Acutance Recommendations

I had the pleasure of working with Tony on a complex procurement project to replace three legacy systems across housing management, HR/payroll, and finance. Tony brought an exceptional breadth of experience in social housing and charity-sector software, with deep knowledge of HMS, HR/payroll, and FMS solutions. He was able to apply insight gained from much larger and comparable projects in a way that was practical, proportionate, and highly effective for a medium-sized charity, which added real value throughout. What stood out most was that Tony was always firmly in the client’s corner. He worked closely with us to make sure the right outcomes were achieved, combining independent advice, sector expertise, and a pragmatic approach that helped us navigate a challenging project with confidence. He was constructive when challenge was needed, supportive throughout, and clearly committed to getting the best possible result for the organisation. Tony was also very flexible, easy to contact, and consistently approachable throughout the engagement. As well as being highly experienced and effective, he is an affable and straightforward person to work with, which made a demanding project much easier and more enjoyable. I feel it was directly as a result of Tony's support that we were able to reduce some key risks, avoid common pitfalls, stay on schedule, and find suppliers from the outset who were a good fit. I would recommend Tony without reservation to any organisation seeking a highly experienced, trusted, and client-focused consultant with deep sector knowledge and a practical approach to delivering complex change.

When I was appointed as Treasurer on the Board of Stafford and Cannock League of Hospital Friends they were a supported housing provider with 34 customers. As the organisation planned some significant growth, I recommended finding a Housing Management System to improve efficiency rather than the multiple unconnected spreadsheets being used. We engaged Tony Smith to identify whether there was a cost effective product available for such a small organisation. Although he is well known for big projects, he works with many smaller providers managing under 200 homes and works to make it operationally affordable. SCLHF were impressed with his laid back but solid approach to understand the needs of the organisation, what makes it special, and took time to build strong relationships with our team. Tony found us an economic and effective solution, working to help us migrate from our many spreadsheets. Tony's knowledge was exceptional and I would recommend him particularly for smaller providers looking to improve their systems or move up to their second (or third) HMS solution, or just get more from their supplier and what they already have.

I recently worked with Tony on executive reassurance for a major key business change project, involving key platform choice of traditional HMS, Dynamics or Salesforce CRM. Bringing his encyclopedic knowledge of practical products, suppliers, peer users and resellers in the Social Housing sector, he provided a clear template to guide our market assessment. This meant our decisions could be clearly validated, providing much needed senior management assurance. Tony was flexible and contactable at all times, working hard to our tight deadlines. His experience shared freely in a firm but relaxed manner would benefit any procurement and he can be recommended as a true asset.

Tony has been great to work with as a critical friend and IT consultant. He is thoughtful, collaborative and provides practical advice that adds real value. I would highly recommend working with him.

I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Tony on the Hackney housing systems programme, where he supported us in the Critical Friend role. His depth of knowledge across housing, ICT, and large-scale system implementations is exceptional, he brings decades of experience but combines it with a modern, practical approach that adds real value from day one. What really sets Tony apart is the way he balances technical insight with a genuine awareness of the social impact of our work. He never loses sight of the fact that behind every process, integration, or data migration task, there are residents depending on us to get things right. He has an incredible ability to help teams hold suppliers to account while still keeping discussions constructive and focused on outcomes. Tony is honest, direct, and incredibly supportive, the kind of person who always makes time for a call, a review, or a quick sense-check, no matter how stretched the schedule is. He goes well beyond any narrow remit and consistently spots issues early, offering clear, pragmatic solutions that keep delivery on track. He’s also great company to work with, down-to-earth, straightforward, and able to bring humour into even the most intense parts of a project. I can’t recommend Tony highly enough. Whether it's a large council, a small housing provider, or anything in between, any organisation would benefit from having him involved.

I recently worked with Tony during a project to define HMS detail specifications prior to formal procurement. Throughout it was clear that his knowledge was extensive, and in terms of setting and achieving deadlines he was meticulous. Never afraid to challenge, he worked well with colleagues at all levels in a collaborative way, always looking to solve problems and move us towards practical outcomes. Tony cares about social housing organisations getting the best from their often expensive ICT purchases and he worked hard to understand what makes us different from other providers. He was fun to work with too and brought a northern realism to the whole process. I would recommend Tony to larger providers looking to do similar projects or who just need a reliable Critical Friend to help get things right.

