irrelevant to the strategy of the insurer.
The mood is increasingly for relevant information to be placed in the hands of the decision-maker, from a common source, so that, regardless of personal interpretation, there can be no doubt as to the source of the information and its veracity. This is often described as a ‘single version of the truth.’ To do this requires an information infrastructure which places data at the heart of the organization, centrally stored and accessible but with access appropriate to need and clearances. Many if not all business intelligence systems provide such capability which has become in effect a hygiene factor in creating a BI or ‘Business Intelligence’ solution.
The concept of a ‘single version of the truth’ lends itself to a data warehouse where information is held for the common benefit and is accessible accordingly. Such warehouses are usually in the form of an OLAP ‘cube’ of inter-related or ‘relational’ data and in most cases form the foundation of a business intelligence strategy for the insurance organization. (‘OLAP’ is an acronym for ‘Online Analytical Processing.’) Think of this as data held in a form of ‘Rubik's Cube’ rather than held in a flat form, and allowing the user (with appropriate access) to cut and slice the data according to their needs. In some cases, the data may be so large as to require the need for an intermediate data warehouse, or ‘datamart,’ so that the most important data allows more rapid interrogation.
Such an approach also demands a change in the function of the IT department who are also transforming from being the gatekeepers of the organization to the facilitators of information. They have a role in terms of the integration of systems and capabilities but as the demand for information increases it is critical that the IT department are seen as the ‘key enablers’ rather than any form of bottleneck. The days of waiting for reports from the IT department are rapidly disappearing. The most insightful organizations are transforming the function of the IT department into a role which fully supports the business – perhaps something they themselves have always aspired to be. The change is as much around culture and capability as it is around attitude.
Such an approach requires the IT department to be much more aligned with the business issues of the organization as with the technological requirements. It requires technology experts to sit with line of business decision-makers to understand their issues and to consider how technology can help an insurer reduce cost, improve profitability and reduce risk. It is a conversation about business issues converged with technology rather than forcing new technologies into business scenarios. Technologists increasingly need to understand that in the future (perhaps current) world of insurance, business and technology need to work absolutely hand in hand.
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