The care sector is under immense pressure: staff shortages, rising demand and tighter compliance standards have created a perfect storm for providers. In response, many care management software vendors are racing to add artificial intelligence (AI) features, promising smarter decisions, predictive insights and faster outcomes. 

Is outsourcing thinking to algorithms really the answer though? Or does it risk eroding the very foundation of care – trust, safety, and human connection? 

Why the AI rush in care management software?

AI isn’t just a buzzword. It’s being embedded into care management software in ways that sound transformative: 

• Automatically building care plans by analysing assessments, medical history and wearable data 

• Predicting risks such as falls or hospital readmissions before they happen 

• Optimising rosters by matching carers to clients based on skills, continuity and location 

• Summarising notes and ensuring compliance using natural language processing 

For care providers under pressure to cut admin, stay compliant and deliver person-centred care, these promises are compelling. The narrative is clear: AI will save time, improve outcomes and reduce costs. 

In reality, however, AI in care is still unproven, often opaque and can introduce risks if adopted without clear guardrails. Algorithms are only as good as the data they’re trained on, and in social care, data can be fragmented, inconsistent and context-dependent. When decisions about vulnerable people are delegated to black-box systems, the consequences can be serious: misaligned workflows, compliance gaps and even mistrust among staff and clients. 

The risks of overreliance on AI in care management software 

AI isn’t magic. It’s a set of algorithms trained on data, and in care, that data often comes from fragmented systems, inconsistent records and human interpretation. When decisions about vulnerable people are delegated to unproven tools, the risks multiply: 

Unproven technology

• Many AI features in care software are still in early stages. Without rigorous testing in real-world settings, outputs can be unreliable, workflows misaligned and operational complexity increased. Care plans built by algorithms may look efficient, but do they truly reflect the individual behind the data? 

Compliance gaps 

• Regulators like the Care Quality Commission (CQC) emphasise person-centred documentation, accountability and evidence-based decision-making. If AI decisions can’t be explained or audited, providers could face compliance risks. Person-centred care isn’t just a phrase, it’s a legal and ethical requirement that demands human oversight. 

Staff pushback 

• Care is a human profession. Tools that feel impersonal or difficult to use can create mistrust, lower morale and cause resistance. Technology should empower staff, not alienate them. When carers feel sidelined by algorithms, the essence of care is lost. 

Client experience 

• Person-centred care is the cornerstone of quality ratings and client satisfaction. Poorly implemented AI can create barriers between carers and clients, undermining trust and connection. A truly person-centred approach means listening, adapting and responding in real time, something no algorithm can fully replicate. 

The missing human element

• Care isn’t just about tasks; it’s about empathy, intuition and the ability to respond to subtle cues. Experienced carers bring a rich, dynamic understanding shaped by years of hands-on work – something no dataset can capture. Compassion is a uniquely human trait. AI can process information, but it cannot care. 

Automation: The smarter alternative

Instead of chasing hype, CACI believes in automation with accountability – care management software that streamlines admin, reduces errors and frees staff to focus on what matters most: caring for clients. 

Automation works within parameters set by the provider, ensuring transparency and control. It’s innovation without compromise. 

Efficiency without risk 

• Automated rostering, travel time optimisation and digital care planning reduce admin burden without replacing professional judgment, keeping the person at the centre of every decision.

Compliance built in 

• Automation ensures accurate records, audit trails and SAF-aligned reporting – critical for inspections and quality assurance. Providers stay in control, not algorithms.

Human-centric design

•  By removing repetitive tasks, automation gives carers more time for meaningful interactions with clients. Technology should support the relationship between carer and client, not replace it. Person-centred care needs a person. 

Our approach with Certa 

At CACI, we’ve built Certa, our care management software, around three guiding principles: 

Connecting 

• Bringing people, data and processes together seamlessly. Everyone works from the same trusted source, whether in the office or in the field.

Confirming 

• Compliance, accuracy and transparency are non-negotiable. Certa helps providers evidence quality standards with ease.

Caring 

• Technology should never replace empathy. Certa empowers staff to focus on the human side of care. 

From smart rostering and travel optimisation to digital care planning and real-time reporting, Certa automates the complex while preserving the human touch. 

Where does AI get in? 

AI isn’t the enemy. It has a role, but only when it enhances, not replaces, person-centred care. Predictive analytics, for example, can help identify trends in service demand or flag potential compliance risks. However, these tools must be transparent, tested and always under provider control. 

The safest path is a measured one: 

• Adopt technology that grows with your service 

• Keep compliance front and centre 

• Strengthen relationships between carers and clients 

That’s what Certa delivers. 

The bottom line 

The best care management software combines innovation with empathy. It automates the complex, supports compliance and preserves the human connection that defines quality care. 

AI may be part of the future, but rushing in without a clear strategy can lead to wasted investment, unhappy staff and compromised care. A balanced approach will make all the difference. 

Why Certa makes a difference

Certa is designed for care providers who want technology that works for them. Not the other way around. With features like: 

• Person-centred care planning 

• Advanced rostering and travel optimisation 

• Real-time reporting and SAF-aligned compliance tools 

• Secure-by-design architecture (ISO27001, Cyber Essentials Plus) 

Certa helps you deliver outstanding care while staying efficient, compliant and connected. Get in touch with us today to find out how automation can help your staff focus on what matters most: providing care. 

A competitive, complex consumer landscape

Competition has never been more intense in the dynamic and growing consumer health and wellbeing sector. 2025 has seen new market entrants like hair loss treatment company Hair + Me, any number of weight loss services like Juniper and SheMed high on social media feeds and supermarket Morrisons in partnership with Phlo moving into the on-demand online healthcare space alongside existing high street giants Boots, Superdrug and Asda.

This new and intense competition also comes with a new reality: increasingly fragmented consumer behaviour that upends traditional marketing assumptions.

Younger age cohorts drive healthcare growth

Our Voice of the Nation (VOTN) survey examining consumer sentiment finds Gen Z and Millennials in the driving seat of the elective healthcare market. Weight-loss treatments like Mounjaro and Ozempic are expected to surge by 40% in 2025 due to these younger age cohorts.

Notably, Gen Z shows equal interest across genders, unlike older age groups where women dominate. Cosmetic treatments are also gaining traction, with well over 10% of Gen Z and female Millennials planning to pay for them, compared to less than 3% among Gen X and Baby Boomers.