It was great working with Tony on a large HMS/DLO procurement project. He brought a proven and robust methodology to the process, handled bidders much in the best interests of our team as possible and shadowed the implementation as a Critical Friend. His role was valuable as he realistically challenged our supplier where needed and argued the case beyond what a client would conventionally expect to be involved with. He achieved significant savings when involved in our implementation and worked seamlessly with project team and senior managers. His approach was always down to earth, honest and straightforward. He was a pleasure to work with and a very personable guy outside of work too. Its evident that Tony cares about making improvements happen and works hard to go that extra mile. I have no reservations in recommending him to any project, regardless of how complex it is.

We recently worked with Tony, who assisted us with a soft market investigation of suitable replacement housing and finance systems for approx. 1,400 tenants and 1,700 factored owners. He helped us to complete a full procurement exercise, His knowledge of suppliers and the more appropriate products available was impressive. Working flexibly with our team, he was always happy to reassure and be available to help where needed beyond conventional working hours. He worked hard to secure best value in the project and correctly evaluate risk for our organisation. His pragmatic approach to the task in hand allows him to adapt his approach to suit the size of client he is dealing with and is good helping his clients arrive at a practical solution. Tony is personable and easy to work with, and I would highly recommend him as a critical friend for smaller HMS procurements.

It was great recently to work in collaboration with Tony working as Critical Friend, in a complex repairs integration project involving multiple stakeholders. His honest and down to earth approach was refreshing and brought suppliers and client ICT team members together collaboratively. His vast experience, confidence and ability to challenge established thinking to achieve effective outcomes, makes him the essential missing link in any complex SocialHousing systems/transformation project. Always happy to engage within and beyond the 9-5 when needed, Tony goes the extra mile, cares about getting the best outcomes and pulls out the stops to be there to support everyone whenever needed. Tony is a pleasure to work with, highly recommended.

We reached out to Tony as Critical Friend for his interfacing, ActiveH housing and Totalmobile contractor system knowledge. His thorough insight of software applications and repairs processes, aided in diagnosing the source of issues and quickly progressing proactive solutions, for the wider Repairs Journey. He got on well with the wider team and was flexible with his time, patient, always contactable when needed. He was keen to document all processes worked in as videos and other materials, to aid knowledge transfer. Tony can be fully recommended, also very affiable and easy to get on with too!

I experienced working with Tony while he was supporting Vale Of Glamorgan Council in a full migration from OHMS and Fujitsu Console DLO solution to NEC Housing and Datastox. He always made himself available, often beyond the 9-5 to tackle project and supplier challenges, always working hard on the local authority's behalf, solving problems as pragmatically as possible. Tony was a real asset in keeping the project moving, particularly bringing in experiences from other recent projects and his three decades working with Public Sector, Building Services and housing. His refreshing honesty and ability to speak his mind when needed, as well as getting the most from people was valuable. He is a highly credible Critical Friend consultant with expert system knowledge and scores of ICT procurement projects.

I’m pleased to recommend Tony, who brought essential process, market and supplier knowledge to a legacy council systems review project we both worked on. He quickly and efficiently worked with management, staff and stakeholders such as board members, to a tight timescale. Tony was freely contactable and exceptionally approachable and flexible throughout, affable to work with too, providing Critical Friend advice afterwards when needed. Tony is a consultant who cares about improving systems, processes and ICT, providing an essential piece of the jigsaw, when helping move from legacy to modern solutions.

I worked with Tony when he was working with a new (24k home) Social housing group, when he was acting as project Critical Friend, following assisting with a fast and efficient HMS/FMS procurement. He brought extensive knowledge of similar projects and worked tirelessly in order to hold our implementation supplier to account and support the team widely when challenges were encountered. The 'big bang' project was delivered within 19 months and within scope. I would recommend Tony as an essential resource for similar large complex projects and the vast experience he brings from decades in the sector and what he shares from more recent supplier project experiences.

Tony worked hard through soft-market, procurement and contract finalisation stages of a complex housing systems replacement project (Northgate/Anite OHMS & Consol to NEC Housing & Datastox). The proven methodology he provided was very useful when working with him as Critical Friend. Our supplier when needed was strongly held to account, as he worked in our favour. The help he provided internally when inevitably challenges occurred, was invaluable. Tony was always on tap, flexibly contactable during and out of standard working hours when needed, to support the project and pragmatically help us achieve our goals. Tony is open, flexible and approachable and could be recommended to add value in any Critical Friend situation, bringing his encyclopedic knowledge from the sector, other projects and clients. I gained a new friend during the project and I would have no reservations in recommending Tony.

