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7/27/2019 What's costing you dearly?
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Copyright Quocirca 2013
Rob Bamforth
Quocirca Ltd
Tel : +44 7802 175796
Email: [email protected]
Clive Longbottom
Quocirca Ltd
Tel: +44 118 9483360
Email:[email protected]
Whatscostingyoudearly?
Time to replace badly automated insurance bus iness processes with more
fl ex ib lesys tems
October2013
Theinsurancesectorisoftenveryconservative,perceivedasslowmoving,
andoperateswithmanylongestablishedbusinesspracticesandprocesses.
However, times move on, new business models emerge, and legacy
processesbecomeinefficient.AlthoughIThasplayedanimportantrolein
supporting theindustryovermanyyears, ittooneedstoadvanceorwill
becomeinflexible.
Insurancecompaniesmightbewastingthousandsof saleshoursperyear
from poor processes and badly implemented IT, which increases costs,
stifles revenue growth and adds risk. However, IT advances need to go
hand-in-hand with business process improvements to ensure that
organisations gain themaximimum benefit of beingmore flexibile, agile
andefficient.
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Whatscostingyoudearly?TimetoreplacebadlyautomatedinsurancebusinessprocesseswithmoreflexiblesystemsTheinsurancesectorisoftenveryconservative,perceivedasslowmoving,andoperateswithmanylongestablishedbusiness
practices and processes. However, times move on, new business models emerge, and legacy processes become inefficie nt.Although IT has played an important role in supporting the industry over many years, it too needs to advance or will become
inflexible.
InsurancecompaniesmightbewastingthousandsofsaleshoursperyearfrompoorprocessesandbadlyimplementedIT,which
increases costs, stiflesrevenue growth andadds risk. However,IT advances need to go hand-in-hand withbusiness process
improvementstoensurethatorganisationsgainthemaximimumbenefitofbeingmoreflexibile,agileandefficient.
Customerchannels
arechanging
Whilebrokersare stillseenas themost important channel partners, thereare shifts inthe
importance of other channels in the mix. Smaller companies will go more face-to-face to
includeagents,andlargercompanieswillcontinuetogofurtherwithonlineandcallcentres(or
contact centres) forcustomerconnection.Traditionalstyles orperceivedlack of IT resource
mightbeholdingsmallercompaniesbackfromasimilarapproach,buttheymayhavemoreto
gaininthelongruniftheycanfindpartnerswhocouldhelpthemstreamlinetheirroutesto
market.
Well-codified
businessprocesses
engenderflexibility
Itmight seemodd, but having businessprocesses that are tightandwell defineddoes not
restrict flexibility but, rather, supports it. Lax or barely existent business processes lead to
people not really knowingwhat todo, and when it comes tomaking investments in IT to
supportthem,theendresultisautomatedchaosashasoftenbeenseeninhugegovernment
sponsoredprojects.
ITneedsbetter
integration
SimplybringingITintoautomatetasksdoesnotstreamlinebroaderbusinessprocesses.This
doesnotmeanthatasingleunifiedsystemistheonlysolution,butthatITinvestmentneedsto
bealignedtoandsupportedacrossthebusinessprocessesitismeanttoimprove.Thisprovides
amoreflexibleendresult,whichislikelytobejudgedasreasonablevaluefortheinvestment.
Gooddataiscritical Thebigdatatrendmightbemakingheadlines,butmanyintheinsurancesectorneedtobeensuringtheyaresimplygettingallthedatatheyreallyneed.Isitbigenoughdatatoday?For
manytheanswerisprobablyno,astheyarenotcapturingorextractingsufficientvaluefrom
external data sources. More importantly, too many are not able to generate the sort of
reportinginformationthatmanyotherindustrieswouldconsidercommonplaceanddesirable.
Simplechangescould
haveabigimpact
Tailoringforthespecificneedsofdifferentbrokersandmakingsimplechangestodatabeing
gatheredduringthesalesprocessseemtobeharderthanitshould.Thesearethethingsthat
caneatintoprecioustimeduringthesalescycleandreduceefficiency.Makingthemeasierto
accomplishwouldnotbeamajorchallengeyetwouldreapgoodresults.Manyintheindustry
arelookingtomaketheirsalesprocessmoreefficientandgeneratemorebusiness.Intough
economictimes,theseareunderstandableandworthwhilegoalsfortheirITsystemstodeliver.