While aesthetics is clearly playing a role, other deeper consumer motivations are also emerging.  Notably, survey respondents who consider health a top national issue are significantly more likely to self-fund treatments. Among Gen Z males in this group, 16.2% plan to pay for weight-loss treatments in 2025 — well above the average of 4.9%. And just as importantly, the VOTN data somewhat counterintuitively shows that demand for elective healthcare products and services in general spans both affluent and less affluent groups.

Age-related wellness and health products drive innovation

In short, our VOTN data reveals a complex blend of beauty, wellness, and proactive health management, with younger generations investing in elective healthcare to enhance both how they feel and how they look.

This trend is reflected in the innovation and increasingly digital activation seen in the fertility and female health space relevant to these age cohorts. Period care pioneer Daye is launching a new at-home hormone testing service for a host of biomarkers like reproductive hormones, thyroid function and Vitamin D. Male fertility company, testhim, which provides consultations, testicular scans, sperm DNA and other diagnostic testing, is also launching specialist fertility supplement testhim M+and a groundbreaking online monthly support group.

Complex, demanding consumers require sophisticated, multi-layered segmentation

So, with Gen Z and Millennials increasingly self-funding weight loss, cosmetic treatments and holistic wellness products and services of all kinds, DTC and e-commerce healthcare brands must truly rethink how they engage with this increasingly data-savvy, image-conscious audience. Informing integrated campaigns that blend social commerce, influencer marketing, paid advertising, organic and direct marketing content. Our VOTN survey also found that nearly two-thirds of Gen Z consumers (63%) have purchased goods and services via a social media platform like TikTok Shop and Instagram, making this a crucial channel for healthcare businesses to understand and potentially utilise.

But to do that effectively in practice, DTC and e-commerce healthcare brands need more than just surface-level insights. They need robust, layered data foundations that help them target the right consumer with the right kind of message at the right time in the right place. Even with first-party consumer data, it’s a significant challenge. Without it, reaching existing or identifying potential customers is almost impossible for brands.

You can see an example of this in our VOTN survey, which showed that for weight loss treatments, there appears to be greater levels of demand both at the more affluent end of our Acorn segmentation spectrum *and* at the least affluent end, potentially for differing reasons.

This requires integrating geodemographic, behavioural, lifestyle, and attitudinal data to move beyond ‘off-the-shelf’ consumer segments and into understanding consumers in a deep way that understands the likelihood of them engaging with specific healthcare products and services and why – enabling brands to drive efficient spend on the right customers – and remove disinterested or low-value ones – in a market with such broad appeal

It’s also only by taking this multi-layered data approach healthcare brands can build strategic data-driven campaigns that resonate on a genuinely personal level in the manner desired by younger generations. Critically, delivering on the perennial, somewhat paradoxical Gen Z demands for high levels of privacy, but also similarly high levels of personalised products and brand messaging.

Turn insights into activation for D2C and e-commerce health campaign success

But as we know, data, in isolation, holds limited value. Its real power is unleashed through activation – the transformation of insight into strategy. And in a world where consumer expectations are rising and attention spans are shrinking, the ability to deliver timely, relevant, and meaningful engagement is an outright competitive advantage. And it can only be achieved through a deep, data-driven understanding of people.

For D2C and e-commerce health brands, this understanding and successful activation requires them to:

• Identify high-value customer segments for targeted acquisition and retention
• Predict churn and retention patterns within subscription-based models
• Inform campaign messaging with real-world consumer behaviours and motivations
• Develop nuanced personas reflecting not just demographics, but attitudes, values, and lifestyle choices
• Personalise content across relevant digital channels, from email to in-app experiences
• Build lookalike audiences for acquisition campaigns on platforms like Meta and Google
• Optimise digital spend by measuring performance and refining segmentation over time

This is where the transformation power of comprehensive datasets, such as CACI’s Ocean database, which offers over 700 variables at an individual and household level, comes in. Ocean includes everything from financial situation, media consumption and digital behaviours to lifestyle preferences like veganism and exercise to whether consumers have a smart watch or fitness band.

When combined with geodemographic tools like Acorn – segmenting over 1.6 million UK postcodes using more than 800 variables – and supported by bespoke data analysis, brands can unlock a truly multidimensional view of their audiences wherever they are.

This approach allows brands to move beyond generic targeting and into a space where campaigns are not only more relevant but also more respectful of consumer expectations – a win-win for younger cohorts who dislike intrusive and irrelevant brand messaging but demand personalisation nonetheless!

Data insight for a dynamic healthcare future

As healthcare consumers’ expectations evolve and the consumer health and wellbeing market with it, so must the strategies brands use to engage them. Success for D2C and e-commerce healthcare brands doesn’t just hinge on understanding who consumers are today — it’s about being able to anticipate who they’re becoming even as new healthcare technologies, products and devices become available. By being able to able to identify and engage high-lifetime value customers as early as possible, brands also have a greater chance to capture markets as they evolve.

The effectiveness of multi-layered segmentation in improving marketing precision now – and as AI becomes more integrated – is well established. CACI’s ability to deliver on this today with our consumer data and bespoke strategic segmentation capabilities ensures brands are future-ready

Data isn’t just a tool – it’s a strategic asset. Brands that invest in sophisticated segmentation and activation today will be best placed to drive sustainable growth tomorrow.

Speak to our healthcare consumer segmentation specialists today.

From weight loss medication and fertility support to cosmetic and hair loss treatments, the traditional elective healthcare landscape is being radically transformed.

Historically, elective healthcare might have been associated with older demographics or specific medical needs. However, recent insights from CACI’s Voice of the Nation (VOTN) consumer survey reveal a compelling shift: a surge in demand for elective treatments from wellness and image-conscious Gen Z and Millennial consumers.

This fundamental change has profound implications for healthcare providers and their location strategies to ensure they are precisely aligned with the evolving demographics of their target audiences and meet their notably high expectations around convenience, accessibility, and experience. This offers a huge challenge – and opportunity – for healthcare brands to adopt a more agile, data-informed approach to their physical presence.

A complex convergence of health, wellness and beauty consumption

Our Voice of the Nation (VOTN) survey reveals that weight-loss treatments like Mounjaro and Ozempic are projected to grow by 40% in 2025, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge. And Gen Z show equal interest among both male and female respondents unlike all other age cohorts, where women predominate.