Tony added additional experience to a HMS procurement project at Hackney with a clear and obviously successful previously used methodology, which helped us move quickly through a complex procurement project safely. He was comfortable working with procurement colleagues, Where time was of the essence, he was available whenever needed and always worked hard to plan a few steps ahead to help us reach our end point quickly, with minimal challenge. He was always positive and a Critical Friend capable of seeing the big picture and the ultimate resident and end-user benefiting from the (often) complex systems being implemented.

I am delighted to recommend Tony, who recently conducted a comprehensive review of our existing asset management system. Tony demonstrated exceptional expertise and professionalism throughout the entire process. From the outset, Tony displayed a thorough understanding of our needs and objectives. His approach to assessing our asset system was meticulous and insightful. They identified key areas for improvement and provided actionable recommendations. What stood out was Tony's ability to communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and understandable manner. This skill was invaluable in ensuring that all stakeholders were aligned and informed throughout the review process. Their final report was not only detailed but also thoughtfully structured, making it easy for us to implement the suggested improvements/recommendations. Tony went above and beyond by offering ongoing support and guidance. Overall, Tony has proven to be a great IT consultant whose expertise and dedication significantly benefited our work. I highly recommend Tony for any IT consulting needs, confident that he will deliver exceptional results.

During my time with Cluid Housing Association, I had the pleasure of working with Tony during the procurement of a new Asset & Social Housing Management System. I found his insightful sectoral and extensive almost encyclopedic platform knowledge to be really beneficial to the successful outcome of the project, and that saved us a a huge amount of time. He was always flexibly available for our team, personable and solution focused. Given the importance of selecting the right solution, I have no hesitation recommending Tony to any organisation seeking assistance navigating the complexity of procuring an integrated Housing Management Platform, in Irish AHBs or RSLs across the UK.

I worked together with Tony on a project he was involved as a Critical Friend for a South Wales council, helping implement a new HMS & DLO solution. He worked successfully to smoothly ease the path of all stakeholders to work together proactively and pragmatically, for a successful outcome. His down to earth and always available where needed approach was key to taking decisions quickly and meeting tight deadlines. His vast experience in the socialhousing sector and its suppliers and application of ever-changing solutions across UK & Ireland, makes him the leading practitioner in this area. Tony is also extremely personable and down to earth in solving problems and moving projects on. I would have no reservations in recommending him.

I engaged Tony for an Asset Management and Repairs project on the MIS ActiveH housing management and TotalMobile Cloud Dialogs contractor solution. His system knowledge is outstanding, with the ability to find cost effective solutions for the organisation. Tony’s ability to involve/engage staff at all levels, freely transfer knowledge to aid in ICT/process self-sufficiency is one of his strengths, in addition to being the archetype 'finisher'. Tony is personable, pragmatic, down to earth. I recommend him to any business looking for systems solutions.

I have no hesitation in recommending Tony. Tony has supported several project by acting as a critical friend and expert adviser, which has ensured technology projects were accurately reflected scoped, prepared and evaluated. Tony's approach brings valuable insight, which is a vital link between the business user and ICT that ensures user and business needs are understood and met.

It was a great eye opener working with Tony recently. He brought extensive Social Housing/Contractor sector experience, as well as good practical insight of working with various suppliers and solutions. Having worked on both sides of the fence, he takes time to squeeze the best from relationships, taking a no-nonsense approach, for the benefit of his clients. The review he undertook, forensically revealed system and internal process priorities, to assist in service transformation. Tony would be a welcome Critical Friend to help turn any project around, or better help engage suppliers and users, for effective transformation. I am pleased to recommend Tony and the fresh, friendly down to earth approach he brings.

It was a pleasure to work with Tony on recent joint Council Digital Platform Procurement, for Cheltenham and Stroud. His advice and guidance taking Cheltenham through an effective pre-market engagement, was pivotal in helping us realise, set and prioritise our requirements. Tony’s proven experience effectively helped us deliver a compliant procurement, which delivered the most appropriate and best fit solution for each Council. The proven methodology he brings is forensic and worth its weight in gold! Scoring fairly, justifiably and holding bidders to account. Tony helped us expose and cut through ‘weasel words’ and hidden costs effectively. Tony’s approach is flexible and customer centric at all times, you can be assured of an honest and frank opinion which is extremely valuable in my book. Tony is a great chap both on and off project, and his great sense of humour is a welcome attribute. I would highly recommend Tony and he would be a valuable asset to any Council solution procurement.