Conclusions
Manyinsurancecompaniesareusing longestablished,but sometimesout-dated,processes.Unfortunately,at somepoint,many
willhaveappliedITsolutionstoareasoftheiroperationsintheexpectationthatthisalonewillmakethemmoreagilebusinesses.
Whileitmightimproveorautomatespecifictasks,overtimethelackofimprovementintheoverallbusinesswillbecomemore
apparent.ThekeyistomoveforwardwithbothupdatedbusinessprocessesandflexibleITsystemsthatarealigned,withgood
communicationandunderstandingbetweenITeitherinternaldepartmentsorexternalsuppliersandthosedrivingthebusiness.
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Introduction
Inthe currently challengingeconomic climateand highly connected world, the goal ofmanyis tobe agileand
adaptable.However,many industries arebasedonbusinessprocesses that have beenreliedon fordecades, sowhenorganisationsintroducetechnology, they tendtoautomatethoselong-standingprocesses,whichhopefully
generatessomeimprovement.Overtime,theimpactdiminishesandwhatisthenrequiredisamorefundamental
change.
Alltoooftenthisendsupasnomorethananincrementalchange,basedongeneraladvancesinthetechnology,
whichmightprovidesomeshorttermimprovement;butwhatisreallyrequiredisamorefar-reachinglookatthe
possibilitiespresentedbytheintroductionofmoremoderntechnology,coupledwithanunderstandingofwhatthe
businessneedsinordertofunctionmoreeffectively.
Thisisparticularlytrueinconservativeindustrieswithalongpedigreeandoftenahistoricresistancetosudden
change,suchastheinsurancesectororfinancialservices.Giventhatthesectorrevolvesaroundrisk,thisshouldnot
beasurprise,buttakingabroaderviewofthepotentialvalueoftechnologytothebusinessmightbevaluable.Today,theriskshouldnotbeviewedfromtheriskthechangecouldintroduce,buttheriskthebusinesswilltakeof
failinginitsmarketshoulditnotintroducesuitabletechnologicalchange.
This report is aimed at thosewho work in this industry, and have to consider how to best match technology
implementationdecisionswiththeneedsofbusinessprocesses.Theresearchhasbeenderivedfrom137telephone
interviews of senior decision makers working in UK insurance businesses. The individuals are those either
responsiblefor,orinvolvedin,thecoverholderstatusoftheirorganisation.Thecompaniesrangeinsizeofturnover
andnumbersofemployees,butarethosewherethebusinessmostlyaddressesthecommercialinsurancesector.
Reachingcustomers
Itmightbeahyper-connectedworldwithapervasiveinternetandmassesofmobilegadgetslikesmartphonesand
tablets,butreachingcustomersisstillachallengeinanybusiness.
Different people have their ownpreferences forboth
personalaswellasbusinesscommunications,andthe
explosion of activities using social media over recent
yearshaspushedthisevenfurther.Consumerisationof
technology hasmeant that almost everyonenow has
access to more and simpler to use IT and
communicationstoolsthaneverbefore.
Many products have broken free of their previously
geeky and only available in beige image, which has
considerably widened their appeal and acceptance.
However,thereiscertainlyamarkeddisparitybetween
the ways people prefer to communicate with
businesses, especially across different age groups
(Figure1).
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Theinterestingthingisthatface-to-facestillhasaprettyuniversalappeal,andwhiletherearedifferentfixedand
mobilepreferences,the phone also figuresvery highly.While theolder generationsuse of someof thenewer
modes of communicationmightbeabsent,as expected, itis also noticeable that theyoungergeneration isnot
reallyentirelydisposingoflegacymediaallmodesareinuse,whichhighlightsachallengethatorganisationswill
needtobeevenmoreflexibleinthewaystheycommunicateinfuture.Thisisalsonoticeableinthemassiveshiftin
theretailsectortowardsonlineservices,wherethesmarterretailerscombineonline,mobileandsocialexperiencestothenengagewiththeirlegacyphysicalpresencesorlogisticsprocesses.