And while 4.9% of respondents overall say they plan to pay for cosmetic treatments in 2025, this number rises above 10% for Gen Z respondents and female Millennials but remains below 3% for anyone older than 45.

It might be tempting to assume that this trend is purely about aesthetics. And there’s some truth in this. For those planning to increase their beauty spending in 2025, nearly 14.9% planned to pay for cosmetic treatment against 4.9% generally. Similar jumps were seen for hair loss treatment (10.2% versus 3.3% generally) and weight loss services (14.9% against 6.4% generally).

Yet other issues are also in play.

For Gen Z respondents who considered ‘Health’ as a top three issue facing the UK, there was also a distinct increase in planned treatments: 16.2% of Gen Z males concerned about health were planning weight loss treatments versus 9.7% in general, for example.

In addition, when we look at the Voice of the Nation sentiment data through our in-depth Acorn geodemographic segmentation, demand for all types of healthcare treatments spans both affluent and less affluent groups.

Brought together, the data shows there’s a truly complex mix of motivations — from aesthetics and wellness to proactive health management – across and within different age cohorts. But all with the clear underlying message that Millennials and Gen Z with their growing spending power are seriously invested in elective healthcare treatments that make them feel and look better.

Why Traditional Site Selection Falls Short

Historically, location planning in healthcare has relied on broad demographic assumptions or legacy performance data. But in today’s market, that’s not enough, no longer can site selection be based on general market trends. A clinic with the wrong treatment offer, placed in the wrong area – too far from its target audience, or in a location with low footfall – can struggle to gain traction, regardless of the quality of care it offers.

But critically, it’s not just about what these consumers want — it’s about where they are. Something that after Covid-19 has also changed. Traditional assumptions about most people working from the office every day no longer hold.  Our VOTN research found that on average people now only spend on average 2.5 days in the office – Gen Z spending 12.5% more time in the office than Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Younger generations are more likely to live in urban centres, commute via public transport, and expect services to fit seamlessly into their daily routines. This is reflected in our VOTN data which finds Gen Z less likely to have products delivered to home and far more likely to have purchases delivered to a pick-up/drop off point like a locker or local convenience store (39% versus 23% in general) or delivered to a convenient location like their office (27% versus 14% in general). 

And as we’ve already noted younger generations are also more likely to pay for treatments where the NHS is not offering what they need or on the timescale they want it.

What’s needed is a more granular, predictive approach to location choice: one that considers not just who your customers are, but how they move, spend, and engage with products and services.

A data-driven bespoke approach to Location Strategy

Healthcare treatment providers looking for physical locations that will help them match this complexity of demand and grow their business should be looking to modern location analytics that combine powerful human behavioural and geographical insights. Rather than taking an ‘off-the-shelf’ approach that can obscure what’s really going with the new healthcare consumer, a bespoke approach allows you to:

• Map journey-time decay to understand how far patients are willing to travel for different services
• Define profile catchments using lifestyle segmentation like our CACI Acorn that can leverage over 700 economic, behavioural and social variables to identify over-represented consumer types in particular areas
• Deeply understand who your ideal customers and their locations are through powerful location intelligence tools like InSite
• Overlay footfall and spend data to assess the commercial viability of potential sites
• Unlock ‘white space’ by using location analytics such as provided by our Location Dynamics to identify areas with unmet demand and minimal competition
• Rank postcode sectors by indicators like Private Medical Insurance coverage or self-pay propensity

The future of healthcare location strategy

The rise of younger, self-directed healthcare consumers who value their physical and mental wellbeing is clearly not a passing trend – it’s a structural shift. To stay relevant, providers must meet these audiences where they are – both physically and emotionally, including as they ‘age’ into other services like fertility, hair loss treatments and joint replacements.

To truly capture this growing segment, providers must harness advanced data to pinpoint and predict high-potential areas where these new consumers live, work, and spend. This ensures that every new clinic, every re-evaluated existing site, is positioned for maximum impact, catering directly to the evolving needs and preferences of a generation redefining elective health. That means rethinking location strategy as a core part of business planning, not just an operational detail. With the right data and tools, healthcare brands can build a physical location footprint that’s not only efficient for today, but also future-proof.

To find out how we can help you find the healthcare consumers best suited to your services, get in touch with us.

Cloud innovation trends: Why optimisation must come first

In the race to modernise, many businesses make a critical mistake: innovating before optimising their cloud infrastructure. It’s an easy trap to fall into – new technologies promise speed, agility and competitive advantage. However, without a solid foundation, those promises can quickly unravel.

So, what difference will optimisation make to cloud innovation? How do complex hybrid environments affect optimisation and what are the repercussions of innovating too soon?

Why optimisation should come first

Cloud optimisation isn’t just a technical exercise – it’s a strategic imperative. Before you invest in AI-driven tools, advanced analytics or multi-cloud deployments, you need to ensure your existing environment is efficient, secure and cost-effective. Otherwise, innovation becomes a gamble rather than a growth driver.

How the complexity of hybrid environments affects optimisation

Modern IT landscapes are rarely simple. Most organisations operate in hybrid environments, combining:

• Cloud-native workloads
• Semi-native applications
• Containerised services
• Legacy systems migrated via IaaS.

This mix introduces complexity that can quietly erode ROI and performance. Without optimisation, you risk inefficiencies that undermine every future initiative.

Common pitfalls of innovating too soon

When businesses rush to innovate without first optimising, they often encounter:

Duplicated workloads

Hybrid setups frequently lead to duplication of environments or services, especially when containerised and legacy systems overlap with cloud-native tools. This consumes bandwidth and burdens IT and DevOps teams with managing multiple versions of the same workload.

Latency issues

Poor workload distribution across cloud environments increases latency, slowing response times and masking compliance or security issues. For customer-facing applications, this can directly impact user experience and brand reputation.

Security saps

Unoptimised containerised and legacy workloads are vulnerable to governance and compliance risks. Differences in data storage and flow between environments complicate tracking, while unresolved legacy issues can carry over post-migration.

Mounting costs

With up to 30% of cloud spend wasted, inefficiencies inflate monitoring and security costs, draining budgets that could fund innovation.