It was refreshing to work with Tony recently at St Leger Homes Doncaster, during a complex implementation project. Tony's knowledge of supplier offerings and specific social housing subject matter areas, was comprehensive and extremely useful in turning around project difficulties. As a critical friend, he prioritised our needs at all times and worked hard to really understand blockages, get Suppliers onboard to solve issues and meet deadlines. He works hard to achieve success for his clients. He was a real asset to this project and I would have no reservations recommending him. Also, he is easy going, pragmatic and good to work with.

Tony was recommended to me originally from a board member and has worked on a couple of projects with me, helping to specify and procure a new repairs contractor and a care & support solution, at two different organisations. He brings an extremely practical approach that holds tenderer's to account in scoring comparison and also when assuring delivery. Apart from bringing subject matter knowledge, he worked well with suppliers to shape the best outcomes for our projects. I would have no reservations recommending Tony. He works hard, but is easy going, always available, flexible and good to work with.

Tony successfully supported an Asset solution procurement and data migration, acting as a critical friend to my team and expert adviser on the project. He worked hard to understand business needs, work with varied raw survey data, in a complex data migration and mediate with our software supplier, to obtain best outcomes for the organisation. Tony tried hard always to be available, frequently contactable after hours, was flexible, often working to short deadlines and using experience of data conversions elsewhere to help make the project a success. I could see Tony cares about clients getting everything implemented that was promised in a procurement and the methodology he brought to our project saved extra potential costs. I am pleased to recommend Tony and the fresh, friendly down to earth approach he brings.

I have no hesitation in recommending Tony. He has successfully supported several procurement projects by acting as a critical friend and expert adviser, which has ensured technology projects were accurately reflected, scoped, prepared and evaluated. Tony's approach and methodology brings valuable insight, which is a vital link between the business user and ICT that ensures user and business needs are understood and met. In addition, he is consistently down to earth and approachable.

Tony works as a "critical friend" to both Housing Associations and suppliers. He has vast experience that he uses to feedback insightful and intelligent plans about how to tackle opportunities for the mutual benefit of both the supplier and client. He is passionate about making sure social housing landlords get the best from the solutions they buy and is a safe pair of hands at leading the acquisition of technology in a structured and timely fashion. Tony brings a refreshing no-nonsense approach, honestly telling you what others will not and cutting quickly through any smoke and mirrors. A unique asset contributing to proven supplier success.

"I worked with Tony on a pre-market analysis and procurement of a Contractor, Scheduling and Mobile solution, during the Covid-19 lockdown. He brought extensive relative market knowledge, sector/supplier connections to explore and shared practical insights with our management team involved in the project. Even working during restrictions of lockdown, it was obvious that Tony cares, taking pride around meeting deadlines and working to accurate estimated budget, which was very refreshing. Where practical, he is available for queries outside the ‘normal working hours’, which was helpful for our project in the ‘New Normal’. Tony clearly adds value to any procurement and his extensive knowledge formed the missing piece to our new DLO project. I would recommend engaging with Tony at the beginning of any procurement project, better that than involving him in helping sort out any expensive mistakes, further down the line."

I was introduced to Tony, through his social housing ICT blog and worked closely with him as Critical Friend shaping product offering to the sector. His knowledge as previous supplier, of the current supplier network and system capabilities, is unique and brought added value to my team. This helped kickstart knowledge of how to engage with the sector, shape demonstrations to the needs of housing and better target effective attendance at conferences and exhibitions. I would not hesitate to recommend Tony, as Critical Friend to any supplier looking to learn more, or enter the sector successfully with their products.

