This submit is a part of a collection sponsored by AgentSync.
Nothing good comes straightforward, proper? Seems, overhauling your outdated expertise in favor of extra trendy, cloud-native methods is not any exception.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 just a few of the advantages cloud-native software program can convey to insurance coverage companies and their shoppers. However, irrespective of how a lot constructive influence cloud-native insurtech can have on an insurance coverage group’s every day operations, switching from legacy methods to trendy options isn’t straightforward, and anybody making an attempt to make the transition would possibly discover themselves working into just a few bumps alongside the best way.
3 boundaries to adopting cloud-native insurtech
As with every 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 modifications needed for such a big transition. Put merely, change is tough, and a number of of the next areas would possibly sluggish you down.
Your present methods
Changing legacy methods which were in place for years is far simpler stated than finished. 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 brief time period. When the workflow and productiveness influence required to overtake their complete tech stack seems like too excessive of a hurdle, companies will proceed to depend on outdated expertise, spreadsheets, and different guide processes for every day operations.
Selecting to maneuver solely some methods to the cloud would possibly seem to be a extra viable possibility. However, doing so can go away companies with much more challenges as they wrestle 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 lately, has remained comparatively resistant to vary. For a lot of, the present methods, irrespective of how inefficient, are so intricately tied to every day operations that they’ve formed the corporate’s tradition.
Getting customers to undertake a brand new manner of doing issues can require a company-wide shift in pondering. And don’t overlook that, on prime of serving to your group perceive the worth of the transition, you’ll want to supply the help and coaching needed for customers to reap the complete advantages of the brand new cloud-native expertise.
Your price range
Regardless of how sure you might be that cloud-native software program will positively influence your backside line in the long term, getting previous the upfront prices of buy and implementation is usually a vital problem. The actual fact of the matter is, whereas the preliminary price would possibly seem to be too excessive a barrier to beat, it’s sometimes nothing in comparison with the price of enterprise as common.
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 development.
5 greatest practices for adopting cloud-native insurtech
Whereas the boundaries 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 making an attempt to resolve
There’s a cloud-native answer on the market for nearly each facet of an insurance coverage group’s every 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 vital you perceive the issue you are attempting to resolve earlier than diving into a brand new answer. What could possibly be worse than investing all of your time, cash, and assets into implementing a brand new answer just for the bottlenecks and inefficiencies to persist after the mud settles?
Are you making an attempt to chop down on producer onboarding time? To take away guide workflows out of your group’s plate? To enhance the general producer expertise? Nailing down the issue (or issues) you’d like to resolve with cloud-native expertise will provide help to minimize by way of the noise and focus solely on evaluating expertise that may really provide help to attain your objectives.
2. Examine what’s in the marketplace
Not each cloud-native software is similar. The appropriate answer for your online business will rely on a number of components, together with your particular wants, price range, and most popular stage of management. After you’ve established your predominant 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, if you happen to simply so occur to be available in the market for a cloud-native producer administration software program, we’ve put collectively a useful patrons 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 need to say? Search for references from present prospects of potential options who had been making an attempt to resolve related ache factors as you at the moment are. Their success, not solely with the product itself but additionally with implementation and buyer help offers you a good suggestion of what you’ll be able to really anticipate from any given answer.
For those who’re curious in regards to the success AgentSync prospects have had after implementing our options, we invite you to take a gander by way of our case research in addition to our buyer opinions on G2.
4. Prioritize safety and compliance credentials
Safety and compliance may be both a profit or a downside 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 critically and which of them would possibly open your group as much as extra danger. Lately, it’s not even value contemplating distributors who display something lower than a dedication to cybersecurity excellence.
5. Make a plan for coaching, help, and inside adoption
Whereas an enormous draw of switching to cloud-native options is taking tedious, guide work off your group’s plate, updating your tech stack with out providing the mandatory worker coaching and help will doubtless have the other impact.
Worker coaching is an easy and efficient technique to allow your group to see the complete benefits of a brand new answer. With out coaching, you might discover folks hesitant to make use of the brand new software program, preferring as a substitute to only revert again to the outdated, acquainted manner of doing issues. Which might be a critical waste of time for everybody.
In order for you a excessive adoption price, 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 would 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 subsequent 5 years, it’s protected 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 will help. Attain out at present to learn the way our cloud-native answer makes managing all the producer lifecycle extra environment friendly and cost-effective.