Why this matters now

Cloud strategies are under pressure to deliver more – faster, cheaper and greener. Without optimisation, businesses risk inefficiency, higher costs and vulnerabilities that stall progress. In an industry where every second counts, building on shaky ground isn’t just risky, it’s expensive.

How to get started

Before chasing the next big trend in cloud innovation, take time to:

• Audit your current architecture: Maintain visibility by understand what’s running, where and why.
• Identify duplicated workloads and inefficiencies: Determine whether any services or resources are the cause behind draining budgets.
• Align resources with business priorities: Ensure any spending on cloud innovation drives value for the business.
• Implement governance and security best practices: Establishing best practices early on will ensure that innovation is scaled effectively.

This foundation ensures innovation is sustainable, not just a short-term fix.

The CACI approach: Building a cloud that enables innovation

Ready to build a cloud foundation that enables innovation?

Don’t leave your cloud strategy to chance. Our specialist cloud architects and optimisation experts have helped leading organisations modernise, streamline and unlock innovation without compromise. Contact us today to start your cloud optimisation journey.

Running a home care service is complicated enough without throwing the modern concern of cyber security into the mix. This blog will take a closer look at how you can easily, efficiently and effectively manage cyber security in your care service. It doesn’t need to be as complicated, expensive and time consuming as you might assume. 

Care services process vast amounts of personal and sensitive data, bringing them under the scope of regulations such as GDPR. Managing cyber security can be a daunting prospect. With a language seemingly all of its own, from phishing and malware to multi-factor authentication and encryption, it can be tricky to navigate for those without a technological background. We will explore how cyber security can be easily managed by care providers. We’ll break down the various considerations and look at simple, effective means of managing it. 

What is cyber security and how does it affect care providers? 

To begin with, a quick explainer on what cyber security is. Cyber security is the function of protecting the devices we use, such as computers and smartphones, and the services we access via them, from theft and malicious intent. 

For example, if you or one of your care workers loses or has their smartphone stolen, you need to have measures in place to prevent access to sensitive information on the device. This covers everything from banking apps to your care plans. We’ll look at how this can be easily achieved. 

Why is cyber security important for care providers? 

Care providers process and record a lot of sensitive, personal information on the clients in their care. It is essential that this data is protected from theft, misuse or breach. Everything from the names, addresses and care records of your clients – anything that makes them identifiable – is considered sensitive information. 

Processing this information is essential to the smooth running of your services. You need to be able to inform your care workers of the care they need to provide with each visit. You will also need to be able to share such information with other care providers and the NHS where necessary.  

Sharing information extends to the CQC, too. With in-person inspections from the regulator becoming more infrequent, you may be asked to submit evidence electronically for assessment, the result of which may or may not be an in-person inspection. Being able to handle and share the data securely is paramount. CACI’s Certa care management software supports this with a dedicated CQC reporting feature which is designed to help you record, sort and share data easily and securely. 

What do care providers need to consider with regards to cyber security? 

1. Confidentiality: all client information, from names and addresses to care plans and medications, must be protected in line with GDPR. Deploying a CMS such as Certa, with an app for your carers to access client data through, is critical for minimising risk and GDPR compliance. 
2. Data minimisation: consider what data you need for services and remove that which you don’t. 
3. Encryption: how are care workers and clients accessing the information that you hold? Securing devices with strong password and two-factor authentication helps to protect your data. 
4. Access controls: ensure only appropriate people can access information on your clients, restricting access across your organisations with role-based permissions. 
5. Staff training: making all your staff aware of cyber security threats is imperative, from phishing email attacks to securing their devices correctly. 
6. System security: staying on top of installing software updates and security patches is essential. 

Cyber security and your CQC inspections 

It’s vital to grasp the significant regulatory expectations care services operate under. The Care Quality Commission’s Single Assessment Framework, for instance, scrutinises how data is kept safe and managed securely, particularly under the ‘Well-led’ Quality Statement concerning governance, management and sustainability. This isn’t a vague aspiration; there are clear expectations that robust arrangements for the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data, records and data management systems are in place. 

Failing to meet these standards, which are intrinsically linked to the Data Protection Act 2018 (incorporating GDPR), isn’t just a procedural hiccup. It can directly impact your CQC assessment and rating. 

The CQC explicitly expects providers to comply with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) or an equivalent, considering it a minimum for a ‘good’ provider. Ignoring these responsibilities isn’t an option if you want to avoid potentially severe consequences, from hefty fines issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office to the kind of reputational damage that erodes the trust of those you care for and their families. In today’s digital-first world, overlooking robust data security is a direct risk to the sustainability of your service and, most critically, to the safety and privacy of the vulnerable people you support. 

Making cyber security simple for care providers 

Whilst cyber security is a vital consideration for every care service, there is an array of complicated terminologies that can bewilder anyone – especially when your focus is firmly set on delivering outstanding person-centred care to your clients.  

If you’re managing a care service, there are enough plates to keep spinning without the added headache of data security. It can be tempting to ignore it and focus on what your service is designed to deliver. The good news is that securing your data is a lot simpler than you might think. 

Choosing the right care management software can drastically reduce the burden of cyber security for you and your care service. Modern software is designed with cyber security in mind.  

If you haven’t already, digitising your care service is a vital first step. If you’re reliant on paper records, whilst they might not be compromised via malicious emails and lost smartphones, what happens if your office is burgled or there’s a fire? Recovering that data is impossible.  

Then there are those services using a hybrid system of paper records, Word and Excel documents. Where multiple systems are being used, even if they are digital, there are risks to your data in not maintaining sensitive data is one, secure location. Where records are being emailed around, there is further risk of interception and incorrect recipients which will compromise your data security. 

How Certa can make cyber security easy for you 

At CACI, we understand that protecting sensitive data isn’t just a technical requirement. It’s fundamental to delivering quality care. That’s why, as a care management software provider with more than 20 years sector experience, cyber security is at the very heart of what we do.

CACI’s approach is ‘secure by design,’ meaning robust protection is built into our software from the outset. CACI has all the relevant security certificates to support its work, including ISO20000, ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus to support this. 

To simplify that, it means that we’re experts in processing and securing data, something you can benefit from with our care management software solution, Certa.  

At a time when everyone expects to interact with services digitally on demand, Certa is designed to achieve this. From storing client information to making it available to carers, clients and their loved ones, act with confidence that your data security is handled with Certa.  