As well as new modes of communication, many
organisations are broadening their external
relationshipsandrecognisingtheneedtoopenuptheir
ITbothtocustomersandbusinesspartners(Figure2).
Several factors are driving this, but getting closer to
customersandtyingcloser relationships inthe supply
chain figure highly. Both will accompany changes in
businessprocesses and IThasto be flexibleto adapt
andgrowwiththeseincreasingneeds.
There is a significant likelihood that insurance
companieswillneedtoevolveinsimilarwaysasthey
adapttothechangesinothermarketsaswellastheir
ownastohowtobestreachcurrentandnewcustomers.Thisalreadyappearstoberecognisedinmanyquarters
(Figure3althoughitshouldbenotedthatthisfigureonlypullsoutdatawhichhighlightsthedifferencesbetween
currentuseandfutureimportance).
Whilebrokersarestillthemostheavilyusedandexpectedtobeimportantchannelinfuture(notshown,butboth
around70%)anddirectsalesfollowcloselybehind,thereareotherroutesthatareclearlyundergoingsomedegree
ofre-assessmentandchange.
For smaller companies there would appear to be a
significantpushtowardstheuseofagents,withamore
mutedinterest inonlineandin-personsales.Whereas
larger companies are keener topush on furtherwith
online and call centres, but probably expecting to
reducetheiruseofbanksasachannel.
The lower appetite of smaller companies to online
mightseemstrangeasitcanbeagreatmarketleveller,
butitdoesrequiresignificantinvestmenttogetright,
andmostsmallerinsurancecompanieswillprobablybe
lackingthein-houseskillsorassignedbudget.Thisisa
mis-perceptionregardingthe scaleofbudgetrequired
butissomethingthat,withtherightexternalpartner,
couldoffersomesignificantandcosteffectivebenefit.
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Streamliningthebusinessprocess
While ITinvestmentcanstreamlineandautomatebusinessprocesses,itis firstimportanttounderstandhowthe
functionalityandapplicationsavailablemapontothecurrentand,critically,futureneedsofthetasksundertakenbytheorganisation(Figure4).
A change in strategy from the top to focus on a
different businessimperativeraises theimportanceof
particular businessprocesses andmay cause themto
need to be re-engineered completely, rather than
adapted.Howwell this ismet by the ITfunction will
depend on the flexibility of software currently inuse
andhowwellstructuredandarchitectedtheoverallIT
solutionis.
Of course, making IT fit to support current businessprocesses isall verywell, but itdoesalsodepend on
howwellcodifiedthoseprocessesareinthefirstplace.
Mostorganisationsareprettylaxand,althoughtheyhavelongestablishedpractices,theyaregenerallyknownand
understood by individuals in the organisation. This was no problem when employees stayed with the same
organisation formuch, or significantportions,of their
workinglifeandknowledgecouldbepassedon,butthis
israrelythecasetoday.Manymayaskwhydowedo
things this way in this company? but few, if any,
remainingemployeeswillknowtheanswer.
Those in the insurance industry interviewed in theresearchweremuchmorepositiveabouttheirbusiness
processes than is often seen in other industries
perhapsagainthisisduetotheunderstandingofriskin
thissector,andperhapsalsothelevelsoflegislationand
compliance.What was also clear was the relationship
betweenthosewhoviewedtheirsystemsasflexibleand
theprevalenceofwell-codifiedprocesses(Figure5).
While it was apparent in further questioning that
businessprocessesplayed a significant part in overall
flexibility,thesoftwareproductorproductsthemselves
areseenasthemostimportant(Figure6).Thepotentialglueforholdingsoftwareandprocesstogether,either
from software vendors themselves or the IT
department,does notseem to figureashighly,which
might imply a level of acceptanceof an off-the-shelf
approach, rather than tailoring something more
preciselytotheneedsoftheorganisation.
Thismightmeanmanyorganisationsaremissingoutor,
attheveryleast,notgainingasmuchvaluefromITas
theymight.
