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The word 'trust' in orange

Sector

Housing & Social Care

Service

Data & Analytics

Jul 2026

The Lakehouse that launched a strategy

As a social landlord with responsibility for over 650 staff and providing homes and services for almost 4,000 households, having effective data management in a way that meant the development team could become self-sufficient and have a technology platform and in-house capability to support ambitious data and AI strategies . So we helped them do just that.

Results at a glance

  • Azure Data Lakehouse delivered and in production for Trust Housing Association within three months
  • Trust’s in-house development team upskilled to deliver platform enhancements independently
  • A repeatable Azure Data Lakehouse framework deployed to accelerate delivery and bring value sooner
  • Ongoing support as Trust continues to onboard more data to the platform

The challenge

The team wanted to implement an Azure Data Lakehouse in a way that not only delivered a working platform quickly, and give inhouse developers autonomy in the future.

The work needed a clear delivery structure, a practical approach to adopting new tools and ways of working, and a strong focus on knowledge transfer throughout implementation.

What we did

Waterstons worked as a single, joint development team with Trust’s in-house developers to deliver the Azure Data Lakehouse, with an emphasis on technical leadership, structured delivery, and continuous knowledge sharing.

Key elements of the approach included:

  • Backlog-driven delivery: both sides established a joint project backlog and progressed through delivery using one use case to create a clear development structure and shared focus.
  • Framework-led implementation: we deployed a Data Lakehouse framework solution, enabling faster creation of the Lakehouse so more time could be spent modelling data in the way Trust needed.
  • Phase 1 workshops: Following initial workshops, the joint team refined and developed the backlog and delivered the Data Lakehouse iteratively.
  • Hands-on technical leadership: alongside Trust’s developers, we provided direction and leadership then stepped back progressively as their capability grew.
  • Targeted upskilling and new practices: Where Trust were unfamiliar with new technologies or practices, we ran workshop sessions (up to half a day) to introduce key concepts, including development practices, DevOps processes, languages, and technologies.
  • Sustained partnership: After go-live, we continued to support Trust as they move additional data into the platform – we’re never far away when needed!

 

What the client said

“Waterstons have been great to work with and have become very much a partner in delivering our data strategy. The implementation of our modern data platform was a critical element of our previous business strategy and the technology and capabilities we have built are key enablers for delivering our recently approved new five-year strategy, with data and AI supporting easier to access, more predictive and lower cost customer experiences and ways of working.”
Neil Ferguson, Director of Business Development and Digital at Trust Housing

 

“Waterstons have supported us in developing our modern data platform, allowing us to integrate all our core systems onto a single reporting environment. Their expertise has allowed us to automate and consolidate our reporting removing the need for other external systems saving us time and money in the process. Their ongoing support ensures that we are at the forefront of any new technical developments.”
Graeme Murdoch, Data and Insights Lead at Trust Housing