Housing corporation Vidomes, active in the Haaglanden region, focuses on people who have too few opportunities in 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 would meet its requirements around reliability, information security and continuity. Following a tender, the choice fell on Digital Survival Company.
In the selection process, Vidomes focused mainly 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 expertise. That's why we deliberately looked beyond the well-known suppliers within the housing corporation sector. That has 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 created a shared, well-organised way of working that meets the applicable frameworks, responsibilities and quality standards within 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, things needed to be done more safely, better and more efficiently in places.”
In December 2024, Digital Survival Company received the 'keys' from Vidomes, and the transformation and transition are now all but complete. The cloud environment runs stably on Microsoft Azure. Digital Survival Company also provides the workplaces and handles 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 solve it or forward it to the right specialist.”
An equal partnership
According to Sips, the collaboration runs smoothly: “Some companies mainly see IT as a cost item. That's not the case for Vidomes. The company takes IT seriously, listens to our advice and actively participates.” Wilfred Oskam, Cloud Engineer at Digital Survival Company, adds: “We regularly consult with Vidomes about open tickets. That way we distinguish between incidents, service requests and structural improvements. We also factor in changes at, for example, Microsoft directly into our conversations.” This makes the collaboration transparent, with both parties speaking the same language.
Thinking ahead as the key to success
Vidomes is one of the housing corporations that is digitally mature in several areas. 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 solid foundation that we can keep building on sustainably. Our digital base is stable enough to absorb upcoming developments well.” In doing so, he stresses that Vidomes doesn't claim to be the absolute frontrunner, but is firmly in the leading group of housing corporations investing in data-driven working, process standardisation and a modern application architecture.
That's precisely why Standhart finds the partnership so important. Digitalisation is never finished; new rules, standards and legislation follow one another quickly and require continuous attention. “That's when it's good to have a partner like Digital Survival Company at your side, keeping you sharp and guiding you towards the right solutions.”