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GettingvaluefromITAllofthecompaniesinterviewedhadmorethanonewaytoreachtheircustomersandwhilebrokerswerevery
oftenthemainchannels,therewouldbeotherroutesincludingdirectsales,online,agentsandcallcentres.Each
channel has different requirements in the support it
needsfromIT systems,and although somewill have
from the outset adopted an integrated approach, it
should be no surprise that many organisations will
have deployedmultiple different IT applicationsover
theyears.
Thereisavariationinhowthesehavebeenintegrated
over time to provide a more cohesive approach or
indeed been replaced, especially for companies ofdiffering sizes and IT capabilities (Figure 7). Smaller
companiesinparticulararemorelikelytohavetodeal
withdisparatesystems.
Whiletheremightoftenbesomemeritandappealin
acquiringandusingseparatetools,eachbesthonedto
thetaskinhand,thisultimatelymakesthingsmorecomplexespeciallyintheuseofITapplications.Usershaveto
learndifferentwaysofdoingthingsforeachapplicationand,astheyswitchfromonetoanother,errorscanoccur.
Some organisations are sufficiently large so that
different teams work in the different channels and
thereforerarelyswitchapplicationusage,butstillthecompany surely needs to combine customer
informationatsomepoint?
Not only does the lack of integration cause
complexity, it also ultimately reduces the
organisationsabilitytoreactandadapttochange
not good at a timewhen greater flexibility is being
calledfor.
Despite the relative prevalence of disparate
applications and siloed processes, many of those
interviewed felt they were getting good value from
their IT (Figure 8). This is particularly worthwhile
praiseasthoseinterviewedwereprimarilyheadingupthebusinessfunction.
However, the views divergedmarkedly when taking intoaccount system flexibility. Given that more think that
flexibilitycomesfromapplicationsandbusinessprocesses ratherthan theIT department,thisismorea positive
messageaboutsoftware than perhapsthosewho sell,install,maintainorintegrateit.Clearly,moreneedstobe
donetoensurethebusinessisextractingthefullvaluefromitsITinvestments.
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Bigdata,littleissues
Inrecenttimes,oneoftheITindustrybuzztermshasbeenbigdata.Unfortunately,manycommentatorsconfused
this with a lot ofdata, and lead people tobelieve that a bigger databaseon better hardware is the answer.However,bigdatacoversmuchmoreasthesourcesandtypesofdataanorganisationnowhastodealwitharefar
broaderandmorenumerous,comparedtothoseeven10yearsago.
Thebestwaytounderstandhowbigdatamightbeusedisviathe5Vsapproach:
- Volume The one that everyone tendsto focuson.Of course,highvolumesof datacan cause issues,particularlywhererealtimeanalyticsarerequired,butmanyorganisationsarenotcollectingallthedata
theycansimplybecausetheydonothaveacurrentuseforit.
- VarietyDatacomesinmanydifferenttypesandformats.Adatabasewithrowsandcolumnsofdata;anOfficedocumentmuchlessstructuredwithlargeblocksoftextinit;thedatareturnedfromawebsearch
willhaveevenlessstructure;whilebinarydatasuchasimage,voiceandvideocreatetheirownproblems.Ensuringthatanorganisationcandealwiththedifferenttypesofdataiscrucial.
- VelocityThespeedatwhichdataiscominginandthespeedinwhichitneedstobedealtwitharealsochallenges.Largevolumesofdataovershortperiodsoftimerequirehighlyscalablesystems,whilebusiness
requirementsfortheanalysisofdatainevershortertimescalesmeansthatold-stylebatchthinkingisno
longerapplicable.
- Veracityhowgoodarethedatainputs,andhowdoesthisimpactthequalityoftheanalyticaloutputs?Inmanysituations,itisacaseofgarbagein,garbageoutifthedatafeedsarenotproperlymanaged,then
thecleanlinessandveracityofthedatawillsuffer,aswillanydecisionsbeingmadefromtheanalysis.
-
ValueIsthedatastreamworthbotheringwith?Doesitcontainanythingofrealvaluetothebusinessorcanitbedisregardedor,evenbetter,deletedfromtheorganisationssystems?