For more information and to book a demo, please visit: https://www.caci.co.uk/certa.  

Recruiting care workers is becoming an increasingly difficult and costly operation. Job vacancies in the care industry are plentiful. This affords care workers a greater degree of choice and flexibility in choosing who they work for.

So, why should they work for you and your home care service? From salary to working conditions, your service needs to be an attractive proposition to skilled care workers. You then need to have the processes and systems in place to keep them, otherwise the process repeats itself all over, costing you time and money, impacting on service delivery.

In this blog we will examine how you can attract and retain care workers, helping to make your care service more effective and efficient. 

Why is caring for the carers important to your care service? 

It’s an obvious question to ask, but why is caring for your carers so important? If we look at your clients for a moment, continuity of care is vital. It builds rapport, trust and establishes a personal touch to your services. Your clients, at a vulnerable stage of their lives, will appreciate consistency and the presence of carers who they like and who understand their needs.  

In a situation where you’re constantly shuffling your pack, bringing agency workers in to plug gaps and recruiting anyone to support service delivery, this vital sense of connection between your clients and your service is quickly lost. 

One of the questions the CQC asks as part of its single assessment framework is, are your services caring? Where you have consistent, understanding carers who specialise in the area of care they are administering, it makes answering ‘yes’ to that question – and demonstrating it – much easier. 

There’s also a financial element to consider for care services here. With lots of vacancies comes a lot of competition for care workers. If you can attract and retain staff, it minimises your need to recruit. This reduces staff costs and a reliance on more expensive agency staff in delivering your care services. If you look after your care workers, they will look after your clients, which in turn will look after your business. It’s a virtuous circle which reduces costs and administrative headaches. 

How can you care for your carers?

We’ve established why it’s so important to care for your carers, but how can you achieve this? Your care service is likely a very busy environment, with a multitude of demands being juggled simultaneously. We’ll look at how you can effectively care for your carers, from their appointment through to, hopefully, a long and successful career with you. 

1. Understand the skills of your carers 
   • Each carer who works in your care services has a unique set of skills and experiences. How can you best deploy them across your clients? Each of your clients, too, has their own unique care needs, so effectively matching your carers to your clients is important.  
2. Assign your carers to tasks they’re passionate about Assign your carers to tasks they’re passionate about 
   • A continuation of understanding the skills and experiences of your carers is scheduling them to tasks they’re passionate about. Not only will this help to keep your carers happy, it will have a knock-on effect in the care they deliver to your clients. It’s a logical thing to do, but something that can get lost in the maelstrom of administrative tasks faced by registered managers and administrators. 
3. Help your carers develop their careers with you 
   • Every care worker wants to advance their career. It helps them to stay motivated, increase their earning potential and realise their own potential as carers. Providing training opportunities is a great way to support your carers. It helps them to develop and also demonstrates that you’ve got their best interests in mind. 
4. Communication
   • It sounds simple, but getting communication right between management and carers is crucial. Where you communicate clearly and well, it builds trust and rapport between you and your workforce. Having the means to effectively achieve this is an important consideration. Communication extends beyond on the day, last minute communications, to letting carers know their schedule in advance, equipping them with the relevant information they need for each visit and providing them with a means of recording visits and leaving feedback. This is another aspect to feature on the CQC’s single assessment framework. 
5. Use the right care management software
   • Technology plays a fundamental role in the success of care services like yours. From onboarding new clients and care workers, to managing finances and care schedules, using care management software that supports your care services is essential. When choosing the best system for your care service it is important to involve your care workers in the decision making process. They will be the ones using it day in, day out, to deliver your services.  
      

How Certa from CACI can help you care for your carers?

Certa is a complete care management software solution designed for care providers. It supports every aspect of care delivery, including the scheduling, communication and understanding of your care workforce.  

With bespoke dashboards for each office manager and administrator, you can more easily understand the skills and experiences of your carers, match them to tasks and clients that suit them and create continuity in your care services. You can also better identify areas for improvement, suggest training courses and receive feedback from your carers. 

Certa can support you in caring for your carers. For more information, visit www.caci.co.uk/software/certa/.

The rise of technology has been inexorable this century, from widespread internet adoption to the ubiquitous presence of smartphones. The advances are clear, but with so much on offer, choosing the right solutions can feel like guesswork. It can be like heading to your local DIY store to pick up some white paint; there are at least 37 different options. Which one do you choose? The process of digitising social care and utilising digital home care software to underpin and support your care services can feel exactly the same. 

It can be a challenge in identifying your own needs sometimes, too. Your current process might work for you, but you can accept that it’s inefficient versus what the rest of the market is using. You don’t want to miss out, but at the same time you don’t want to commit to spending time and money on a solution which provide the answer to a question you weren’t asking. 

To help, CACI recently launched a white paper, The top seven features you need from your care management software. It’s free to download here. 

In this article we’re going to look at the importance of digital home care software and the difference that technology can make to care providers, their clients and their staff. 

Digital home care software to support care providers

The rise of digital has touched every area of care provision. Peter Skinner, programme director for Digitising Social Care, noted in 2024 that some 70% of care providers have a digital social care record. That number is expected to surpass 80% in 2025. 

Recording and maintaining digital care records is crucial for a number of reasons: 

• Record information at source in a uniform manner across your services
• Easily search for records 
• Use data gathered to report on your care services 
• Understand the skills and experiences of your care workers 
• Share information with external agencies, such as the NHS and other care providers, easily 
• Provide a friends and family portal with real-time information 
• Keep your records securely in one place 
• Make data gathering for inspections easy 
• Comply with regulations such as GDPR 
• Easily recover data in the case of a disaster event – you can’t recover paper records if an event such a fire occurs 

With the right technology in place, care providers can enhance the service they provide to clients. With a digital record, it removes duplication of questions, with each care worker able to access a single source of the truth. There’s no more waiting for care records and their information to be manually logged in the office. Rather, such information can simply be captured at source on a mobile device. 

Digital home care software to support care workers

With a single source of the truth, your care workers can then administer the right care at the right time. With full visibility of previous care provided and a robust and reliable record of each client’s bespoke needs, you can reduce the risk of error and duplication. 

Digitisation can also support more efficient and effective care worker scheduling. With a central record of care workers as well as clients, you can match the skills and experiences of care workers to the needs of clients. Does a care worker have a good relationship with a particular client? Do they have more experience catering for certain needs? 

