Social Housing · Data Analytics
How Onward Homes gave 1,200+ staff live service data
Onward Homes moved more than 300 live Qlik apps to Qlik Cloud in six weeks. Capacity licensing removed the cap on who could see the data, and teams are now alerted before a case breaches its service threshold.
Headline result
6 weeks
to move 300+ live Qlik apps from on-premise to Qlik Cloud, mid-November to early January
Qlik licences before the move400–450
Workforce, now without a licence cap1,200+
Capacity licensing replaced a fixed number of user licences.
CLIENT
Onward Homes, one of the largest providers of social housing based solely in the North West
SECTOR
Social housing
TIME TO VALUE
Six-week migration, mid-November to early January
CHALLENGE
400 to 450 Qlik licences for 1,200+ staff, and monthly reporting built by hand
SOLUTION
Migration to Qlik Cloud with capacity licensing, plus enablement for in-house data champions
TECHNOLOGY
Qlik Cloud with capacity licensing, alerts, subscriptions and role-based collections
The challenge
What problem was Onward Homes trying to solve?
Onward Homes had the data. Most of the people who needed it could not get to it.
Onward manages more than 37,000 homes and serves more than 50,000 customers across the North West. It had 400 to 450 Qlik licences for a workforce of more than 1,200, so access to data was restricted and licences often had to be reallocated by hand.
Monthly reporting was time-consuming and resource-intensive, often involving building PowerPoint packs by hand. Predictive modelling sat with a single specialist using third-party tools, so it could not scale or reach the teams who needed it.
In housing, that gap shows up in service. When the people handling repairs and complaints cannot see the data, they find out a case has slipped from the monthly report, after it has slipped.
Before
–400 to 450 Qlik licences for 1,200+ staff
–Licences reallocated by hand when someone needed access
–Monthly reporting built manually in PowerPoint
–Predictive modelling dependent on one specialist
After
✓Capacity licensing, with no per-user licence cap
✓Role-based collections, alerts and subscriptions
✓Automated reporting, saving days of work each month
✓Data champions in departments building their own alerts
The solution
What did Catalyst BI do?
Onward's IT strategy is cloud-first. When its Qlik contract came up for renewal, it explored Qlik Cloud, backed by a business case built on better functionality, cost-effectiveness and wider access to data across the organisation.
Catalyst BI migrated the first 100 Qlik apps as part of the services package. That gave Onward a head start, so its own team could focus on learning the new environment and planning the wider roll-out.
We also joined meetings with Onward's Executive Director of Finance and IT Director to set out the technical and strategic case for the move, which helped secure buy-in at the most senior level.
Regular project meetings kept the work on track, and Onward's data team took ownership of the remaining migrations. That is how we approach every data analytics engagement: we build the first part with you, then hand over.
How quickly did it go live?
Renewal
Onward's Qlik contract comes up for renewal. A cloud-first IT strategy points to Qlik Cloud.
Business case
Catalyst BI joins senior leadership meetings to explain the technical and strategic benefits of the move.
Six weeks
Mid-November to early January. 300+ live apps move to Qlik Cloud, the first 100 migrated by Catalyst BI.
Since
Data strategy workshops, health checks and ongoing enablement, with data champions across departments.
The results
What changed for Onward Homes?
No licence ceiling
The move to capacity licensing removed licence constraints, so more teams can engage with data and build their own insights.
Alerts before a breach
Real-time alerts tell teams when cases are at risk of breaching service thresholds, improving responsiveness and accountability.
Days saved every month
Automated reporting replaced manual PowerPoint creation, giving faster and more consistent insight.
Data champions in departments
Champions create alerts and subscriptions for their own teams, reducing reliance on the central data team.
A scorecard the board uses
The SLT KPI Scorecard is reviewed monthly by the senior leadership team and quarterly by the board.
Neighbourhood Plus
Combines data from multiple sources to identify underperforming areas and direct resources proactively.
The licence count was the visible problem. The bigger change is who gets told, and when. Information that used to wait for the monthly pack now reaches the people handling cases while there is still time to act. Onward is now testing a predictive Service Recovery Model, designed to improve customer service outcomes.
They guided us through the process, handled the initial migrations, and gave us the confidence to take it forward ourselves. It was a true partnership.
Anita WrightHead of Data, Analytics and Insight, Onward Homes
In their words
What did the Onward team say?
“The Catalyst team really steered us through the process. They didn’t just do the work, they made sure we understood it, so we could take the reins ourselves. That kind of partnership is invaluable.”
Peter SmoutAnalytics and Insight Manager, Onward Homes
“We’ve seen a real reinvigoration of interest in Qlik. Even people who used it before are now more engaged thanks to the new features.”
Anita WrightHead of Data, Analytics and Insight, Onward Homes
What it means for you
What does this mean for other housing associations?
Data access is now a compliance question, not just a licensing one.
Awaab's Law Phase 2 puts seven more hazard groups on fixed timescales from 30th November 2026, and from 1st April 2027 tenants can request records about their home under STAIRs. Both depend on the people handling cases seeing the right data in time. That is the starting point for our work with housing associations.
01
Data reaches the people handling cases, not only the analysts who build the reports.
02
Alerts arrive before a deadline, not in next month's report.
03
Your own team can run and extend it once the first phase is live.
Technology is the secondary decision. Onward runs on Qlik Cloud. The same principles hold on Power BI, Snowflake or Databricks. What matters is a governed data model underneath and a team that owns it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Qlik Cloud migration take for a housing association?
Onward Homes moved more than 300 live Qlik apps from on-premise to Qlik Cloud in six weeks, from mid-November to early January. The timeline depends on how many apps you run and how complex they are, so we scope it from your own app list before giving a date.
What is Qlik Cloud capacity licensing?
A Qlik Cloud pricing model based on capacity rather than a fixed number of user licences. For Onward Homes, it removed the licence ceiling that had limited access to 400 to 450 people in a workforce of more than 1,200.
Did Onward's own team do the migration?
Partly, by design. Catalyst BI migrated the first 100 Qlik apps as part of the services package, which gave Onward's team time to learn the new environment. Onward's team then completed the remaining migrations with our support.
How does wider data access help with Awaab's Law?
Awaab's Law Phase 2 puts seven more hazard groups on fixed timescales from 30th November 2026. The pattern Onward uses, alerting teams when a case is at risk of breaching its service threshold, is the same pattern a hazard case tracker needs.
Is Catalyst BI connected to Catalyst Housing?
No. Catalyst BI is an independent UK data and analytics consultancy. Catalyst Housing was a housing association that is now part of Peabody. The two organisations share part of a name and nothing else.
Book a 30-minute housing data review
Bring your licence count, your reporting calendar and your next regulatory deadline. We will show where data access is holding your teams back, and what to fix first.