Case Study: Modernising Document and Records Management for a Major Housing Association 

Background 

A prominent housing association located in the East of England and responsible for more than nineteen thousand homes began a programme to modernise how documents and records were managed across the organisation. Although one legacy electronic document and records management system had been structured effectively for some core tenant information, the broader document landscape had become fragmented. Content was stored across several disconnected locations including the older records system, SharePoint sites, network storage and the organisation’s customer relationship management platform. Over many years these separate environments grew without a guiding strategy which created duplication, inconsistency and increasing difficulty in maintaining compliance. 

To support a long-term commitment to Microsoft based technology, the association sought a new and scalable platform that could provide a single foundation for customer information and operational documentation. 

Challenges 

A fragmented customer record 

Teams across the organisation struggled to gain a clear and complete understanding of each customer because key documents were distributed across separate systems. This created delays for staff and increased the risk of decisions being made without access to the full history. 

Limited ability to share documents with tenants 

Important information could not be made instantly available to tenants through the online tenant portal. Staff were required to manually prepare and upload documents which slowed processes and reduced the usefulness of self-service options. 

Unnecessary storage spending 

Multiple repositories contained duplicated files and older content that was not consistently managed. This caused higher storage costs and made system administration more complex. 

Use of unsuitable storage locations 

Certain data was saved in storage areas designed for transactional records rather than large document volumes. For example, items generated within Dynamics often used Dataverse storage which was not an efficient or cost-effective choice for larger files. Even certain files stored within SharePoint had an opportunity to be moved to Azure blob with Filer’s Archiver module to drive further cost-savings, with an easy-to-use interface to retrieve archived files at any time.  

Difficulty demonstrating compliance 

Reporting became challenging because content was stored across too many platforms. Retention rules were not applied consistently and sensitive information could be difficult to locate. 

The Future System Designed with Mizorix 

The housing association engaged Mizorix to define a strategic approach that would simplify and unify document and records management throughout the organisation. This programme considered long term requirements including regulatory changes and the organisation’s plan to provide tenants with connected services through a modern online portal. 

Strategic consolidation and migration 

Mizorix evaluated every document source and designed a migration approach that allowed the organisation to retire outdated systems. Purpose built migration tools were created to extract, transform and consolidate content into a single structure. This process removed duplication and provided a clean foundation for future processes. 

AI supported classification 

To improve accuracy and consistency, the organisation adopted the Indexer module from the Filer platform. This system uses Microsoft artificial intelligence with review by staff where needed. It automatically identifies document types, applies correct labels and ensures sensitive information is correctly protected. This helped the organisation to establish clear retention rules and provided greater confidence in the correctness of permissions applied to each item. 

Improved experience for customer service staff 

The deployment of Filer for Dynamics allowed staff to work entirely inside the customer relationship management system. They could access tenant records, upload new documents and follow structured processes without switching between systems. This delivered the sought after single view of the customer. 

Efficient capture of correspondence 

Add in features for Outlook and automated routines ensured emails and attachments were correctly classified and stored in the central records system. This ensured that important communication was always linked to the relevant tenant and secured in line with compliance requirements. 

Real time access through the tenant portal 

Workflows and structured reviews allowed authorised tenant documents to be published directly to the tenant portal in real time. This provided transparency, reduced the administrative workload for staff and supported the organisation’s goal of improving digital services for tenants. 

A long-term technical partnership 

Mizorix remains the organisation’s trusted technical partner and continues to support further automation initiatives and the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence tools. 

Benefits 

• Reduced duplication and a significant decrease in unnecessary storage costs 
• Consolidation of content into a single trusted location 
• A complete and consistent view of tenant information for frontline staff 
• Improved operational efficiency as documents became easier to find and manage 
• Real time access to relevant information for tenants through the online portal 
• A modern document environment aligned with long term Microsoft based strategy 
• Enhanced usability across SharePoint and Dynamics for daily operations 

Want to learn more? 

Contact us today to learn about our co-funded analysis and design service for Housing Associations.