You can further plan the route of their care visits to make the most efficient use of their time, potentially facilitating more care visits from a single shift. 

As your care workers complete their care visits, they can simply record the outcomes of each visit via their mobile device. No need to write down notes, carry them with them and submit them to the office. This reduces the administrative burden on care workers, freeing them to focus on what they’re good at – delivering outstanding care to your clients. 

None of this can be achieved without digitising social care and your provision of it.  

Digital home care software to support your clients

In the modern day, clients, as well as their friends and family, expect an interactive service. This cannot be achieved with manual data entry, paper records and an inability to share information beyond the walls of the office. 

When digitising your care services, you open up new opportunities such as friends and family portals. These can display to your clients and their loved ones the status of their care, what has been administered and planned visits. 

This also makes it easier to communicate with your clients where short-term exceptions arise. If, for example, one of your care workers is unable to fulfil their shift that day, you can communicate this clearly and make clear what you are doing to reschedule or rearrange the care visit. 

With digitised care records, you can also share and receive information on clients. If a client is joining your care service from somewhere else, being able to receive all of their information and history of care gives you invaluable insight whilst preparing for them. Similarly, outgoing clients can be supported in their next setting in the same way. 

There is also vital information to be recorded in those instances when clients leave your care services and receive treatment in an NHS or other setting such as a hospital.  

Whilst the sharing of data between the NHS and care providers is far from seamless, it can only be achieved and improved upon with the digitisation of social care and digital care records. This link can make a tangible difference to your clients, helping to return them to a residential setting as soon as possible. This minimises disruption to their lives and your care services. 

Conclusion

Digitisation isn’t going away. The advances have been too rapid and too all-encompassing for there to be any scope to row back on it. It is, therefore, essential that you digitise your care services and ask the right questions in selecting care management software providers. 

Our white paper looks at the top features you need: 

• Care planning 
• Rostering 
• Mobile app 
• Financial management 
• Reporting 
• Friends and family portal 
• Support, security and compliance 

Hopefully it offers some guidance as to what you can expect from care management software and how it can support you in digitising your care records.  

The technology landscape is rapidly changing. So, you might have a solution in place that no longer supports all of your needs. If you’re looking to go digital for the first time or are looking at your next software solution for your care service, please visit www.caci.co.uk/certa for more information on how CACI can support you. 

At CACI, we have been supporting charities in optimising their data by supplying ongoing support through solutions, technology, tools and data that work in a more targeted and efficient way and ultimately help more people. Marie Curie, a leading charity dedicated to providing free palliative and end of life care and support to people living with terminal illnesses, has been making significant strides in enhancing its fundraising and supporter engagement strategies. Their work has been raising public awareness and influencing decision-makers across the UK on the issues affecting those reaching the end of their lives and the people closest to them, enabling more people to access high quality care and support when and where they need it most. 

In a recent webinar, we came together to share insights into their collaborative efforts of leveraging data for greater impact. In this blog, I’ll uncover the key takeaways from the webinar and the value of Marie Curie’s work with CACI, combining their own data with CACI’s to improve their supporter engagement and ultimately increase income. 

Building strong data foundations and data enrichment

I kicked off the webinar by emphasising the importance of building strong data foundations, highlighting common challenges faced by charities, such as siloed data and inconsistent supporter information. These challenges hinder the depth of data insights and the unification and linking of data, ultimately impacting improvements for the quality of end-of-life outcomes and gaining a granular view into supporters. By addressing these foundational issues, Marie Curie can better enrich their data and activate it for meaningful engagement. 

Why did Marie Curie embark on a data enrichment journey? 

Mark Lumby, Head of Fundraising Insight at Marie Curie, shared the charity’s motivation for embarking on a data enrichment journey: the necessity of understanding more about their supporters beyond basic demographics. The more data charities have access to, the more robust their engagement strategies can be shaped, resulting in more income from supporters. By partnering with CACI, Marie Curie aimed to gain these deeper, necessary insights into supporter profiles, affluence, interests and behaviours. 

CACI’s Acorn and Ocean data have played a crucial role in Marie Curie’s data enrichment efforts. Acorn is CACI’s powerful consumer classification tool that segments the UK population by postcode, enhancing the charity’s understanding of different types of people and places by analysing demographic data, social factors and behaviours. Ocean is CACI’s consumer database that offers lifestyle variables, further enhancing Marie Curie’s customer understanding through the ability to assess 100 variables that illustrate supporters’ profiles and interests to target them effectively. Together, these tools have enabled the charity to create detailed supporter profiles and uncover new engagement opportunities. 

What were the strategic objectives & key use cases?

Our collaboration with Marie Curie was driven by strategic objectives, including enhancing their product portfolio by identifying overlaps and opportunities for cross-selling. By understanding the profiles of their supporters through a lens enriched by data, Marie Curie could tailor their engagement strategies more effectively by engaging with supporters at individual or segment cohort levels and determine the best methods of interaction via online or offline channels. Through data enrichment, the type of content and messaging could also be crafted to appeal to the target demographic of supporters and personalise their experience.

What has worked well?

Steph Gray from Marie Curie’s insight team shared practical examples of how enriched data has been used to drive value. One notable success was the creation of a profile model for cash appeals, which significantly improved response rates and ROI. By targeting supporters who resembled existing cash donors, the charity improved engagement and secured higher second gift rates. 

Marie Curie’s efforts to cross-sell and acquire new supporters have also benefitted from data enrichment. By identifying key audience groups and tailoring their messaging, the charity has seen improved results in cold acquisition campaigns. This targeted approach has led to more effective use of resources and better overall outcomes. 

What’s next for Marie Curie?

Going forward, the charity plans to continue refining their data models and datasets and explore new variables for up-to-date, accurate supporter understanding. They aim to combine demographic data with behavioural insights to create even more robust supporter profiles, along with additional creative and channel selection testing. This ongoing commitment to data-driven strategies will help Marie Curie maximise their impact and influence supporter journeys.     

Our partnership exemplifies the transformative power of data in the charity sector. By enriching their supporter data and leveraging advanced segmentation tools, the charity has been able to enhance their fundraising efforts and engage supporters more effectively. By watching the webinar here, you can find out how data can drive meaningful change in the charity sector. To learn more about the continuous innovation and strategy refinement Marie Curie is undertaking, visit their Knowledge Hub. 

