One year on: Bringing Ayup and Idox together to rethink the future of service information

A year ago, Idox acquired Ayup Connect, bringing together two organisations with a shared ambition: to transform how local authorities manage and share information about the services available to their communities.

Idox brought more than 20 years of experience delivering directory technology to local authorities, with its platforms collectively receiving over 1.7 million resident visits every month. Ayup brought a modern, API-first technology platform and a different approach to managing structured, reusable service data.

But the opportunity was always about more than combining products or modernising technology. It was about recognising that the fundamental challenge facing local government isn’t simply about directories. It’s about service data.

A shared vision, a stronger team

Having previously led Ayup and now working within Idox, I’ve seen first-hand how bringing the two organisations together has created something greater than the sum of its parts.

The Ayup team has embedded positively within Idox’s wider Social Care team, combining our experience in product development, user-centred design and modern digital services with Idox’s extensive sector knowledge, established customer relationships and resources.

The result is a stronger collective team, bringing together different perspectives and complementary expertise around a shared vision for the future.

That collaboration is already shaping Directory Connect, the next generation of Idox’s directory platform.

Rethinking the role of directories

Local authorities don’t lack information about services. The challenge is that this information is often fragmented across SEND Local Offers, Family Information Services, Adult Social Care, public health and other departmental systems.

This creates duplication, inconsistent information and unnecessary administration, while making it harder for residents to find the right support.

Our vision is to move beyond treating directories as separate websites and instead establish a trusted, shared foundation for service information across local government.

The principle is simple: maintain information once, improve it once and use it many times.

Different services and audiences will always need different experiences. A parent looking for SEND support has very different needs from an older resident seeking care and support. But those experiences don’t need to rely on separate, disconnected sources of information.

From directories to service data infrastructure

This becomes even more important as the ways people discover and access information continue to evolve. Search engines, digital assistants and AI-powered services are creating new opportunities to connect people with the support they need. But these technologies are only as useful as the data underpinning them.

AI might change how people ask questions, but good answers will always depend on good data.

We believe this represents an important shift in how councils should think about directory technology. Rather than simply providing websites for individual services, the opportunity is to create service data infrastructure that can support multiple departments, applications and digital experiences.

For existing Ayup and Idox customers, Directory Connect brings together continued investment, modern technology and deep sector expertise to support that ambition.

But the bigger opportunity extends beyond the platform itself. It’s about helping local authorities move from managing information in departmental silos towards a more connected, organisation-wide approach to service data.

That’s the vision that brought Ayup and Idox together, and it’s what continues to drive our work today.

The future of service information

The future of the directory isn’t simply a better directory. It’s a trusted service-data foundation that connects people to the right support, wherever they choose to look.

About the author

Ste Taylor is Growth and Business Development Manager at Idox. Having previously led Ayup, Ste works to bring together the expertise of both organisations to shape the future of service information and support local authorities through Directory Connect.