Tony worked successfully with us at Response to review our existing semi-manual Social Housing processes and solutions. He brought knowledge of solutions available for 'The Smalls' and guided our housing and finance team through a structured process to compare options and help us arrive at suitable options. It can seem like a maze of options out there, however his practical approach quickly cut through any smoke and mirrors. He was invaluable in specifying our needs, getting the most for us, from our supplier and translating our requirements into practical results. Tony worked hard getting our various data sources into shape and enabling data cleansing. As a Critical Friend, he often used his patience and sense of humour to ensure we kept on track and went live as planned. Post live, with his help he has assisted in working with our supplier to ensure our outstanding issues were not forgotten. For our size of just under 450 rentable properties, we now have significant influence and have a suitable platform, for future growth. Tony showed he is an essential addition to any project, particularly where a smaller charity or social landlord is either moving to a more sophisticated platform, or considering that first system. He understands the challenges of 'The Smalls' and always delivers on promises, using his Mancunian charm to assist suppliers in doing that too!

Tony provided valuable consultancy as Homes in Sedgemoor undertook a business critical Housing Management System, Document Management System and Tenant portal implementation to replace the current system which was coming to end of life. Tony’s expertise in social housing IT transformations and industry knowledge proved useful throughout the project, Tony has great business acumen and played a key role as a Critical Friend and Technical Consultant bridging the gap between the business and the software supplier helping deliver the project within budget and timescales. As a Critical Friend ThatHousingITGuy was unflappable and able to manage difficult discussions with third parties with ease, helping deliver a robust implementation. Tony was able to adapt and contribute to various situations faced during the project. Tony has good humour, is approachable and a pleasure to work with. And he may even treat you to a good pasty.

I had the pleasure to work with Tony while Homes In Sedgemoor was in transition, over 18 months, moving to a new Integrated Housing system, together with self-service and mobile working for staff. It was a complex project that at other sites clearly needed large teams to achieve. As a Critical Friend, Tony was extremely knowledgeable and freely shared his process, systems and ICT experience to pragmatically move the project along, working well with our compact team. His down to earth approach was invaluable when working with our suppliers, being firm but measured where challenge was necessary. Tony is unique in his experience range, covering Supplier and over eighty clients, so is rarely short of ideas and options. I have no doubt he would be valuable to organisations of all sizes, in a similar Critical Friend role, bringing projects in to budget and to time restrictions. As an added bonus, he brings his Mancunian sense of humour and love of decent music.

I have no hesitation in recommending Tony Smith. Housing IT Guy is exactly what he is. I had the pleasure of working with him when I was re-positioning Valueworks from a service led business to a cloud business. Tony supported me on several projects, his combination of personable skills, technical competence and client-focused, with sector knowledge, makes Tony a great asset to have assisting any organisation. Tony is fantastic under pressure and a focused consultant. He handled our crucial project totally from a business centric viewpoint. Tony is very credible and capable of working at all levels from end users, colleagues, director /CEO and board level. Tony has been extremely valuable and we achieved a huge amount in just a few months. Tony made himself available at any time we needed him and was fully engaged in our projects.

I was familiar with Tony from his blogs and tweets as 'The HousingITguy' (who isn't, right?!), prior to working with him to review group business applications at Torus. This was soon after merger of Helena Partnerships and Golden Gates Housing Trust. His practical and comprehensive social housing systems knowledge was instrumental in assessing the multitude of systems in use and suggesting a smooth way forward. Tony suggested a short pre-market engagement, which was ideal to help inform us as to the available solutions in the marketplace, and ballpark costs. His experience of the relevant options in the sector was invaluable and he was keen to involve our managers and staff in the process, from a very early stage. This worked extremely well, particularly later as OJEU and the final implementation process started. Tony is such a positive influence, problems were always just regarded as challenges with lots of suggested ways forward. My team, managers and staff worked well with him and I would recommend him most highly. I’m really looking forward to another opportunity to work with Tony – and if you get the opportunity, ask him to tell you about the lemon drizzle cake story.

Well what can I say, Tony may actually be Yoda in disguise. Worked with Tony on several occasions, on various Housing IT projects, his knowledge and understanding of process and systems is unsurpassable, delivering projects from preconception to handholding at go live and beyond. A key project when I worked alongside Tony was the DoveTail project at whg, I'd already overseen secure mobile connectivity with private APN's, SAN storage and 95% VMWare with site-site replication, so we had got a stable, secure and quality infrastructure to work with. We worked well from the outset, sharing ideas, my technical and internal process knowledge combined with Tony's knowledge of the entire sector, and housing management systems (HMS), we made a good team. This guidance defined a robust specification for the whole project team in product selection, which resulted in the procurement of 1st Touch mobile suite and Accuserve Contractors systems. These systems required interfaces to stores, finance, HMS, Document Image Processing, as well as the general mobile software requirements of end users. Tony was appointed project manager but wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, spending time with all concerned to ensure all departments were aware of the plan as well as indicating areas for improvement or concern. The success of the project was detrimental to Tony's hard work, project management skills and knowledge. He's not an outside the box thinker, there is no no box, no better compliment. Projects are sometimes difficult to deliver when multiple departments are involved, as well as other stakeholders, Tony will analyse, advise, constructive criticise, implement, manage and support, reducing risk and simplifying goals. Nice bloke as well, loves his music 👍 Not your typical endorsement, but he's not your typical consultant.

