs, improve service standards and increase customer satisfaction by providing amazing levels of insight, and use AI visuals and analysis to uncover what’s really influencing cost and performance.
Gary Pliskin, finance director, Islington & Shoreditch Housing
11:00 - 11:40
3rd March 2021
Rooftop Housing
How not to implement an IT system – Lessons from the coal face…
From project governance to resourcing, data and skills, implementing an organisation-wide IT system is a daunting prospect. And while it ultimately ended in success for Rooftop, group chief executive Boris Worrall will share his ‘warts and all’ story of why Rooftop’s project drifted off track, what it did to resolve things and, most importantly, the lessons learned.
Boris Worrall, group chief executive, Rooftop Housing
11:00 - 11:40
3rd March 2021
Interview - Microsoft UK
What’s coming next?
What’s coming next and how does technology improve services to residents? With such a wealth of innovation coming into the market, in this session we will discuss how technology solutions can come together to deliver better services to residents.
Robin Denton, head of housing, Microsoft UK
11:40 - 12:00
3rd March 2021
FireAngel Safety Technology
The future of fire safety in social housing
With fire safety in UK housing under an ever-intense spotlight, housing providers are facing the near-impossible task of providing higher standards of protection for their tenants within already stretched resources. This session looks at how a major UK council has turned to IoT and AI to bridge the gap, resulting in a fire safety standard that has never been seen before in UK housing.
James King, connected homes director, FireAngel Safety Technology
12:00 - 12:40
3rd March 2021
Riverside Group & Phoenix Software
Modernising and securing your workforce, everywhere
The pandemic has seen an acceleration in digital transformations within the housing sector. We’ve seen a rapid move to the cloud to enable secure remote working and ensure that staff and tenants can access the services they require. Join Phoenix where we will be talking about innovation in the housing sector and talk with a customer about their move to Microsoft Azure.
Alison Stock, director of IT & digital business, Riverside Group, and Craig Taylor, director of cloud solutions, Oliver Barrett, solutions specialist, and Dave Hollings, Microsoft Azure consultant, Phoenix Software
12:00 - 12:40
3rd March 2021
Halton Housing
Innovation in housing – What are the right ingredients?
Innovation comes in many forms but not without sustained effort, the right environment and a clear line of sight to the problem you’re trying to solve.
Paul Croston, director of technology, digital & data, Halton Housing
12:00 - 12:40
3rd March 2021
Sovereign Housing
The power of a 360-degree view of business intelligence
If 2020 was the year when people were brought together through technology, it was also the year that Sovereign fully embraced the value of data. Learn how our CIO team used data-gathering tools to feed a centralised reporting platform, informing the business of the impact coronavirus was having.
Audrey Lloyd, data insight manager, Sovereign Housing
12:00 - 12:40
3rd March 2021
Aico (HomeLINK)
How will the internet of things transform your customer relationships?
HomeLink has deployed suites of IoT devices with dozens of housing providers, and their tenants are always a key part of those stories. Our recent ground-breaking research into the ethics of IoT in social housing and the recent release of our resident app has provided some unexpected and novel insights… Find out more during our presentation.
Chris Jones, chief operating officer, HomeLINK
14:00 - 14:40
3rd March 2021
Lioness Recruitment
The systems skills gap – Specialist recruiters vs. managed vendors
A massive part of an organisation’s success is down to the people who work within it and this requires effective recruitment and talent retention. Should you go for a one-size-fits-all ‘managed vendor’ or the more bespoke ‘specialist recruiter’? We discuss the best options for value adding and business continuity when recruiting a diverse and engaged team.
Jennifer Shorten, director, and Laura Bruford, director, Lioness Recruitment
14:00 - 14:40
3rd March 2021
Grand Union Housing
The road to driving change (incl. our in-car HMS!)
During our next lap of driving change at Grand Union, we reflect on how our transformation programme helped us cope with the odd rock and hairpin bend during 2020. This year, we can show off our colleagues’ in-car ‘infotainment’ systems to provide housing data at their fingertips when we all get back on the road and a demo of our ‘cruise control’ via RPA.
Simon Penaluna, IT director, and Sue Rice, IT transformation manager, Grand Union Housing
14:00 - 14:40
3rd March 2021
Yorkshire Housing
Faster horses & bigger boats – Change in the housing sector
A ‘warts and all’ look at change in the housing sector and how we can all continue to learn and evolve. We’ll be sharing how Yorkshire Housing’s journey has delivered tangible change to tenants and internal stakeholders, and what we’ve learnt along the way.
Rebecca Farrell-Greenhalgh, service design lead, Yorkshire Housing
14:00 - 14:40
3rd March 2021
Interview - Hometeam Ventures & The Big Issue
House building of the future
Construction innovation is a prerequisite to closing the global housing gap. Join Hometeam Ventures and Lord Bird MBE, founder of The Big Issue, for a discussion on how a combination of innovations from beyond the housing sector and societal change could help with house building of the future.
Julieta Moradei, partner, Hometeam Ventures, and Lord Bird MBE, founder, The Big Issue Group
14:40 - 15:00
3rd March 2021
Northgate Public Services
Augmented reality with real-time voice and text language translation
Imagine entering a property to carry out an inspection and also fix a boiler… without actually entering the property. NPS Housing’s Augmented Reality connects you to customers through a live, interactive secure stream, instantly translating text and voice messages. This isn’t the art of the possible; the possible is available today!
