Calderbrook Housing Group / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Calderbrook Housing Group · 20 Nov 2025 13:00
Craig Oduya said Calderbrook will consolidate onto one in-house platform and is reviewing BG-Demo against it. He would not commit to a renewal conversation or discuss budget. Helen Marsden reported the brain is working.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Craig Oduya said Calderbrook will consolidate onto one in-house platform and is reviewing BG-Demo against it. He would not commit to a renewal conversation or discuss budget. Helen Marsden reported the brain is working.
What happened: Craig Oduya, Director of Digital and Data, said he joined with a mandate to consolidate onto one in-house platform on the group's Microsoft estate. He stated BG-Demo is reviewed like every other supplier and that the brain is doing what it was bought to do.
Customer view: Helen Marsden said the arrears and repairs sections of the board pack reconciled to the housing management system for the first time without hand patching. Her concern is that the board pack must not have a hole in it, and Craig said nothing moves until reporting continuity is demonstrated.
Commercial: Tom Ashdown stated the Growth subscription at £44k a year with 40 seats, to be confirmed against the executed order form. Craig asked about the exit position and would not commit to a renewal conversation, its outcome or budget. January was called plausible for a catch-up.
Watch: Esther Quaye floated a lighter arrangement as an input. The call shows a staged parallel run with Helen's team owning sign-off, but no decision has been made.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
In-house platform review
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Esther Quaye to send the usage, sources and board pack mapping summary and a written note on exit assistance.
- Tom Ashdown to check the executed order form, confirm the contracted figure and terms, and send them to Craig with Helen copied.
- Tom Ashdown to send January options for a catch-up once the review has a shape.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The Growth subscription is under review against an in-house platform strategy, so the renewal is not assured.
- Craig would not commit to a renewal conversation, its outcome or budget, and asked for the exit position.
- The exit terms are not yet confirmed: the order form has not been checked for exit assistance.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A lighter arrangement could be scoped if the platform takes on some of the work.
- A usage and sources summary can give Craig facts to set against the platform roadmap.
Transcript
Esther QuayeHello, can you hear me all right? I've got a bit of an echo coming back on my side.
Tom AshdownYeah, loud and clear, Esther. Afternoon. Helen, Craig, you've made it.
Helen MarsdenAfternoon, Tom. Yes, I'm here. Craig's just sorting his camera, I think.
Craig OduyaHere. Apologies, the room booking system swallowed my first slot. Afternoon, all.- Tom AshdownNo drama at all. How's your week been, then? It's been raining sideways since Monday where I am.
- Helen MarsdenSame in Leeds. It's board cycle week as well, so everything is a little compressed. I've been in the pack since eight this morning.
- Craig OduyaMine's been mostly workshops. Which is partly why I asked to be on this one, actually. I wanted to hear how the brain is being used first-hand.
- Tom AshdownGood, good, appreciate that. Right, Esther, do you want to kick us off? You've got the account in your head better than I have.
- Esther QuayeOf course, thanks, Tom. So, just so we're aligned, I'll start with the open tickets, and the short version is there aren't any. Nothing raised in the last thirty days, nothing high priority, and nothing sitting in the queue from before that either.
- Helen MarsdenWhich is lovely. Is that because nothing's wrong, or because people have stopped raising things?
- Esther QuayeThat's a fair question, and I did check. Usage is up on last quarter, so it doesn't look like silence to me. More people are active in a typical month, and the nightly refresh has been landing before seven each business day. I've logged all of that.
- Tom AshdownThat's what I like to hear. Forty seats on the licence and a decent core of regulars using them.
- Helen MarsdenCan I add something from my side, while we're on usage? The arrears and repairs sections of the board pack reconciled to the housing management system last cycle without anyone patching a figure by hand. That's the first time that's happened.
- Esther QuayeOh, that's really good to hear, Helen. I know that was the whole reason you brought the brain in.
- Helen MarsdenIt was. Though I'd say the board will ask where each figure came from, so my team still opens the source for every number. Can you show me the source, every time, is basically my rule.
- Esther QuayeYes, and that's built in. Every answer carries the record it came from, so you can trace it back to the system. If any of your team find a figure where that isn't clear, send it over and I'll chase engineering today.
- Helen MarsdenThank you. I will. Honestly, so far the sources have held up.
- Tom AshdownBrilliant. Craig, I know you said you wanted to say a few words, so I'll hand over. Anything you want to set out before we get into the contract side?