Well what can I say, Tony may actually be Yoda in disguise. Worked with Tony on several occasions, on various Housing IT projects, his knowledge and understanding of process and systems is unsurpassable, delivering projects from preconception to handholding at go live and beyond. He's not an outside the box thinker, there is no no box, no better compliment. Projects are sometimes difficult to deliver when multiple departments are involved, as well as other stakeholders, Tony will analyse, advise, constructive criticise, implement, manage and support, reducing risk and simplifying goals. Nice bloke as well, loves his music 👍 Not your typical endorsement, but he's not your typical consultant.

Tony is a great consultant with lots of experience in his field of work. Previously worked with him on a project to implement a lean reporting process via MIS system. Tony understands the requirements of his clients and is really approachable and helps to make the implementation phase as stress free as possible.

It’s been a pleasure working with Tony. His wide links in social housing are pretty much the best in the sector and he is always looking at ways to help. A genuine source of common sense advice and unique as having worked as a supplier and in the interests of clients, he gains wide respect. Great to work with and top notch on social media.

I've worked with Tony on customer self-service projects in the social housing sector. He was impressed enough to blog about our solutions and has been invaluable for opening doors to significant contacts in the sector. His encyclopedic knowledge, as poacher turned game-keeper, clearly brings valuable advantages for his clients and he delivers what he says, in an amicable, but no-nonsense fashion. Overall, a very interesting person to work with who I highly recommended.

I worked with Tony on a large Assets, Repairs, mobile, contractor and scheduling procurement, where he subsequently assisted in project delivery. He was extremely flexible and knowledgeable , working at all times in whg's interest and to extract maximum VfM. His background and technical knowledge of the marketplace is extremely good, great to work with too, he is a valuable asset to any social housing sector software application procurement.

I have recently had the experience of working with Tony on a large mobile repairs/assets mobile procurement in the West Midlands. His housing applications and sector knowledge is exceptional. He worked 110% to procure the right solution for his customer and his enthusiasm equals his tenacity with suppliers. Having been on that side of the fence, he certainly understands the attributes and limitations of the supplier. In that respect, he works like no other consultant, in managing expectations and squeezing the best from procurements. Tony has no fear in pursuing and checking detail for his client, to ensure the best outcomes he can leverage.

Tony is imaginative in his practical application of IT and quickly meets tight organisational objectives. He clearly has in-depth housing and asset knowledge working in a very tight timescale, extremely flexibly and beyond normal working hours when needed and at short notice. Tony provides a rich mix of housing knowledge, IT and business process experience and clearly works hard to add value to projects he is involved with. He is extremely personable and flexible and goes that extra mile to help achieve a positive outcome."

In my long IT career, I've encountered many interesting people with diverse personalities and interests, but Tony stands out not only as an industrious work colleague, but also a genuinely good friend. Since working together at ICS (Medical) Ltd, I've witnessed Tony's expanding skill set and increased confidence, becoming something of a household name in the housing IT arena. His reputation as a hard-working and honest independent consultant, is evidenced by his continuing success delivering projects for his clients. His combination of personable disposition, technical competence and client-focused orientation, makes Tony a very worthy asset to have on board.

"It was great working with Tony on a recent large housing management system procurement. It was refreshing to see such a fair and well structured project. From his background as MD of one of the large players, he is the ultimate sceptic, focussing on deliverables and certainties for his clients. I am sure not much in the way of smoke and mirrors would get past him. A pleasure to work with and great fun. Fully recommended for RSLs and groups considering replacing or refreshing their housing and financial systems."

Tony has a broad skill set, with particularly good industry knowledge which proved invaluable to the project. Good knowledge of best practice processes, aligned to excellent technical authoring skills.

