Old Mutual Insure Brochure 2019 by Business Chief Africa

OLD MUTUAL INSURE Marsh is proud to SUSTAINABLE DIGITAL be a core partner of TRANSFORMATION IN Old Mutual Insurance AN EVOLVING MARKET

across Africa

OLD MUTUAL INSURE SUSTAINABLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN AN EVOLVING MARKET WRIT TEN BY

M ARCUS L AWRENCE PRODUCED BY

M A LVERN K ANDEM WA

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Ashley Singh, Head of IT at Old Mutual Insure, discusses the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainable digital transformation journey in the South African market

ld Mutual Insure, a subsidiary of the historic Old Mutual financial services company,

is currently in the midst of an exciting period of digital transformation. The company has been in operation for over 180 years, recently rebranding from Mutual and Federal to Old Mutual Insure, making it the oldest insurance firm in South Africa. Over that time, Old Mutual Insure has developed a laudable reputation for customer centricity and service quality which

are values that form the foundations

“Digital transformation is here, and

of its digital transformation journey.

as companies we need to get on board

Ashley Singh, Head of IT at Old

with it sooner rather than later,” says

Mutual Insure, spoke with Business

Singh. “It’s important to embed that

Chief about the company’s digital

in local optimisation, and we must ask

transformation journey thus far, and the

what is fit for purpose for the company,

focus on establishing lean operations

the country and the continent.” Singh

that maximise efficiency and improve

continues: “What we want to implement

the customer experience. Singh also

is a very light digital infrastructure;

highlights the process that takes the

one that enables us to be quite nimble,

local economy and digital infrastructure

yet also flexible enough for customers

into account at every stage, ensuring

and industry businesses to do business

a responsible and sustainable approach.

with us. We try to be very light from w w w.o l dmut ua l .c o .z a / in s u re

“ Erum ut ulpa volorerios alibus “ E verything repudae autthat we do asincipsum a business is quam quam dolupta focused on enabling non pa seq uatest, a smoother and faster nectate customer journey” minullandiae con — sit volorpo es Ashley Singh, risquid Head of IT at Old Ma Mutual Insure autatiumqui illoreni cus aut” 06

— Name of Person, Position and company

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MUTUAL & FEDERAL PROUDLY BECOMES OLD MUTUAL INSURE’ 07 a digital structural footprint perspective

as operational costs are brought down.

to enable nimbleness when engaging

“Everything we do as a business

with our customer and business partners.”

is focused on enabling a smoother

Singh identifies speed to market as one of the biggest drivers behind

and faster customer journey.” A significant part of establishing

the industry-wide transition to digital

the digital-driven approach to improving

processes, meeting the expectations

the customer experience is in the

of consumers who appreciate the

establishment of a modern operational

immediacy with which they can leverage

culture. Prior to becoming Head of IT,

new products, services, and solutions

Singh served Old Mutual Insure

that is afforded by disruptive technologies.

as the Head of Development and

“The second most significant factor

was instrumental in introducing Agile

is reducing costs where possible,”

methodologies to the organisation,

Singh says, and indeed leaner opera-

laying the foundations for a measured

tions ultimately benefit the customer

and precise digital transformation w w w.o l dmut ua l .c o .z a / in s u re

strategy. “A lot of what the work as

capability back into the arm, as well

Head of Development entailed was

as digital delivery, which was missing

in setting up processes, establishing

beforehand.” The advent of Old Mutual

Agile within the organisation.” Singh’s

Insure’s modernised operations,

influence has continued from there,

particularly with Agile and DevOps

with a pivotal role across myriad stages

methodologies in play, have been

of the journey. “I thereafter became

particularly impactful to the time

the Head of Solution Delivery, estab-

to market of the company’s products,

lishing the firm’s business analysis

services, and solutions, as well as the

processes, the systems analysis, the

establishment of digital technologies

testing capability and the integration

at the firm.

“ What we want to implement is a very light digital infrastructure, one that enables us to be quite nimble” — Ashley Singh, Head of IT at Old Mutual Insure

Looking forward, Old Mutual Insure

handled responsibly and securely.

is maintaining its measured approach

The level of care applied to cybersecurity

to adoption of disruptive technologies

practices extends to every consideration

whilst assessing the benefits and

of disruptive technologies, particularly

suitability of a wide range of exciting

in terms of corporate responsibility

new options. Cybersecurity is naturally

and awareness of the appropriacy

at the forefront of considerations

of installing particular solutions and

for any firm handling sensitive data,

innovative ideas within the context

and Old Mutual Insure has established

of South African infrastructure.

a potent array of security-focused solutions to ensure such data is

“Another major trend is the Internet of Things,” Singh notes. “With regards

w w w.o l dmut ua l .c o .z a / in s u re

Johannesburg, South Africa

1831

Year founded

2010

Became wholly-owned subsidiary of the Old Mutual Group

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Marsh is proud to be a core partner of Old Mutual Insurance across Africa

MARSH AFRICA www.marsh.com | +27 11 060 7100 An authorised financial services provider | FSP: 8414

“ As much as IoT is growing and blowing up overseas and in Europe, we have to manage that with a level of caution in South Africa”

— Ashley Singh, Head of IT at Old Mutual Insure

to the Internet of Things, as much

still have an environment where there

as it’s growing and blowing up over-

is limited signal. There are portions

seas and in Europe, we have to manage

of the country that do not have data

that with a level of caution in South

coverage. That is a big consideration.”

Africa. The reason being is that the

This challenge consequentially impacts

cost of data is quite high. As much

the immediate viability of introducing

as the Internet of Things can enable

artificial intelligence and machine

many new offerings that take the

learning software that rely on a strong

business forward, we have to find

data backbone to operate effectively.

suitability for people in South Africa

Old Mutual Insure is nonetheless

and the African continent because of

working to find a solution to this

the cost of data and the fact that we

challenge, leveraging the streamlining w w w.o l dmut ua l .c o .z a / in s u re

“ In rebranding from Mutual and Federal to Old Mutual Insure, we have created much more synergy with the larger group” — Ashley Singh, Head of IT at Old Mutual Insure

capabilities that such technologies offer to drive efficiency and positively 14

impact the consumer experience. This focus on sustainable operations is at the heart of Old Mutual Insure’s digital transformation journey, and Singh ensures his finger remains firmly on the pulse with the latest sustainability trends and practices of business leaders around the world. “To remain sustainable, we keep our ear to the ground in terms of what the leaders are doing, what Gartner and other research authorities mention that is moving companies towards the Magic Quadrants. We study what’s taking place abroad, and marry that with local relevance before coming up with a solution that’s fit for purpose,”

Singh adds: “Anything that we implement, be it an application or actual infrastructure, we ensure that it’s fit for the business purpose. We tie it back to solid business, or solid investment that maximises return on the investment.” Old Mutual Insure is certainly well positioned to continually capitalise on the benefits that disruptive technologies bring, and its modern, sustainable approach offers a model for success achieved in the right way. “I think Old Mutual Insure is on an exciting journey,” Singh says. “In rebranding from Mutual and Federal to Old Mutual Insure, we have created much more synergy with the larger Group, and it also helps us reposition for success. From an IT perspective, we are looking at our entire application staff in terms of what legacy applications we have. How can we modernise operations? We’re looking closely at each of our processes, and I think that in the end the business will have a significantly more competitive advantage in the market.”

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Old Mutual Insure Old Mutual Insure Centre 75 Helen Joseph Street Johannesburg, 2001 T +27 11 374 4880 www.oldmutual.co.za/insure