Two weeks ago, CACI’s Certa team attended one of the largest celebrations of the care sector, The Care Show London 2025. The event brought together care providers, tech innovators and policymakers to explore the future of social care. The use of AI, both good and bad, was one of the hot topics of the event, along with a . This blog takes a closer look at the key topics we found most interesting at the Care Show London 2025.

Generative AI in social care: the Oxford initiative of the responsible use of AI in social care and onwards

This thought-provoking session by Daniel Casson (Digital Transformation Advisor at Casson Consulting), Katie Thorn (Project Lead at Digital Care Hub), and Dr. Caroline Green (Early Careers Research Fellow at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford), delved into the pros, cons and ethical considerations of introducing AI into social care. Much of their talk centred on the use of large language models (LLMs) and concerns with how their use fits in with the values of person-centred care.

To combat this, the talk covered how The Digital Care Hub will soon release official guidance on the responsible use of AI in care settings. This included examining why technology suppliers need to pledge their commitment to creating ethical, collaborative solutions that genuinely serve the care community.

A point that was stressed at the Care Show London 2025 was the need for close alignment with the CQC and the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure AI is applied responsibly. Dr. Caroline Green gave a memorable analogy to explain AI’s predictive nature: if someone goes to the pub every Thursday, eventually their phone might suggest a message like, “Going down the pub, will be back late,” highlighting how AI learns through pattern recognition, not understanding.

Daniel Carson rounded off the session by urging AI developers to consider both the care workforce and the care recipient, ensuring AI meets the needs of all stakeholders.

Outstanding at home: transforming quality in domiciliary care

This session at the Care Show London 2025 from Caroline Cosh (Director at The OS & Clifton Home Care), Rob Hargreaves (Information Service Manager at Skills For Care) and Patricia Conteh (Head of Clinical Services at Prestige Nursing & Care), focused on how to raise standards in home-based care. A particular emphasis of the talk was on how businesses can achieve an ‘outstanding’ rating from the CQC.

Key actionable takeaways for home care providers included:

• Maintaining clear evidence logs
• Capturing positive client feedback
• Demonstrating strong safeguarding practices
• Providing robust documentation and audit trails
• Preparing for both service-led and leadership-focused inspections

It was a valuable reminder that proactive, well-documented and values-driven care is essential for both compliance and excellence in a domiciliary setting.

A regulatory lens: CQC’s forward focus unveiled at Care Show London 2025

Another standout moment from the Care Show London 2025 was the keynote from James Bullion CBE (Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care) at the CQC. His update provided a long-awaited look into the regulatory landscape shaping the future of care.

Bullion acknowledged the backlog of inspections, stressed that the number of inspections is increasing and structural changes are on the horizon. “We’re underway with more inspections, we’re dealing with backlogs and we’re about to make some structural changes in the organisation,” he said, signalling a proactive shift in CQC’s approach, with further announcements expected this summer.

He emphasised the shared responsibility between providers and the regulator, noting: “It is in our joint interest for there to be a strong regulator that works effectively so that we can show the public and the government that care is good.”

A major focus for the CQC going forward includes a reshaped leadership structure to bring back sector-specific expertise. The appointment of Sir Julian Hartley as CEO in December, followed by Dr. Arun Chopra as Chief Inspector of Mental Health, marks the beginning of this leadership refresh. New chief inspectors will be responsible for overseeing inspection programmes, enabling faster, more informed decision making.

This update was particularly relevant given the increasing intersection between regulation, technology and person-centred care. This was a recurring theme throughout the event. For providers, the message was clear: being prepared, transparent and responsive to evolving expectations will be key to delivering quality care and achieving compliance in the years ahead.

Final thoughts on the Care Show London 2025

The Care Show London offered a vital glimpse into where social care is heading, from the use of ethical AI and performance enhancing platforms to best-in-class home care delivery. As a team, CACI left feeling inspired by the people and ideas driving innovation across the sector.

“With Certa, we’re committed to supporting the transformation of home care companies through tools that empower teams, streamline care processes and improve outcomes for everyone involved. Attending The Care Show reinforced just how vital innovation is to the future of care. We’re proud to be part of that journey.” Greg Ayles, Director, Certa

In our previous blog in this three-part series, we explored the ‘meal delivery model’ for the Power BI platform and the tools and teams required to bring this model and its methodology to life. In the final blog of this series, we’ll assess how new practices can be embedded and users empowered as the solution build is underway, as well as how to effectively carry out the handover process for a seamless go-live. 

To read our full whitepaper that outlines additional methodology and best practices to unlock all that Power BI has to offer, click here.   

Embedding new practices and empowering your users

To effectively embed new practices and empower users, evaluating training and resources will be fundamental for a successful Power BI migration. Conducting a training and resource assessment to evaluate users’ training needs and ensure they’re equipped with the necessary skills and confidence to use Power BI will be key to maximising its value. Planning a range of training for various users will be particularly impactful in this case, as will offering the right training to the right users. Communicating expectations, project and migration updates and overarching benefits will also be critical, especially when users are asked to contribute and to change established practices. 

The handover process

Prior to going live, ensuring the necessary solution documentation is in place for both user and developer reference will be vital. Holding handover sessions for your BI team, your IT team and management, unifying support and resources and making sure the helpdesk is both responsive and reactive to any technical issues that arise will bolster this.  

To help determine response times for any technical issues arising, users’ needs that would have arisen during the discovery phase of the project must be understood. Departmental or team champions for non-technical Power BI users can therefore bolster outcomes in these circumstances, and managed support can alleviate the burden of updates and adaptations in fast-changing NHS environments.  

Time must be allocated for handover sessions for the BI team, IT team and management. This will serve as an additional opportunity to reiterate the benefits of the new PowerBI solution along with a practical introduction. Consistent monitoring and feedback should be sought out to refine helpdesk processes and continue deriving the full benefits that the solution can provide as the handover stage continues.  

While PowerBI is an exceptionally flexible platform and will expand and adapt to accommodate new data and reporting requirements, having the necessary development resources available to make changes and upkeep the solution will be paramount. 