I have enjoyed working with Tony recently, on work to bring a channel shifting project to conclusion, bringing 24/7 access to residents and customers. He was extremely effective in kick starting the project quickly and to very tight time scales. His inclusive approach and can-do attitude brought together IT and other key elements in the organisation to enable us to practically meet our objectives. He quickly organised effective and enjoyable training, coupled with rich documentation to empower our team, to move quickly with our project. He clearly cares about making a difference, making IT work within social housing for tenants/customers. His determination and friendly persistence is a positive asset in getting the most out of people and systems.

I have worked with Tony over the past 18 months and his contribution to my team's procurement of a consolidated Housing Solution can not be understated. Tony's background and experience makes him an exceptional 'Poacher turned Gamekeeper' and his ability to cut through the smoke and mirrors was of significant importance. Tony is extremely professional, dependable and motivated, which was invaluable when striving to keep the procurement on track. Because of his innate housing knowledge we were able to progress the procurement swiftly, whilst maintaining engagement with staff throughout our organisation. Tony does not restrict himself to nine to five hours with his focus being on getting the job done and getting it done well. I would not hesitate to recommend Tony.

Tony is an extremely focussed consultant and excellently handled procurement of a crucial IT project totally from a business centric viewpoint. He is, as at ease with end user colleagues, right up to director/CEO level and slotted in working with our team almost immediately. Tenacious, detailed, well motivated and knowledgeable, with an excellent IT supplier contacts network he introduced to us, we achieved much more in three months that we had in the previous three years. Tony made himself available at any time we needed him and was fully immersed in our project. He is an essential asset to any transformational IT/business project.

During Tony’s tenure at MIS, his passion for delivering Customer Centric services shone through. I was particularly pleased with the ‘partnership’ working style that developed with Tony and the transition to consistently reliable delivery of project work on time, within scope and with very high accuracy/quality.

I have known Tony for over ten years, as a member of a software supplier's team (latterly as MD of the division). The focus Tony showed in every situation was always on identifying the client's real needs and delivering a quality solution. His sector knowledge is outstanding, and Tony is highly personable. When something was possible, Tony took great pains to explain how. When a request was complex, Tony worked to identify the most relevant solution. And Tony was always honest when clients asked for things that were not possible or not in their best interests. Overall, no client of mine ever had anything other than praise for Tony, his work, and the delivered solution.

Tony is dedicated to delivering maximum value from systems for social housing providers and others. His attention to detail is meticulous and his background knowledge of suppliers and how they work, a great advantage to his clients, in bringing savings and greater efficiency. He is a great down to earth guy to work with too!

Tony is approachable; always ready to listen to your requirements; and willing to discuss options and ideas when challenges arise. A genuine individual; a pleasure to work with; and always has an anecdote or interesting tale to share along with his sense of wit and humour.

I found Tony a fantastic manager to work for. He is very likeable and approachable and made you feel very comfortable when dealing with him. But he is also extremely dedicated to delivering a quality service to customers and what he doesn't know about housing IT systems, isn't worth knowing. He would be a great asset to any IT organisation.

Tony has undertaken the role of publicity lead for our voluntary organisation, working to re-open our local library, in South Warrington and bring it back into community use. He has enthusiastically been able to combine his high level of skills in photography with his expertise in managing social media, in a highly effective way. Tony has really put us on the map!"

Tony initiated the housing system replacement project for Cluid HA. His personality and style helped establish the easy but productive relationship that still exists between the organisations. Easy to work with, responsive and fair.

I brought Tony in as a replacement delivery provider when the incumbent partner failed to deliver. He established the customers need very swiftly and engage with stakeholders at every level, a skill not often seen. He was trusted by the team and consistently delivered on expectations, his project was on time, budget and this ultimately lead to my customer achieving the business benefits expected - you cant expect much more - Jason Coyne

Tony is a very experienced IT professional. He is professional whilst also being approachable and personable. He is quick to respond to queries and is very solutions focused.

Tony is a great guy who will always go the extra mile. He understands the housing environment and why systems need to be tailored to the needs of individual organisations. I always enjoyed working with him on a personal level and would commend his honesty and integrity as well as his professional capability.

We have used Tony's services many times: as MD of our main Housing Management System he was involved in all major projects, and met with the User Group at our meetings. Tony is always honest about the myriad factors involved in HMS, he has a deep knowledge of the functionality and the technology, and he also has a genuine commitment to the aims of social housing.