Byensuringthatthese5Vsarekeptinmind,thevalueofcollectingdifferenttypesofdatacanbeassessed.Sotoo
canthepotentialvaluelostbynotcollectinginformation.Onesuchareaofinterestfortheinsurancesectormight
betheinformationaboutcustomers.
During the sales cycle, there will be a lot of well
formattedinformationcollectedbecauseof itsknown
value to the current process. However the value of
nuggetsofinsightinunstructuredorunformatteddata
might only be revealed in the future and yet the
systems used by almost half of the organisations
intervieweddoesnotcapturethispotentiallyvaluable
informationorstoresitinawaythatmakesitdifficult
touse(Figure9).
Thevalueofanyformofhistoricalinformationisthatit
can be analysed after the event, but, increasingly,
informationcanbeautomaticallyassessedliveasitis
beingcapturedtoimprovetheprocess.
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Thismightbesomethingassimpleascapturingafurtherelementofdetailfromthecustomerthatmightprove
useful furtherdown thecustomer lifecycle, or themore complexabilityto glean insight from a combinationof
customerevents.Forexamplethesortofthingthat,inotherindustries,mightbeusedtospotanomalousbehaviour
orfraudulentactivityinreal-timeasithappens.
Theextension of interest indata tobothcurrent andhistoricalsignificanceseemedagaintobeanareathat
manyinsurancecompaniesseemtobelacking,ascan
beseenbyhowfarreportingcapabilitiesextend(Figure
10).Over aquarterare unable togetlive orcurrent
sales reporting and over half with no historical
customer satisfaction reporting paints a very sparse
informationpicture.
Given the low cost and high availability of storage
systems and increasingly smart search and business
intelligenceextractiontools,thiswouldappeartobea
missed opportunity for the industry to gain moreinsight.
Morecouldalsobedonein theareaofcapturingpotentiallyusefuldatafromexternalsourcesandintegratingit
withtheinformationcapturedduringstandardbusinessprocesses.This again isalreadyafeatureofmanyother
industries. In retail, information from weather sources and traffic flows is captured to determine productmix,
staffingandsupplyrequirements.
Geographic and mapping information is increasingly
being usedto determinewherebestto providemore
resources, and social media feeds are being used to
spot trends and potential opportunities not being
detectedthroughanyexistingofficialchannel.
However,manyinsurancecompaniesdo notintegrate
datafromexternalsources,butmostalsodonotregard
itasaproblem(Figure11).Whileitmightbepragmatic
tobecautiousandnotblunderintoareaswheregreat
investmentscanbemadeforverylittleactualreturn
assomehavefoundtotheircostinsocialmediathe
entire outsideworldof data should not bedismissed
toocasually.
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Targetingimprovements
InadditiontothechangeshighlightedearlierthatmightbetteralignITwithbusinessprocessesandcapturemore
andrelevantdata,therearefurtherimprovementsthatmanycouldmakewithalittlemoreflexibilityintheirIT.
Givenhowheavilyusedthebrokerchanneliscurrently,
and the importance it is given for the future, it is
surprising how little tailoring of systems is in place,
with only around half having capabilities todo some
tailoring(Figure12).
It mightbe thatmany do not want to customise, or
perhaps they are not aware of the possibilities, but
most industries have found that this sort of
adaptabilityworkswellfor cementing relationships in
anychannelorecosystemofpartners.
Thismightbemorestrategicadjustmentortailoring,
buttherearerequirementsofamuchmoretacticalor
day-to-daynaturethatarealsobeingmissedtoanextent.
For around one ineight of those interviewed, making
changestobasicsettingssuchasdocumentwordingand
simple data such as limits and endorsements is
describedasdifficultorverydifficult(Figure13).
Evenif this just describes a need for more training, it
highlightsthechallengesfacedbymanyusingcomplexIT systems. If it is difficult to use, then more time is
spent on mundane activities and not on those that
might be bringing in more business (or making the
customerexperiencemorepleasantandrewarding).
Whereitisdeemedverydifficult,itismorelikelythat
userswilltryandavoiditorfindaworkaroundwhich
canthenintroduceerrorsordataentriesthatcannotbe
alignedwithotherdataenteredinthepreferredway.Indeed,inmanycases,attemptstoavoidareasthatareseen
asverydifficultcananddoleadtoaccusationsofmis-selling,whereinformationprovidedbytheagenthasnot
been properly entered and stored during the selling
process.
