The Aster Group was formed in April 2005 when progressive developer Silbury Group, including Sarsen Housing Association, Ridgeway Community Housing Association and the commercial repair and maintenance company Silbury First, was joined by Hampshire-based Testway Housing to work together in the renamed Aster Group.

Further expansion was quick to follow when Somerset-based Mendip Housing joined the Group on 1 January 2006, bringing the number of homes owned or in management to over 15,000 and the number of staff to some 640 people. Just 18 months on the Group has over 16,000 homes, around 40,000 customers and 750 staff.

The large number of staff and the diverse nature of homes in management, across a wide geographical area meant that effective use of information, assets and business processes was of paramount importance. To this end, Testway had previously installed a bespoke intranet system which unfortunately did not provide the functionality required and the other operating companies within the Group were keen to employ a first class intranet as a management tool.

Aster came to Orchid Software with a particular focus on Orchidnet’s content management facilities; with 1,000 proposed users to be covered by the new system, accessibility would also become a key issue for any future intranet.

Following requirements analysis and discussion between Orchid Software and Aster Group, it became clear that Orchidnet PRO would provide a flawless match for Aster’s requirements; additional development work meant that a technical ‘bridge’ could be provided between the new system and Testway's existing intranet, ensuring that day-to-day business would suffer minimum disruption during the changeover process.

Installation, implementation and content population began earlier this year, and the Aster Group intranet known as ‘The Street’ went live in June 2007.