Connecting the dots: the difference the right platform can make

The amount of different technologies enterprises use is quickly spinning out of control. And the bigger the company, the more apps per employee. That means more apps to manage, secure, update, upgrade and maintain.

Not only maintaining the inflated IT infrastructure is a challenge (and a costly one at that), but the number of apps also negatively affects overall productivity. Employees switch apps more than 1,100 times a day. Ineffective software and inefficient processes are impacting the productivity of many employees. Ironically, the technology that is meant to make companies more productive is becoming quickly unmanageable, leading to productivity losses across the organization.

Entering the platform age of digital technology

The role of technology keeps changing and adapting as the world around us evolves. Oxbow partners have identified four stages of digital insurance technology: record keeping age, processing age, digital age and platform age.

During the first two stages, the record-keeping and processing age, the role of technology was mostly delegated to improving back-office processes and operations. 

With the advent of the digital age, the role of technology has shifted fundamentally towards a central value driver within the business. Technology becomes more customer-oriented, and connects the back- and front- office functions.

The digital age is behind us. Welcome to the platform age

Today, we are seeing another paradigm shift in digital technology. In the platform age, technology and business functions become indistinguishable. Technology no longer supports business, it in many ways, IS, the business.

Doing business without heavily relying on digital channels for customer origination, onboarding, service and support is no longer an option even in traditional businesses such as insurance.

Platforms are invaluable for business outcomes

A platform is a fundamentally different product when compared to a simple SaaS application. A platform connects the dots and different technologies from across the organization in order to deliver insights, improve outcomes, and streamline operations.

It doesn’t serve a single function, it orchestrates processes and centralizes data.

Why we chose a platform approach for EasySend

The separation between front- and back-end functions in insurance is no longer sustainable. While each area relies on its own discrete tech stack to function, the organization as a whole must maintain continuous communication between all the processes within the organization.

You cannot have great customer service without integration to your internal workflows. And you cannot create front-end customer experiences without connections to your core systems. It just wouldn’t work.

Customers demand that their data will be used responsibly in order to improve their experience with the company. Insurers can no longer afford to ask the same questions over and over again as they did in the past. So, the data must flow freely between various moving parts to ensure that every process is as quick and efficient as it possibly can be.

That is the approach we took with EasySend. EasySend acts as an orchestration layer between the company, the technologies it uses, and the customers. EasySend is a tool for building and optimizing digital customer journeys in insurance and banking. But it is also much more than that. We realized that you cannot create outstanding front-end experiences without seamless integration into the organizations’ workflows and various technologies it uses.

No single layer in the system can act as a discrete area. It is all interconnected and intertwined. EasySend is there to empower organizations to transition to the next stage in technological evolution.

The era of silos is over. Welcome to the platform age of digital technology.