How CACI can help

Migrating to PowerBI enables NHS stakeholders to achieve new strategic goals and transform their analytical capabilities. CACI understands the value that migrating to PowerBI can bring, which is why we have developed our own set of best practices and key principles for PowerBI migrations within the NHS. We strive to deliver a seamless migration built on our extensive experience in NHS data and technology, prioritising stakeholder engagement, providing reliable reporting, secure data sharing and self-sufficient BI capabilities for data-driven decision-making. 

For more information or help with Power BI project planning, delivery or ongoing managed services, contact us today. To learn more about how you can tap into the power of Power BI, our whitepaper outlines the best practices and methodology that will boost your understanding and usage. 

Read the rest of the series here:

Uncovering the power of Power BI: ‘meal delivery’ model & critical resources

Uncovering the power of Power BI: discovery & delivery framework

In our previous blog in this three-part series, we uncovered the value of thorough discovery and how to build a successful project delivery framework. Today, we’ll explore the ‘meal delivery model’ for the Power BI platform and the tools and teams required to bring this model and its methodology to life.  

To read our full whitepaper that outlines additional methodology and best practices to unlock all that Power BI has to offer, click here. 

What is the ‘meal delivery’ model for Power BI?

The ‘meal delivery’ model is an analogy for Power BI data insight in NHS systems, stemming from a challenge of making data insight (food) available to a range of different NHS users (eaters). In this context, there are a range of preferences and capabilities among Power BI users and audiences to consider. Therefore, data architecture must enable the experiences and nuances within them, catering to the specific needs of various users: 

• Analysts: These users will need direct portal access to usable data building blocks and analytics tools. With the ‘meal delivery’ model in mind, these users will need to select quality ingredients to make a meal for themselves.  
• Executive users: These users need dashboard access to pull reports from selected datasets. They will want the ingredients packaged and provided along with a basic recipe to make the meal in a way that best suits their individual needs.  
• Report consumers: Finally, these users will need Power BI reports sent direct to their inbox or accessible from Teams. They will want the meal delivered to them, ready to eat. 

The people and tools that make it happen

Using all the insights that have been discovered, a plan can be created to maximise Power BI benefits and meet all identified requirements, goals and constraints. The development process and method will determine the pace of the Power BI implementation and the level of disruption to business as usual. It will also define a team’s size, roles, skills required and cost of resources. An Agile Scrum Project method can be utilised here to maximise developer and user collaboration and allow for continuous improvement across each sprint to incorporate change in a controlled way without derailing the project’s progress.  

With Power BI project delivery being split into two workstreams— one being data and infrastructure, the other reporting— this method offers the flexibility to continuously embed best practices and ensure data and infrastructure workstreams do not diverge.  

How CACI can help

Migrating to PowerBI enables NHS stakeholders to achieve new strategic goals and transform their analytical capabilities. CACI understands the value that migrating to PowerBI can bring, which is why we have developed our own set of best practices and key principles for PowerBI migrations within the NHS. We strive to deliver a seamless migration built on our extensive experience in NHS data and technology, prioritising stakeholder engagement, providing reliable reporting, secure data sharing and self-sufficient BI capabilities for data-driven decision-making.  

For more information or help with Power BI project planning, delivery or ongoing managed services, contact us today. To learn more about how you can tap into the power of Power BI, our whitepaper outlines the best practices and methodology that will boost your understanding and usage. 

In the upcoming and final blog in this series, we’ll investigate new practices to be embedded and how to empower your users to ensure a successful handover. 

Read our previous blog in the series ‘Uncovering the power of Power BI: discovery & delivery framework’ here

NHS organisations that pursue data transformation will achieve substantial changes in their data-driven decision-making that ultimately improves efficiency, quality and patient experience. Power BI is an optimal contender for NHS organisations seeking a complete data transformation. However, achieving this and reaping its many benefits requires a carefully planned migration process, necessitating a partnership with a reliable data partner that possesses innate experience.  

Having worked with many NHS organisations over the years to plan and implement data migrations, this three-part blog series is developed from the principles of our Power BI migration methodology and real-world experience of NHS data projects, sharing key questions you should consider asking and areas to address to ensure a successful migration to Power BI. 

As such, the series begins with understanding the value of thorough discovery and how to build a successful project delivery framework. To read our full whitepaper that outlines additional methodology and best practices to unlock all that Power BI has to offer, click here. 

The value of thorough discovery

Unearthing all the information that will influence and affect your migration is a vital—albeit lengthy— first step. Skimping on discovery can compromise the solution’s effectiveness. 

Stakeholder mapping and collaboration

Stakeholder mapping and collaboration can make a significant impact to help define migration goals, as it will unearth possible issues and harvest key requirements to define migrations goals. Workshops with key stakeholders can aid this process, helping establish users’ needs and gauging their use of the Power BI platform. 

Conduct a current state analysis

Reviewing current data architecture, data processing locations and transformation methods will help you intrinsically understand stored data and information flows. During this review, inefficiencies within the operating landscape where your new solution will be situated can be identified and a solid foundation for new data architecture objectives can be built and defined. 

Building the project delivery framework

Building a successful project delivery framework will begin with defining features and functionalities required, including visualisations, connectivity, AI functions, data modelling and relationships between datasets. Ensuring you have a single version of the truth that is built on high quality data will also be critical. Reporting and analysis must also be transparent, enabling users and auditors to visualise how figures are produced. To facilitate this, solutions and configurations by audience type should be proposed to ensure users’ needs and Power BI access requirements will be met. 

Furthermore, developing a full target data architecture and identifying software/licensing requirements based on an assessment of your current analytics development process and available resources will be an integral part of the development of this framework. Availability will also need to be considered, as will security across all apps, including different access levels and permissions. 

How CACI can help

Migrating to PowerBI enables NHS stakeholders to achieve new strategic goals and transform their analytical capabilities. CACI understands the value that migrating to PowerBI can bring, which is why we have developed our own set of best practices and key principles for PowerBI migrations within the NHS. We strive to deliver a seamless migration built on our extensive experience in NHS data and technology, prioritising stakeholder engagement, providing reliable reporting, secure data sharing and self-sufficient BI capabilities for data-driven decision-making. 

For more information or help with Power BI project planning, delivery or ongoing managed services, contact us today. To learn more about how you can tap into the power of Power BI, our whitepaper outlines the best practices and methodology that will boost your understanding and usage. 

Stay tuned for the next blog in this series, where we’ll explain the ‘meal delivery model’ and the teams and tools that activate it.