Theinsurancesectorisnotimmunetothechallengesof
needing to bring inmore business or process existing
opportunitiesfaster,andorganisationsshouldbelooking
to technology that will better support them in their
efforts in these areas. This is precisely what those
interviewedwanted to see from improvements help
them become more effective inmanaging and closing
deals(Figure14).
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There isa clearandstronginterest inimproving theefficiency ofexisting deal processing,significantlyover and
aboveothergrowthdriverssuchasmakingiteasiertohavemoreproductsorincreasingsalesvolume.
Moreefficientdealprocessingisnotonlyaboutdoingmorebusinessandmorequickly,butalsoreducingcostsand
allowingpeople togetmoredonewiththeirtime this isaworthwhiletangiblegainwhich justifiesinvestment.
Indeed,makingdealprocessingmoreeffectiveandefficient freesup time forpeopleto focusmoreon theotherareas,soallowingforincreasingvolumesofsalesthatcanbeclosedmoreeasily.Withthesestepsinplace,people
willthenbemoreopentotheintroductionofnewproductsandthetargetingofawidergroupofprospects,inthe
knowledgethattheywillbeabletodealwiththeextraworkloadcausedthroughthis.
Conclusionsworththetime?BetteralignmentbetweenITandbusinessprocesses.Aworthygoal,yetoftensodifficulttoachieve.Itisalsooften
difficult to justify as, while most people individually have some gut feeling that streamlining processes and
improving systemflexibilitywill lead tomore efficient andeffectiveoutcomes,it isdifficultto predictthewiderimpactupfront.
Evenwithinthisresearch,wewereaskingpeoplefortheiropinions.However,therespondentswerethosewith
significantbusiness responsibility and, by analysing their combined thinking, we get some insight into how the
industryoverallmightviewitsefficiency,whatmightbedonetoimproveitandwhattheendvaluemightbe.
Most expected only relatively small incremental improvements of between 5% to 20%, with efficiency of deal
closingandtheabilitytocloseagreaterpercentageofdealsbeingofgreatestvalue.Greaterefficiencysavestime,
or,looked atanotherway, demonstrates the time that currentlymight bebeing wasted throughbadly defined
processesandpoorITimplementationsaswellasanymis-matchbetweenthetwo.
Thoseinterviewedconservativelyestimatedatimesavingofafewhoursperweekpersalesperson,butwhenthenumbersarescaledupbythenumberofpeopleworkinginsales,theybecomesignificantacrosstheindustryasa
wholeaswellasforeachcompany(Figure15).
When the potential savings were combinedwith the
numberofsalesfolkineachcompany,itaveragedout
ataroundbetween1500and3000workinghoursper
company per year equivalent to between one and
twopeoplepercompanyasignificantsaving.
Toachievethisthekeythingforanyorganisationisnot
tosmartenupbusinessprocessesor investinnovelIT
inisolation.BringthebusinessandITpeopletogether,
andfindflexiblesolutionsthatwilladapttochangesin
themarketandmovewiththebusinessasitevolves.
References
1OfcomCommunicationsReportJuly2012
2QuocircaDigitalidentitiesandtheopenbusinessresearchMarch2013
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AboutMercatoSolutions
Birmingham-basedMercatoSolutionsisamulti-millionpoundorganisationhelpingaglobalclientbasetransform
businessprocessesandisoneofEMEAsfastestgrowingsoftwarebusinesses.
Thisaward-winningbusinesspridesitselfondecadesofinnovation,offeringafamilyofready-to-deployKnowledge-basedplatformsandapplicationsaswellasbespokework.