I have worked with Tony for more than 10 years on numerous projects and for the majority of those years he was the Managing Director of the Company providing our main housing and finance IT system. During this time he has helped the Association develop, expand and improve the IT systems we operate. As Manging Director he was approachable and flexible to ensure we received support on both new projects and existing systems particularly where issues and problems needed resolving.

Tony has worked with me on our IT system for over 10 years - he has always been approachable throughout to find a way through to deliver to meet the needs of our business. He makes an effort to get to know your business and realises that one size doesn't fit all. I hope he continues to find a way to offer his expertise to the housing world - it will be our loss if he doesn't!

Tony delivered great results, on target and on budget. He got on well with everyone and was straight talking yet tactful and astute. He worked incredibly hard but always retained his sense of humour. An IT bloke (and much more) who understands housing and is an excellent communicator - we should clone him.

I worked with Tony for my 8 years at MIS. He has great knowledge of IT systems and processes with a special emphasis on how best to apply these to the social housing sector. Tony is able to deal effectively with people at all levels in an organisation and has good communication and leadership skills.

Tony is a highly motivated, results oriented, IT professional with strong planning, organisational and motivational skills. Experienced in bridging the IT/business divide, and able to build and deliver complex, high profile, projects. Effective solutions architect with a methodical, rigorous yet flexible approach to achieving tasks and objectives. Has a first-class knowledge of the whole technical arena and his knowledge of Housing enables him to deliver the systems required . Highly recommended IT professional"

Having worked with Tony on the MIS implementation at Green Vale Homes I would have no hesitation in recommending him for work of a similar nature in the future. Throughout the implementation process Tony maintained high professional standards and his customer service was second to none.

Tony has a great deal of Social Housing and Technical knowledge, combining the two there is not much Tony can't take on and produce a result from. Furthermore Tony is always able to develop an idea and suggest different ways forward, which has been most useful on countless occasions.

Tony has provided great support over 12 years. His in-depth knowledge of IT systems and social housing have been invaluable to my organisation. With great attention to detail, Tony can be depended upon to "go the extra mile" to deliver high quality consultancy time and time again

I have known Tony for many years and would recommend him without hesitation or reservation in the field of I.T. as it relates to Housing and integrated and or add on business systems. He have a expert knowledge in many areas of Social Housing that he applies for the benefit of anyone wishing to consider implementing and indeed when implementing a business system.

Tony has been a great ambassador for the IT Consultancy Market. He is extremely knowledgable and has extensive experience. He has been the person i go to to get things done quickly and effeciently. When discussing new projects and solutions that we need as a company, he has been very instrumental in getting real and dynamic solutions in place. A privelege to work with.

I've worked in collaboration with Tony on a number of engagements over the last 6 years. He has a practical, pragmatic and non-nonense approach which has been enormously helpful, with a broad range of skills and bags of experience. I would have no hesitation in recommending Tony to any of my clients.

Great photographer one of the best we have used over last 21 years, great results, great price, highly recomended

Tony as Director of MIS Active Management Systems has strong housing knowledge, management and IT business skills. He has been central to the development of MIS-AMS into the SQL environment and new management team. He has overseen the completion of new ActiveH products, improving customer relationships and taking the organisation forward with new customers and innovative products. I have always been impressed with Tony's commitment to providing good customer service from MIS and working to ensure that his customers have the right IT housing management systems to operate effectively.

I have known Tony for 14 years as my main contact - latterly as MD - with the Housing Systems Supplier MIS-AMS. Whilst working at Raglan I purchased and implemented integrated housing and finance system modules with Tony. His breadth of housing knowledge and determination to provide an up to date product, and support, helps organisations deliver services effectively to tenants. His ability to explain I.T. concepts in plain English and his understanding of customer's needs together with an imaginative approach to problem solving and a 'can-do' attitude make Tony as asset to projects.

I have known Tony in a professional capacity for 9 years both as a client and as an associate of MIS-AMS. I have always found Tony to be very knowledgeable and customer focussed and with a good understanding of his client’s and their needs.

Tony heads up MIS in the social housing sector. I have worked with a number of his clients, all of whom are enthusiatic about the company and its products. On a personal level I have found Tony to be organised, personable and knowledgeable.