At its simplest, digital transformation is the incorporation of digital technology into your business. It is, however, worth it to pay closer attention to the four main types of digital transformation. Within these areas are the roadmaps to capitalising on emerging opportunities, fostering talent, transcending industry boundaries, identifying new market domains, and driving innovation over rivals.
‘Digital transformation’ has been a hot topic for some time now, and has become so elevated in the media, keynotes, boardroom, and panel discussions that for some, it has started to blur into a sweeping term that lacks clarity and definition. So, what is the full scope of digital transformation? To harness the full power of all that it offers is to understand the key areas of digital transformations in the insurance industry.
Purpose: This area of digital transformation fine-tunes all internal processes by making them far more efficient, and simpler.
Possibilities for the insurance industry: By minimising and even eliminating long-entrenched complexities in processes as well as by harnessing data analytics, digital transformation can drive your innovation over rivals, lower the costs of coverage, and hasten the shift towards the new ‘holy grail’ for all insurance companies: the perfect customer experience.
Purpose: This transformation is an opportunity to bring new life and agility to what may be an increasingly cumbersome and outdated strategy.
Possibilities for the insurance industry: What products or services can you reimagine for your business in the digital economy? Rising to meet tech-savvy clients through digital transformation powers the innovation of on-trend solutions, add-on products, services, and insurance solutions, helps maintain brand loyalty and leverages conversion.
Purpose: To diversify an insurance company’s portfolio by identifying and expanding into new market domains.
Possibilities for the insurance industry: Domain transformation is proving to be a significant opportunity for growth. Essentially, digital transformations make it possible to transcend industry boundaries like never before. Incorporating new technology into your company can elevate your ecosystems and redefine your products and services so that new opportunities can emerge in entirely new markets.
Purpose: When company culture is articulated in new and dynamic ways, it embeds the foundation for long-term digital transformation in a digital world that is here to stay.
Possibilities for the insurance industry: The move from yesterday’s rigid and hierarchal structures towards a more collaborative and integrated sphere creates the space for everyone to contribute to company growth. When every employee works toward a shared vision, information and ideas flow with fluidity, talents are nurtured, resources are grown, efficiency is enhanced, and new opportunities flourish.
Digital transformation is not a ‘once-off’ undertaking. It is an ongoing evolution to remain competitive, going far beyond a response to immediate challenges. A successful transformation requires a clear sense of your company’s fundamental purpose and objectives.
Waiting for proof of digital success is a strategy also known as ‘active waiting’. It’s often a first choice, especially for organisations looking for empirical results, and makes sense when your offering includes both digital and non-digital solutions. The waiting period, however, can give your competitors an advantage.
Developing an all-inclusive digital strategy is an all-hands-on-deck approach and a rapid implementation of digital innovations. It demands deep analysis, a thorough study of your market, a robust plan, and a well-defined articulation of long-term goals. It’s a bold approach that does not come without risks.
Delivering digital skills incrementally is built on a solid strategy that is flexible enough to evolve as both the insurance industry and the digital economy continue with their evolutions. As your company moves towards its digital vision, the focus is on delivering benefits while at the same time remaining agile enough to move the goalposts – or even the path to get there – if necessary.
‘In an ever-evolving insurance marketplace, do not think of digital transformation as the final destination The final destination is the success of your business; digital transformation is simply the smartest way to get there.’ says Graham Harvey, CEO of Cardinal Insurance Management Systems.
Find out how you can embrace digitisation with Cardinal’s best-of-breed insurance technology specialists and our suite of solutions specifically designed for the South African insurance market and its unique complexities.
For over 2 decades, Cardinal has provided expertise in short-term (P&C) insurance systems that leverage technology to overcome industry inefficiencies.
Through strategic investments in like-minded InsurTech (insurance technology) companies, Cardinal has grown into a symbiotic technology group of best-of-breed insurance technology specialists, providing a multi-sided platform capability premised on seamlessly integrating all roles players in the insurance ecosystem.
No longer a standalone policy administration system provider, Cardinal is one of the most comprehensive short-term insurance technology providers in South Africa – proudly administering more premiums and claims on its various platforms than any single independent provider.
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