KnowledgeKubeisaflexibleplatformthatenablesnon-programmerstocreateandstreamlinebusinessprocessesto
increase productivity. An Insurance Edition isdedicated to thedesign,developmentand publishing of insurance
productsonline,helpinginsurers,brokersandMGAsincreaseincomebyreducingtime,costandriskintheproduct-
to-marketprocessworldwide.www.knowledgekube.co.ukwww.knowledgekube-insurance.co.uk
KnowledgeBusis abusinessintelligence platform forprocurers.The ITEdition isCIPS accreditedandautomates
benchmarking of purchases against trade guide price and stock, giving IT buyers the knowledge they need to
negotiatebetterdealswithsuppliers,sounlockingmorefromtheirITprocurement.www.knowledgebus-it.co.uk
MercatoranksasoneofBritainsWorld-beatingmanufacturersontheGovernmentsMadebyBritainlistandthe
G-CloudframeworkandhashelpedcustomerProbrandsecureaQueensAwardforInnovation.
www.mercatosolutions.co.uk
T:44(0)1216052050
45-55CamdenStreet
Birmingham
B13BP
Follow:@Mercato_S@KnowledgeKube@KnowledgeBus
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AboutQuocirca
Quocircaisa primaryresearchandanalysis companyspecialisingin the
business impact of information technology and communications (ITC).
With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth
insightsintotheviewsofbuyersandinfluencersin large,mid-sizedand
small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-world
practitionerswithfirst-handexperienceofITCdeliverywhocontinuously
researchandtracktheindustryanditsrealusageinthemarkets.
Throughresearchingperceptions,Quocircauncoverstherealhurdlesto
technology adoption the personal and political aspects of an
organisations environment and the pressures of the need for
demonstrablebusiness value in any implementation. This capability to
uncover and report back on the end-user perceptions in the market
enables Quocirca to provide advice on the realities of technology
adoption,notthepromises.
Quocirca research is always pragmatic, business orientated and
conducted in the context of the bigger picture. ITC has the ability to
transformbusinessesand theprocessesthatdrivethem,butoftenfails
to do so. Quocircas mission is to help organisations improve their
success rate in process enablement through better levels of
understanding and the adoption of the correct technologies at the
correcttime.
Quocircahasapro-activeprimaryresearchprogramme,regularlysurveyingusers,purchasersandresellersofITC
productsandservicesonemerging,evolvingandmaturingtechnologies.Overtime,Quocircahasbuiltapictureof
longterminvestmenttrends,providinginvaluableinformationforthewholeoftheITCcommunity.
QuocircaworkswithglobalandlocalprovidersofITCproductsandservicestohelpthemdeliveronthepromisethat
ITCholdsfor business.Quocircasclients includeOracle, IBM, CA,O2, T-Mobile,HP, Xerox,RicohandSymantec,
alongwithotherlargeandmediumsizedvendors,serviceprovidersandmorespecialistfirms.
DetailsofQuocircasworkandtheservicesitofferscanbefoundat http://www.quocirca.com
Disclaimer:
ThisreporthasbeenwrittenindependentlybyQuocircaLtd.Duringthepreparationof thisreport,Quocircamay
haveusedanumberofsourcesfortheinformationandviewsprovided.AlthoughQuocircahasattemptedwherever
possibletovalidatetheinformationreceivedfromeachvendor,Quocircacannotbeheldresponsibleforanyerrorsininformationreceivedinthismanner.
AlthoughQuocircahastakenwhatstepsitcantoensurethattheinformationprovidedinthisreportistrueand
reflects real marketconditions,Quocircacannottake anyresponsibility forthe ultimate reliabilityof thedetails
presented.Therefore,Quocircaexpresslydisclaimsallwarrantiesandclaimsastothevalidityofthedatapresented
here,includinganyandallconsequentiallossesincurredbyanyorganisationorindividualtakinganyactionbased
onsuchdataandadvice.
Allbrandandproductnamesarerecognisedandacknowledgedastrademarksorservicemarksoftheirrespective
holders.
REPORT NOTE:This report has been writtenindependently by Quocirca Ltdto provide an overview of theissues facing insuranceorganisations seeking tomaximise the effectiveness oftheir IT systems and businessprocesses.
The report is based on primaryresearch interviews of the UKinsurance sector conducted in
the summer of 2013 and alsodraws on Quocircas extensiveknowledge of the technologyand business arenas, andprovides advice on theapproach that organisationsshould take to create a moreeffective, efficient and flexibleenvironment.