This put up is a part of a sequence sponsored by AgentSync.
Nothing good comes straightforward, proper? Seems, overhauling your outdated expertise in favor of extra trendy, cloud-native techniques isn’t any exception.
In at present’s digital age, shying away from cloud-native expertise places companies susceptible to falling behind. Flexibility, scalability, decreased prices, and an enhanced buyer expertise are only some of the advantages cloud-native software program can carry to insurance coverage companies and their shoppers. However, regardless of how a lot optimistic impression cloud-native insurtech can have on an insurance coverage group’s day by day operations, switching from legacy techniques to trendy options isn’t straightforward, and anybody attempting to make the transition may discover themselves working into a number of bumps alongside the best way.
3 obstacles to adopting cloud-native insurtech
As with all main technological overhaul (and particularly in an trade as longstanding as insurance coverage), lots of the challenges of adopting cloud-native insurance coverage expertise stem from the organizational and cultural adjustments vital for such a big transition. Put merely, change is tough, and a number of of the next areas may gradual you down.
Your present techniques
Changing legacy techniques which have been in place for years is far simpler stated than executed. Some insurance coverage organizations’ processes are so closely rooted of their current expertise that making the transition would trigger sufficient disruption to close down operations within the quick time period. When the workflow and productiveness impression required to overtake their total tech stack looks like too excessive of a hurdle, companies will proceed to depend on outdated expertise, spreadsheets, and different guide processes for day by day operations.
Selecting to maneuver solely some techniques to the cloud may look like a extra viable possibility. However, doing so can go away companies with much more challenges as they battle to combine the brand new software program into their current platforms, which doubtless weren’t constructed with clean integrations in thoughts.
Your folks
Switching to cloud-native software program is greater than only a technological change. It’s additionally a fairly vital cultural change, and one that may be tough for people working in an trade that, till just lately, has remained comparatively resistant to vary. For a lot of, the present techniques, regardless of how inefficient, are so intricately tied to day by day operations that they’ve formed the corporate’s tradition.
Getting customers to undertake a brand new means of doing issues can require a company-wide shift in considering. And don’t neglect that, on prime of serving to your staff perceive the worth of the transition, you’ll want to supply the help and coaching vital for customers to reap the complete advantages of the brand new cloud-native expertise.
Your finances
Irrespective of how sure you’re that cloud-native software program will positively impression your backside line in the long term, getting previous the upfront prices of buy and implementation is usually a vital problem. The very fact of the matter is, whereas the preliminary price may look like too excessive a barrier to beat, it’s sometimes nothing in comparison with the price of enterprise as standard.
Not solely does going into technical debt ultimately price you greater than what you’d spend modernizing your tech stack, it additionally wastes worker time, opens you as much as pointless compliance dangers, and stunts your group’s progress.
5 finest practices for adopting cloud-native insurtech
Whereas the obstacles for adopting cloud-native expertise at your insurance coverage group could also be sturdy, they aren’t impenetrable. Right here are some things enterprise leaders can do to assist set themselves up for achievement.
1. Perceive the issue you’re attempting to unravel
There’s a cloud-native answer on the market for nearly each side of an insurance coverage group’s day by day operations, from claims administration, to buyer relationship administration, to e-mail advertising and so forth. However simply because cloud-native software program exists for every of those areas doesn’t essentially imply a enterprise must undertake all of it.
It’s necessary you perceive the issue you are attempting to unravel earlier than diving into a brand new answer. What may very well be worse than investing all of your time, cash, and sources into implementing a brand new answer just for the bottlenecks and inefficiencies to persist after the mud settles?
Are you attempting to chop down on producer onboarding time? To take away guide workflows out of your staff’s plate? To enhance the general producer expertise? Nailing down the issue (or issues) you’d like to unravel with cloud-native expertise will allow you to reduce by the noise and focus solely on evaluating expertise that may really allow you to attain your objectives.
2. Evaluate what’s in the marketplace
Not each cloud-native software is identical. The precise answer for your online business will depend upon a number of elements, together with your particular wants, finances, and most popular degree of management. After you’ve established your most important ache factors and set future objectives, examine that information in opposition to what every answer can provide.
Bear in mind, product functionalities are only one piece of the puzzle. You must also contemplate issues like the extent of partnership you’ll obtain with every vendor, their requirements round information safety, and the way they deal with software program updates and bug fixes after implementation.
Sidenote, when you simply so occur to be out there for a cloud-native producer administration software program, we’ve put collectively a useful consumers information to assist along with your evaluations.
3. Get references from present prospects of potential options
It’s one factor to listen to about the advantages of switching to cloud-native insurtech from the tech distributors themselves, however what do insurance coverage companies who’ve already made the change must say? Search for references from present prospects of potential options who have been attempting to unravel related ache factors as you at the moment are. Their success, not solely with the product itself but in addition with implementation and buyer help offers you a good suggestion of what you’ll be able to really count on from any given answer.
For those who’re curious concerning the success AgentSync prospects have had after implementing our options, we invite you to take a gander by our case research in addition to our buyer evaluations on G2.
4. Prioritize safety and compliance credentials
Safety and compliance will be both a profit or a disadvantage of cloud-native software program. Whereas some options prioritize safety and compliance, others don’t fairly meet expectations. However within the data-driven world of insurance coverage, safeguarding delicate producer and shopper data is important.
A vendor’s response to trade requirements like SOC 2 and NIST can provide you a clearer image of which softwares take information safety severely and which of them may open your group as much as extra danger. Lately, it’s not even price contemplating distributors who reveal something lower than a dedication to cybersecurity excellence.
5. Make a plan for coaching, help, and inner adoption
Whereas a giant draw of switching to cloud-native options is taking tedious, guide work off your staff’s plate, updating your tech stack with out providing the mandatory worker coaching and help will doubtless have the alternative impact.
Worker coaching is a straightforward and efficient approach to allow your staff to see the complete benefits of a brand new answer. With out coaching, you could discover folks hesitant to make use of the brand new software program, preferring as an alternative to simply revert again to the previous, acquainted means of doing issues. Which might be a critical waste of time for everybody.
If you’d like a excessive adoption charge, make a plan for guaranteeing everybody has a high-level understanding of the worth the answer offers and entry to coaching supplies and help to fill in any information gaps that might maintain them again.
Cloud-native software program is paving the best way for insurance coverage organizations
With a rising variety of insurers planning to undertake cloud-native options over the following 5 years, it’s secure to say cloud-native expertise is quickly to be the brand new gold customary for the insurance coverage trade. The earlier a company migrates to a cloud-native tech stack, the earlier it reaps the advantages and the higher ready it’ll be for future innovation.
For those who’re able to make the change and future-proof your producer licensing and compliance administration processes, AgentSync might help. Attain out at present to learn the way our cloud-native answer makes managing the whole producer lifecycle extra environment friendly and cost-effective.
