In focus – Greg Andrews, MRI Senior Solutions Architect

With over 15 years’ experience gained in social housing, Greg Andrews is MRI Software’s Senior Solutions Architect, responsible for our Tenancy Analytics suite of solutions. We asked Greg to give us a brief review of his 2020 project highlights and predictions for 2021.

Your role at MRI Social Housing?

I’m a Solutions Architect working in the Social Housing Sales Engineering team. My job is to ultimately support the Sales team. I love talking to customers and helping them understand what benefits our products offer.

Most memorable client project in 2020?

Working with Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) was a great highlight. Using the MRI Tenancy Analytics solution, they were able to recover 126 homes from fraudulent activity. They have since been able to reallocate these homes to those most in need. MTVH estimated this exercise saved over £1m to the public purse. With UK housing at such a premium, this was a brilliant success story; ensuring the right people live in the best-fit properties.

Sector tech predictions for 2021?

One positive to come out of the last year is that we have demonstrated we can continue to work more efficiently from home. I always enjoy travelling to meet customers, but as we have seen over the past 12 months; many meetings can be held remotely via Teams and Zoom. This will continue, post-Covid, with flexibility across the workplace, greater emphasis on ensuring staff are technologically equipped to work from home and also bigger office spaces being replaced in favour of agile, working-hubs.

On another note, the Government’s Social Housing White Paper highlights the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on reinforcing the need for a safe home. Tackling issues such as antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse and providing support to vulnerable people continue to be vital, and MRI has proven solutions ready to help with these challenges. I believe social housing providers will increasingly look to analyse individual resident behaviours, as well as any risks they might be vulnerable to, which will not only ensure organisations secure more sustainable tenancies but that they can provide the necessary resources to support their tenants and communities.

For the housing sector, the ability to assess financial vulnerability levels across the whole tenant journey is essential. We hear from lots of our customers that engagement with tenants happens at a much higher rate when the right support is offered before they move into a property. Making use of our pre-tenancy analytics reports will help enable tenants to have a long, thriving tenancy with open, honest communications with their landlords.

Aspirations for 2021?

After the many changes following the acquisition of Orchard, Castleton and Housing Partners, I’m looking forward to being a part of and contributing to a much wider team and supporting our clients through what looks to be yet another crucial year in social housing. We are 100% focused on delivering solutions that truly benefit our clients, but also with their customers experience in mind.  Also, I hope to see Arsenal win a trophy, but that may be a wish too far!

Contact Greg Andrews: Greg.Andrews@MRIsoftware.com