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joseph_pacor
Advisor
Advisor

***Update***: as noted at the end of this blog, the session replays are now available here

Following the interactive and content-packed Day 1 of the SAP Financial Services Forum, Day 2 kept the momentum going. The general session Keynote was kicked off by Todd Freedman, Head of Strategy, SAP and covered the power of collaboration and business networks. The idea is to connect every business, across every core business process that’s critical to the success of companies, everywhere. The connected business network will enable companies to re-imagine the way businesses manage their resources globally, connecting travel, procurement, contingent workforces or any other spend, in real time.

The morning sessions then broke out into 3 groups: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and Insurance. For the Insurance track, the session breakouts focused on customer loyalty and the informed cross-sell. Two of the presentations are highlighted below, and I encourage you to revisit this blog in the future for recordings of all of the participants.

                        

Aviva- Dr. Margaret Robbins, (Analyst Data, Analytics and Insight, Aviva) discussed how firms can predict behavior and make more intelligent use of customer data. But first, the tensions between ’Data guys’ (database and analytics) and ‘Marketing guys’ (creative) must be resolved to create synergy. Some examples of what’s needed for communication’s synergy included: Data guys must learn to speak English (!), while Marketing guys must challenge techno-speak; and, Data guys want accuracy and precision to be perfect, while Marketing guys must communicate what’s ‘good enough’. Once the tensions are resolved, the foundation is set for more effective use of modelling in marketing. This includes decisions on how many people to contact, limitations, and sales by direct contact, all of which have led to improved campaign ROI.

      

Ovum- Charles Juniper (Principal Analyst, Insurance, Ovum) examined how well the insurance industry is doing in building the foundation for digital change. For starters, the trend from 2008-2012 has been reversed, with insurance ranking 5th out of 18 verticals for IT budget expansion. Overall, the global investment in digital communication with customers is expected to be $17 billion in 2015. However, he was quick to point out that the next challenge is adoption of digital inside the organization. This includes investment in core operation systems thru digital collaboration. Look out for his study in September based on 530 interviews of insurance executives titled “Core Operations Platforms to Support the Digital Insurer”, sponsored by SAP.

Day 2 of the SAP Financial Services Forum  concluded with a robust discussion and debate about re-imagining Financial Services for the next generation. The panel of speakers from across the 2 days spoke about how the industry will evolve in the 21st century.

If you couldn’t attend the forum, we plan on making the session replays available shortly.