Steve Smith, Asset Manager, explains how Hometrack dataMAP Housing GIS has been utilised throughout the Association since installation in August 2003.

History
Prior to the purchase of Hometrack's dataMAP there was no software solution in place at Glamorgan & Gwent HA, and stock was mapped only by local knowledge and entries within various databases.  Due to the way data was held, analysis and interrogation of information was a time consuming process.

Requirement
There was an overwhelming need to improve systems at the association to ensure that the housing stock was being effectively managed. Glamorgan & Gwent HA was looking for a cost effective tool for reporting, analysing and management purposes, which could easily be rolled out throughout the organisation. With this in mind, an easy-to-use solution with dedicated support services in place was sought. 

Solution
dataMAP Housing GIS links to word processors, spreadsheets and clients’ in-house property information databases. It geographically views, manipulates and analyses property-based data such as rent arrears, housing facilities, sold properties, demographic studies and boundary management.

The complete package offers on-site installation, training, ongoing hotline and online support and product updates.

The Benefits

The benefits of using dataMAP Housing GIS include:

• Easy customisation to user requirements
• Ease of use
• Flexible access to data

To date, the main uses and major benefits at Glamorgan & Gwent are:

• dataMAP gives a clear demographic view of all stock, coupled with the ease of stock interrogation and analysis
• dataMAP is increasingly being used as a management information system
• A number of databases holding stock and maintenance data can now be displayed on one central system 

The Future

The HA hopes to embed, or create dynamic links to the maintenance stock databases in the near future, in order to further increase efficiency.

There is currently demand from senior management to use dataMAP as a management information tool, and implementation of the dataMAP GIS Internet Browser is a possibility for the future. This will enable more employees to internally access key housing data, in a read-only format.

Glamorgan and Gwent HA are committed to high levels of service for their tenants, and therefore it is perceived that the establishment of future permanent links between dataMAP and existing third party software will benefit many aspects of the business and deliver an even higher level of service to tenants.