Trevor Hampton, product director for housing solutions, Northgate Public Services
15:00 - 15:40
3rd March 2021
Manningham Housing
Technology innovation from beyond just housing…
Housing providers must step out of their IT comfort zones to become more innovative, ambitious and efficient. By waking up to the potential of software packages from beyond the housing sector, managers can access additional functionality, cut processing time and enhance data analysis. Progress demands short-term investment but delivers long-term benefits, and despite being small, Manningham Housing is embarking on major IT transformation projects with support from international market leaders.
Shendi Keshet, director of finance & resources, Manningham Housing
15:00 - 15:40
3rd March 2021
Wrekin Housing
Grow your own… Balancing in-house development with best-of-breed 3rd-party software
Wrekin Housing started out buying its business solutions from an often-limited market but frustrated by the limitations of customers’ influence on suppliers’ product roadmaps, we built our own development team to accommodate our nuances and enable us to realise our ambitions. The presentation will talk candidly about the swings and roundabouts, the foundations laid and the balance achieved from a ‘mixed economy’ of external suppliers and in-house development.
Lawrence Gardner, group head of ICT, Wrekin Housing
15:00 - 15:40
3rd March 2021
Paradigm Housing
Digital transformation – Before, during and after the pandemic
The pandemic has accelerated many workforce trends – Paradigm had already started its digital transformation to re-engineer its processes aligned to an off-the-shelf ERP solution. Having proven our ability to preserve workforce continuity amid the rapid shift to mandatory remote working, we seized the opportunity to re-evaluate our business model to deliver richer and deeper digital experiences and exploit emerging digital technologies for better business outcomes.
Dr Vivienne Adams, head of portfolio & programmes, Paradigm Housing
15:00 -15:40
3rd March 2021
Interview - Halton Housing & Sovereign Housing
Innovation and business intelligence in housing
An interview and discussion on the importance of gaining a 360-degree view of business intelligence, and how that provides the right foundation for more innovation in housing.
Audrey Lloyd, data insight manager, Sovereign Housing, and Paul Croston, director of technology, digital & data, Halton Housing
15:40 - 16:00
3rd March 2021
Keynote: Andrew Grill, Practical Futurist
The devil is in the data
Andrew Grill, practical futurist & former IBM Global managing partner
10:00 - 11:00
4th March 2021
MRI Software
Turning data into decisions
James Massey, strategy director, and Doug Sarney, director, MRI Software
11:00 - 11:40
4th March 2021
Civica
If only my boiler could talk…
Justin Fisher, product manager, Civica, and Kenny Virdee, IoT partnership director, Vaillant
11:00 - 11:40
4th March 2021
Havebury Housing
An appetite for construction – Havebury’s in-house development
Paul Rowley, assistant director of ICT, Havebury Housing
11:00 - 11:40
4th March 2021
Peaks & Plains Housing Trust
Building safety compliance data after a regulatory downgrade
Emma Richman, executive director of operations, Peaks & Plains Housing Trust
11:00 - 11:40
4th March 2021
Keynote: Inma Martinez, AI Scientist & Digital Pioneer
What to expect from artificial intelligence
Inma Martinez, AI scientist & digital pioneer
11:40 - 12:00
4th March 2021
.png)
Sophos
Incident response best practices in housing
Greg Iddon, threat response strategist, Sophos
12:00 - 12:40
4th March 2021
Microsoft UK
Discussion – Sustainability and smart cities in social housing
Ellen Wilson, public-sector sustainability & smart cities lead, and Kishore Rajendran, CTO for housing, Microsoft UK
12:00 - 12:40
4th March 2021
Platform Housing Group
Avoiding data fatigue in an IoT world
Jon Cocker, chief information officer, Platform Housing Group
12:00 - 12:40
4th March 2021
Places for People
Faster, better & stronger – IT strategies fit for an ever-changing environment
Dean Garvey-North, technology officer, Places for People
12:00 - 12:40
4th March 2021
Esri UK & Thirteen Group
Transforming the delivery of housing services using location intelligence
Mark Arnold, head of technical strategic assets, Thirteen Group
14:00 - 14:40
4th March 2021
MHS Homes
Connecting customers and modernising our business
Amanda Hodge, ICT manager, Ros Adby, assistant director of transformation & digital services, and Toni Dickinson, ICT business applications manager, MHS Homes
14:00 - 14:40
4th March 2021
Peabody Group
Introducing micro-service aggregation for business agility
Clive Thacker, head of technical solutions, Peabody
14:00 - 14:40
4th March 2021
Interview - Havebury Housing
In-house development and low code software
Eleanor Darling, customer service & involvement manager, and Paul Rowley, assistant director of ICT, Havebury Housing
14:40 - 15:00
4th March 2021
Social Telecoms & 8x8
Building stronger connections with staff and residents
Rob Mottram, business development manager, Social Telecoms
15:00 - 15:40
4th March 2021
Johnnie Johnson Housing
The positive digital shift as a result of coronavirus
Steve Allcock, director of ICT, data & digital, Johnnie Johnson Housing
15:00 - 15:40
4th March 2021
Southside Housing Association
Making the case for digital inclusion
Chris Milborrow, business improvement manager, Southside Housing Association
15:00 - 15:40
4th March 2021
PA Housing
Let’s get analytical
Dino Kyprianou, ICT applications & development manager, and Katherine Hiscock, income manager, PA Housing
15:00 - 15:40
4th March 2021