Magenta Living has partnered with leading digital transformation provider and data and AI specialist, ANS, to implement a modern data platform in Microsoft Azure and mature its data and analytics capabilities. This will enable the organisation to gain further insight across several areas, with the ultimate outcome of improving operational reporting and progress decision making around proactive repairs – a common challenge within the housing sector.
Magenta Living is a not-for-profit housing provider that owns and manages nearly 13,000 homes. It is the largest affordable housing provider in Wirral and operates across the Northwest of England.
Magenta Living has previously utilised data reporting solutions such as PowerBI to deliver its analysis needs, and while this has served some purposes, the organisation was wanting a single version of the truth, with different datasets sometimes displaying conflicting data. For Magenta Living to achieve its new data strategy, new tooling and skills were required and the organisation is now in a place to move to a well-designed, fit-for-future modern data platform and deliver on their data aspirations. Magenta Living very much sees this project as a strategic, long-term shift to build ground-breaking use cases that deliver real value to customers.
A Microsoft Fabric modern data platform will allow Magenta Living to:
- Support improved business reporting and strategic decision making – developing a new organisational data and analytics capability that is currently not possible
- Develop a transformed culture where data quality, continuous improvement, and removing unneeded manual processes is paramount
- Have a place to go where there is one trusted version of the truth – storing information and data in one reporting solution with improved information governance in place.
- Deliver data and insight faster to those who need it, such as the senior leadership team and operational management
To deliver on this ambition, Magenta Living has partnered with ANS to build and deploy a Microsoft Fabric modern data platform, which will provide centralised data and analytics capabilities. This platform will provide a modern, future-proofed, single source of data and analytics, working in tandem with PowerBI to display efficient, up-to-date reports for the organisation.
Magenta Living are approaching the implementation and partnership with ANS with a long-term view and collaborative approach. This has been achieved by utilising ANS’ professional services and Co-Managed Data Service for proactive support, as well as the unique Data Centre of Excellence offering, whereby the ANS team will provide mature data and AI skillsets to work alongside the internal Magenta Living team in delivery of future use cases over the span of the next 2 years.
Speaking on the project, Ian Cresswell, Director of Technology at Magenta Living, said: “ANS were the Microsoft partner of choice for us due to their accredited expertise and their collaborative and unique approach. This long-term partnership between Magenta Living and ANS will allow us to start our cloud-based data journey and transform the way we use data internally. Over the coming years we expect future use cases to deliver real value to evidence based decision making.”
ANS’ Housing Lead Chris Hampson said: “The desire to gain further insight from the data held within a housing association to improve the lives of tenants is a common driver we see across the housing sector. Housing Associations are typically ‘data-rich but insight-poor’, and Magenta Living will now be able to go on to leverage their data to achieve their objectives on their Road to 2030. We are really excited to work alongside the Magenta Living team, and we are looking forward to delivering valuable use cases together through the Data Centre of Excellence service.”