Housing association Vidomes, active in the Haaglanden region, focuses on people who have too few opportunities on the housing market, and manages and rents out around 19,000 homes. For the management of its cloud environment, workplaces and network, as well as for technical application management and support, Vidomes was looking for a permanent IT partner that could meet its requirements around reliability, information security and continuity. Following a tender process, the choice fell on Digital Survival Company.
During the selection process, Vidomes focused above all on which party could truly think along, advise and help move the organisation forward. “We wanted to work with a partner that is proactive and provides direction from a position of expertise. That's why we deliberately looked beyond the usual suppliers within the housing association sector. It paid off: Digital Survival Company has proven to be a strong and valuable sparring partner.”
From transition to transformation
Digital Survival Company was tasked with taking over the entire IT management from the previous supplier. This meant a large-scale transformation in which not only the IT environment but also the associated processes were reviewed and aligned with Digital Survival Company's standards. This resulted in a shared, well-organised way of working that meets the frameworks, responsibilities and quality standards in place at Vidomes.
Just like fitting out a kitchen
Merel Krielaart, project manager at Digital Survival Company, compares the process to fitting out a kitchen: “You take over the kitchen and see how someone else has arranged the cupboards. But that's not always logical, so you rearrange everything.” Tim Sips, customer lead on the project at Digital Survival Company, adds: “We take it over, analyse what's there, and bring everything up to our standard. At Vidomes, certain things needed to be done more safely, better and more efficiently.”
In December 2024, Digital Survival Company received the ‘keys’ from Vidomes, and by now the transformation and transition are all but complete. The cloud environment runs stably on Microsoft Azure. Digital Survival Company also provides the workplaces and looks after application management. For questions or incidents, Vidomes employees get in touch via the portal, by email or by phone. Sips explains: “If someone has a problem with, say, a printer or an application that keeps closing, it comes to us. We resolve it ourselves or forward it to the right specialist.”
A partnership of equals
According to Sips, the collaboration runs smoothly: “Some companies see IT mainly as a cost item. That's not the case for Vidomes. The organisation takes IT seriously, listens to our advice and actively contributes.” Wilfred Oskam, Cloud Engineer at Digital Survival Company, adds: “We regularly consult with Vidomes about open tickets. That way we can distinguish incidents, service requests and structural improvements. We also factor changes at, for example, Microsoft directly into our conversations.” This keeps the collaboration transparent, with both parties speaking the same language.
Thinking ahead as the key to success
Vidomes is one of the housing associations that is digitally mature on several fronts. Tim Standhart, Business Partner Information & Digitalisation at Vidomes since 2023, emphasises that this is the result of deliberate choices: “We don't wait and see; we actively look at what's new and how we can apply it. We then determine together with Digital Survival Company what that means for Vidomes.”
He compares the digital foundation to a solid, future-proof base: “We've laid a strong foundation that we can keep building on sustainably. Our digital base is stable enough to absorb upcoming developments smoothly.” In doing so, he stresses that Vidomes doesn't claim to be the absolute frontrunner, but is firmly among the leading group of housing associations investing in data-driven working, process standardisation and a modern application architecture.
That's precisely why Standhart considers the collaboration so important. Digitalisation is never finished; new rules, standards and legislation follow one another quickly and demand continuous attention. “That's when it's good to have a partner like Digital Survival Company at your side, one that keeps you sharp and guides you towards the right solutions.”