- Craig OduyaYes, I'll be direct, because I think it's fairer to everyone. I joined with a clear mandate. Calderbrook is going to consolidate its data onto one in-house platform, built on the group's existing Microsoft estate. One platform, fewer suppliers, and we own it.
- Tom AshdownRight. Okay. Yeah, I'd heard a whisper of that, but good to have it from you directly.
- Craig OduyaIt's not a criticism of anything you've delivered. The brain is doing what it was bought to do. This is about strategy. Every supplier relationship we hold is being reviewed against the platform strategy, and BG-Demo is in that list like the rest.
- Esther QuayeUnderstood. Thank you for being open about it. Can I ask what the review looks like in practice? Just so we know what you'd need from us.
- Craig OduyaFair. We're building that capability in-house, so the question for each tool is what it does today that the platform cannot yet do, how quickly we could close that gap, and what it costs the organisation to keep it running in the meantime.
- Helen MarsdenAnd I'd like to be clear that this is Craig's programme, not something my team proposed. My concern is simply the board reporting. Whatever happens, the board pack can't have a hole in it.
- Craig OduyaAgreed, and that's a dependency I've noted. Nothing moves until reporting continuity is demonstrated.
- Tom AshdownWhich is sensible. Can I just say, from our side, we're not going to be precious about it. If an in-house platform is where you want to land, we'd rather help you do that properly than have you find out something's missing in the middle of a board cycle.
- Craig OduyaI appreciate that. Then let me ask the question I'll be asked internally. What's our exit position?
- Esther QuayeSo, I'll say what I know and then be careful about what I don't. The brain runs inside your own Snowflake account, so the data itself already sits with you. There's nothing to extract from us in the way you'd have with a hosted tool.
- Craig OduyaThat's helpful. And the rest of it? The configuration, the pages, the way the sources are joined up.
- Esther QuayeThat's the bit I want to get exactly right, rather than guess. I'd want to check what the agreement says about assistance on the way out, and what we can document for your team. I've logged it as an action and I'll come back to you in writing.
- Tom AshdownAnd I'll go through the order form myself, Craig. Leave that with me. Paperwork's not my best habit, but I'll make sure you get a straight answer.
- Craig OduyaThank you. I'd prefer to have it before the review rather than during it.
- Helen MarsdenCan I ask something slightly practical? If the platform were ready, how would you see the two running side by side? We wouldn't want to switch the board pack over in one go.
- Craig OduyaNo, and I wouldn't ask you to. Any move would be staged, with a period where both produce the same figures and your team signs them off. That's a decision for later. I'm only describing how I'd want it done.
- Helen MarsdenGood. That's all I wanted on the record.
- Esther QuayeFrom a customer success point of view, a parallel run is quite common, and we can help you compare outputs line by line if that's useful. I'd just want to be sure we're all aligned on who owns the sign-off.
- Craig OduyaHelen's team. The reconciliation is theirs.
- Helen MarsdenYes. It would be.
- Tom AshdownOkay. So, mind if I just lay out where we sit contractually, so we're all looking at the same thing? Then nobody's working from memory, including me.
- Craig OduyaPlease do.
- Tom AshdownYou're on Growth, forty seats, and the contracted figure is forty-four thousand a year. Invoicing matches it. I'll confirm that against the executed order form when I go back through it, but that's my understanding. The term runs to the start of September next year.
- Craig OduyaUnderstood. And the notice position on that?
- Esther QuayeThere's a renewal notice from our side about ninety days ahead, and that's something I own, so you won't be surprised by it. But I'd much rather we've had the proper conversation well before then, not off the back of a notice.
- Tom AshdownWhich is why I'd like to get something in the diary. Not a negotiation, just a catch-up once your review's got somewhere.
- Craig OduyaI can't commit to a renewal conversation, or to its outcome. The review has to run first. What I can say is that I'll tell you where it lands, and I'll tell you before it's a surprise.
- Tom AshdownThat's all I'd ask. No drama. And on the money side, is there anything about how you're thinking about the budget that would help us shape...
- Craig OduyaI won't go into budget, Tom. Not on this call.
- Tom AshdownFair enough. Wasn't pressing, just asking. Forget I said it.
- Helen MarsdenCan I come back to usage for a moment? Because if Craig's review is going to ask what the brain does that the platform doesn't, I'd like us to have the evidence rather than impressions.
- Esther QuayeYes, I'd like that too. I can put together a summary: which sources are connected, how many questions are being asked and by whom, what's been built in the dashboards, and how the nightly refresh has performed. All from the records.
