As insurers move toward 2010, most continue to invest in future growth – an encouraging sign despite a tough year in 2009. Information technology in general, and content management in particular, are a strategic part of that investment. Once considered a luxury to be expanded in flush times, technology is now a strategic means of surviving and outperforming the competition, assisting in revenue collection, product development decisions, customer service, cost reduction, and more. Sources ranging from Insurance Networking News, Tech Decisions, and Claims to Infonomics and KM World sport a common theme: a new emphasis on understanding data and using it strategically for the benefit of the enterprise.

Content takes center stage

According to the December, 2009 Tech Decisions SMA Research Insurance Ecosystem webinar Riding the Wave: Insurer Technology Spending, Drivers and Approaches for 2010 and Beyond, company growth, business process optimization, cost containment, and customer service are top 2010 drivers for technology investment. Although growth (the top driver for 66% of companies surveyed) has taken the spotlight, the priorities are not new. What’s changed? Recognition that the wisdom we need to make smart, timely business decisions lies before us: it depends on knowing how to access content we are already collecting and using it more intelligently. It’s all about the data.

Content analysis – making sense of your data – must be a top priority if you want to stay ahead in a rapidly changing marketplace. Even business process efficiency – a priority for many insurers – relies on using and reusing data to drive processes forward logically and make sound judgments.

What changes can you make in your business strategy and enterprise content management (ECM) solution so that you can use your data strategically to drive business decisions?

1. Re-use data intelligently

Information is the most valuable asset any insurer has beyond its human resources. The exponential growth of business information creates organizational risk that is balanced by opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage.

Critical data is typically stored in multiple policy administration, claims, billing, reporting, and compliance systems. Managers need the content to be accurate, discoverable, and appropriately transparent to decision makers. Whether employees are developing insurance products, underwriting risk, servicing policies, reviewing claims, or overseeing your compliance program, some of the information collected is valuable in multiple business areas and can be re-used to drive decisions and processes forward. Are you using your information intelligently?

Ask yourself:

___ Is any of our business information still on paper? Should it be captured and indexed electronically to give us a more thorough picture of our customers and business transactions?

___ Is there information stored in departmental software applications that could be useful to people or processes in other areas of our company if the appropriate information could be accessed efficiently?

___ Are multiple departments collecting the same (or similar) information from customers or third parties for diverse uses (such as mailing address, phone numbers, spouse name, secondary insurance information, or date of birth)? Is there data that could be re-used to avoid conflicting data and errors – i.e., printed as a bar-code on outgoing forms, or pushed or pulled to other business areas and repositories the moment a person is documented as a customer for the first time?

___ Are we inconsistent in our attempt to classify, index, and archive emails and their attachments as part of our client records? Would we be challenged if the courts, auditors, or other third parties were to demand information?

___ Is there customer demographic data, historical purchasing patterns, and other information stored in our business records that could help us to make informed forecasts and business decisions if we could access it easily?

___ Are there reports we need from diverse departments or business units on a regular basis in order to make informed decisions? Does it make sense to integrate these systems so critical data can be extracted for easier and centralized reporting, review, and decision making?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need to take a serious look at ECM, or consider upgrading to a stronger solution if yours is insufficient. By integrating your legacy software, line-ofbusiness applications, email, and other software with robust ECM, you’ll gain efficient, secure, and centralized access to a searchable repository that includes all of your business information. Add the browser-based capabilities of top-notch providers today, and you’ll be equipped to manage your business, wherever you are, whenever you need information.

Why continue to have your staff collect identical information via multiple paper and electronic forms, emails, and calls that collectively increase the probability of error with each additional form when you only need to collect it once? Why waste time reviewing fragmented information from diverse sources when you could search all of your information with just a click or two of a mouse? Why let valuable demographic, purchasing, and other business information sit idle and untapped when it could be used to drive smarter business making, wherever you are, whenever you need it?

2. Find an ECM solution workers will embrace

Even if you choose a robust, browser-based solution that can be accessed securely from anywhere around the world, no one will use it if it’s complicated. Mobile phones that have the ability to access email and on-line services, browse the web, and handle thirdparty applications but are too complicated to set up are a good example of end user revolt. ECM is similar – it should be capable of performing the complex tasks you need it to perform, but it must be easy to use, or it risks being abandoned.

To ensure you choose a system that will be embraced and ultimately successful, consider whether you’re smarter to select:

An integrated ECM suite that offers a central logon to access all of the functionality offered within the suite OR a system that requires multiple logons and passwords.

Intuitive software with drop-down menu choices and built-in online help to guide the user through scanning, indexing, accessing, reporting, and more OR software that requires extensive training and provides limited help to end users if they have a question or encounter a problem.

Flexible interfaces that allow end users to configure their work spaces in the way that makes the most sense to them and helps them be most productive OR desktop work spaces that force the user to conform to the software’s limitations.

The answers should be obvious. If you have a solution, have your workers embraced it? If you don’t have one, do prospective providers measure up? Empowering your workers with the right tools and the confidence they need to use them is critical if you plan to win the battle against ever-growing content.

3. Leverage your investment in ECM with Web services integration

To leverage the business value of information stored in legacy and line-of-business applications – and to take full advantage of the functionality offered by your ECM solution – requires intelligent integration. Underwriting information is pertinent to policy administration, customer service, and billing. Payment status affects claims, customer service, and billing. Underwriting and claims are intertwined with regulatory compliance and governance policies. The list of content rules and relationships goes on and on. An ECM suite underwritten in standard Web services lets you take full advantage of the power of ECM, tying everything together so you can extract, push, and pull data from wherever it resides to wherever it’s needed, while following governance rules 100% of the time. Make sure your solution offers:

Thorough and proven integration with your existing off-theshelf software as well as applications you created in-house. Your vendor should have multiple clients who will happily provide assurance that the vendor’s integration tools work and their professional services are adequate to address a client’s unique and changing needs.

Web services that allow behind-the-scenes integration, adding needed functionality to familiar software applications so knowledge workers don’t have to learn new software.

Ask your vendor about their fee structure for Web services, too. Many vendors charge for each Web services call (for example, executing a request for information from another business system, or pulling data from an electronic form into a related line-of-business application). This can result in salty fees, particularly as you discover the business value of using the services and start using them strategically.

Don’t compromise on your needs

No company needs to spend its way into the annals of once-successful businesses that have failed. ECM doesn’t have to cost a fortune; you just need to differentiate between your needs and your wants, prioritize your requirements, and find a vendor with a strong, proven solution who will work with you. Remember: next to your people, your business content is the most valuable asset you have. Choose a vendor and services team that will handle it wisely.

Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. Know what you need, and understand what you’re getting when you shop for ECM.

Resources:

October, 2009 issue of KM World article, The Future of Knowledge Workers (part 2), by Dan Holtshouse.

December, 2009 Insurance Networking News, Technology Innovation Morphs Into Strategy

November/December issue of AIIM’s Infonomics article The Future of Information Intelligence and Governance

December, 2009 Insurance Networking News, The Case for Analytics Across the Enterprise

December, 2009 Insurance Networking News, Insurers Plot Familiar Priorities in the Year Ahead indicates that in 2010, insurers will focus on strategic IT investments that will help them to grow cost-efficiently, reduce operational expenses, and increase operational effectiveness.

December, 2009 Claims magazine, Emerging Technology Trends: What to Watch For In 2010