Other parts of this series:
We know from Accenture’s Cloud Readiness Study that insurers recognize the many benefits of cloud adoption and are ready to get started on their transformation. As I explained in my previous post, there are four key focus areas that can help you expand and accelerate your cloud transformation, putting you in the best position to begin a full cloud migration.
The following four key steps can help ensure your journey to the cloud is smooth.
- Set priorities. While selecting the applications that are most ready to move to the cloud might seem like the logical starting place, an alternative migration starter is identifying those applications that have the most immediate business impact. The key business case drivers for each carrier should influence the migration plans. While it might be easiest to prove technical capabilities by choosing smaller, non-integrated applications, including applications that can immediately provide greater business value from cloud capabilities is important to gain momentum and buy-in across the IT/business partnerships.
- Build skills. You’ll get the greatest value from any technology when your people know how to use it. Cloud migration is about much more than investing in technology. Make sure you also invest in talent and training. Without qualified cloud-ready employees, even the most technology-robust migration will fail.
- Assess processes and tools. Take a good look at how you can use automation and self-service options to fine-tune your processes and tools. Then design and execute your cloud migration based on a rapid production-oriented mindset.
- Strengthen the links between IT and business. A cloud migration should ideally be a holistic, enterprise-wide undertaking. It requires communication, collaboration and full organizational engagement. Make sure you strengthen the relationships between IT and your business functions, rather than operating within silos, and extend cloud into under-represented business areas.
Cloud migration has a silver lining
The results from our study on insurer cloud readiness make it clear that insurers are ready to embrace the cloud and that many have made very good progress in that direction in terms of planning and preparedness. Several insurers are even taking some big, decisive steps along the cloud migration path. As an insurer, your ultimate goal should be to use cloud technology to increase efficiency and accelerate the development of profitable new products and services.
But we also know from our study results that insurers still have some barriers to overcome in the areas of acquiring key talent that can enable the transition, addressing ongoing security concerns in the cloud, and harmonizing the efforts between IT and lines of business once in the cloud. The good news is, you don’t have to face these challenges on your own. There are numerous third party resources that offer abundant help, including training employees and applying specific implementation skills. Do not hesitate to use them to your benefit.
The barriers to cloud adoption are not show stoppers. The right approach will make those barriers more manageable. Readiness is the first step. Insurers who take the right next steps, as I’ve explained here, can exploit this transformative technology to bring greater value to their businesses.
For more information about insurer readiness for the cloud, read the Accenture report: Take Insurance to New Heights.