- Helen MarsdenBy whom is important. I'd like to know whether it's a handful of people or a spread.
- Esther QuayeAgreed, and I'll show that honestly, whichever way it falls. It's better you see any dependence on a few people now than discover it later.
- Craig OduyaThat's the kind of thing I'd find useful. Facts, with the source, in a form I can put next to the platform roadmap.
- Esther QuayeI'll write it so it can sit on its own. I tend to be thorough, so apologies in advance for the length.
- Tom AshdownThorough's the point, Esther. Nobody's ever complained about that.
- Helen MarsdenWhile we're being thorough, one request. The board will ask me which of the tenant complaints figures come through the brain and which don't. Could that go in the summary as well?
- Esther QuayeYes, I'll add a section on what feeds each part of the pack. I'll need a bit of help from your team to be sure I've matched it to your section headings, so I'll send you a draft to correct.
- Helen MarsdenPlease. Corrections I can do. Gaps I'd rather not discover on the day.
- Craig OduyaCan I ask something else? Not about the contract. How do other housing organisations tend to handle this, a move from a tool like this to an in-house build? I'd like to understand the pattern, not the names.
- Tom AshdownHonest answer, Craig, it varies. Some keep the brain for the cross-system questions because it's already wired up, and build the in-house platform for the core warehouse work. Some do move everything over, and that's their call. I wouldn't want to tell you which is right for Calderbrook.
- Craig OduyaThat's a reasonable answer. I'd expect the review to land somewhere on that spectrum.
- Esther QuayeAnd if it helps, we can scope what a lighter arrangement might look like if the platform takes on some of the work. Not as a pitch, just so you've got the option written down when you compare.
- Craig OduyaNoted. I'd consider it as an input. No expectation either way.
- Tom AshdownUnderstood. Right, let me check I've got the actions so far. Esther's pulling together the usage and sources summary, with the board pack mapping for Helen.
- Esther QuayeYes, and the note on what the agreement says about the way out, which I'll check with colleagues here before I send anything.
- Tom AshdownAnd I go through the order form and confirm the contracted figure and terms, so we're not relying on anyone's recollection. I'll send that to Craig directly.
- Craig OduyaCopy Helen, please. She'll want to see the same thing.
- Tom AshdownWill do.
- Helen MarsdenOne more from me, and then I'll let everyone go. Between now and whenever the review concludes, nothing changes for my team, correct? Same connectors, same refresh, same support?
- Esther QuayeCorrect. Nothing changes on our side. You carry on as you are, and if anything looks off, raise it as normal and it gets the same attention as it would in any other month.
- Helen MarsdenGood. I'll tell the team there's no change for now.
- Craig OduyaI'd suggest keeping the wording simple. The brain stays as it is while the platform strategy is worked through. No need to say more than that.
- Helen MarsdenOf course.
- Tom AshdownLet's get a date in the diary, then. Maybe the new year, once your review's got a shape to it? January sometime. I'll send a couple of options and you can tell me what's sensible.
- Craig OduyaJanuary is plausible. Send options and I'll see what the review calendar allows. I'm not promising it will be conclusive by then.
- Tom AshdownUnderstood, no pressure. It's just a conversation.
- Esther QuayeCan I add a small thing for the notes? I'll be sending a written follow-up after this call, with the actions and owners, so everything we've said is in one place. If I've got anything wrong, just tell me.
- Helen MarsdenThat's helpful. I'll read it against the board pack sections and come back to you.
- Craig OduyaOne last thing from me. I'd like the exit note to be factual and complete. If something's uncertain, say it's uncertain. I'd rather that than a confident answer that changes.
- Esther QuayeAbsolutely. I'd always rather say I don't know yet than give you something I'd have to retract.
- Tom AshdownAnd that's the right way round, honestly. Craig, thanks for being straight with us. It makes this a lot easier.
- Craig OduyaI'd rather there were no surprises on either side.
- Helen MarsdenAgreed. Anything else for the group, or shall we give people their afternoon back?
- Tom AshdownFrom me, nothing. Esther?
- Esther QuayeOnly that if anything comes up before the follow-up lands, you've got me. I'm around all week, and I'll log anything you send.
- Tom AshdownBrilliant. Thanks, all. Helen, hope the board pack behaves itself tonight.
- Helen MarsdenSo do I. Thank you, everyone. Speak soon.
- Craig OduyaThank you. Speak in the new year.
- Esther QuayeMany thanks, all. Bye for now.
- Tom AshdownCheers, all. Take care.
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