BNP Paribas Cardif

Benny Lee

With AI, ML, and DL on everyone’s lips, it’s no exaggeration that today’s tech world is enamoured with shiny new innovations that promise an exciting digital future, with companies jumping on the bandwagon for reasons ranging from industry disruption to opportunities to vaunt R&D prowess.

New technologies indeed have dramatic impact. And all businesses would do well to develop capabilities in these areas, even if only to stay competitive.

However, we must take care not to get so dazzled that we lose sight of the core fundamental of creating tech solutions: user-centricity.

The user, not the technology, is often the most effective starting point of all tech solutions. Solutions exist to resolve user problems. And if, at times, the adoption of advanced technologies in certain solutions feels shoehorned, or their effectiveness appears limited, it might well be because they are not the best fit for the user’s purpose.

This is not to say we eschew new technologies. For one, BNP Paribas Cardif’s global analytics teams are working to offer a unique, AI-as-a-service initiative across all our markets. In Asia specifically, our flagship software platform will soon offer AI functionality to maximise value creation.

But the adoption of new tech is not a shortcut to success. Even AI can only take things so far. In the long run, a user-first mindset and a spirit of continuous improvement are still the keys to a winning solution.

Users First

What does this look like in real life? One example is how we created our award-winning software platform, ONESystem. This was in 2022, after the insurance industry across Asia had already undergone a wave of pandemic-catalysed digitisation.

Most industry players employ piecemeal design principles, and the typical approach is to integrate solutions from multiple providers to address various business needs. But this created inefficient workflows, advanced innovations notwithstanding.

"In times of economic crisis, a strong waste framework and conservative spending on tech can be critical contributions to keeping companies afloat."

We felt this would not live up to our promise to make insurance more accessible. So we invested in a “people-first” approach to ground the design in the perspective of users: our staff, partners, salespeople and end-customers. Through extended conversations with salespeople, call centre staff, and operations employees, we identified t h e i r most critical pain points.

Rather than default to applying advanced technologies as a salve for everything, we aimed to work smart by choosing the most effective solutions to each problem. Some issues we saw would be best solved by tweaking operational processes, not the introduction of more or better tech. Others required automation to streamline, and deeper digital investment.

The result of this process was a low/no-code platform that leans heavily on open APIs. With a single sign-on to interconnected solutions, it makes the process of rapid internal and partner innovation convenient and frictionless.

More importantly, the feedback was that it was “designed by experts who know and care a lot about the people who use it.” This is how we know it hit the mark.

Small, Continuous Improvements

Insurance giants – indeed, many large corporations – move like large liners. Heavy regulation, complex legacy systems, and a risk-averse culture that prioritises stability and reliability over innovation often means changing direction and enacting rapid change requires much effort.

As such. big, sparkly solutions often take years to build. And the tech field is developing so fast that by that time, newer innovations might have come and swept away current knowledge.

This is where a mindset of continuous improvement can be valuable. With ONESystem, we launched the solution in six months, planning to add features and enhancements later along the way.

The shorter timeline and lower investment saw quicker approvals. Putting up a lean working version of the solution sooner meant more user feedback, and the ability to adjust course and see early results: stronger bottom lines, more new business, and higher customer satisfaction. This, in turn, made stakeholder buyin easy.

In times of economic crisis, a strong waste framework and conservative spending on tech can be critical contributions to keeping companies afloat. Against this backdrop, teams must work to prove that solutions meet business objectives – and bear in mind that the latest technologies, while tempting, may not always be best suited to improving the customer journey in a cost-efficient way.

So even as we continue to explore the latest and greatest innovations, it may be useful to reserve space for a mental audit of what sets a sexy solution, and a winning solution, apart.

What is the user’s true problem? Does it warrant a cutting-edge innovation? Can we get there quickly enough? And most importantly: Is this simply a cool project? Perhaps the answers may lead you down an unexpected new route.