study

Digital Transformation of the Insurance Companies in Portugal

May 25, 2017

In a close cooperation between IDC and Infosistema, a study was carried out on the “Digital Transformation of the Insurance Companies in Portugal”, which consolidates the current knowledge covering the market challenges and changes to the business requirements within the sector.

This new study offers a current view on the Insurers’ state of digital maturity as well as a deeper understanding of the multiple dimensions’ vital importance of this digital transformation and the essential guidelines that will help bring organizations closer to success.

Key takeaways and conclusions:

Digital Transformation

In the midst of a transition period from the current technological paradigm, taking shape as a 3rd platform of Innovation, the Insurers are starting to get a clear sign of change that stems, mainly, from a shift in the consumer’s behavior. The Insurers’ IT departments and business models digital transformation has become mandatory, where IDC’s model developed to assess the digital transformation’s maturity level (Digital Transformation MaturityScape) considers the Insurer’s growth to be sustained on the following 5 key dimensions: Leadership; Omniexperience; Worksource; Operational Model and Information. Moreover, the 5 maturity levels that the models establishes are: Ad Hoc, Opportunistic, Repeatable, Managed, Optimized. The current study highlights the following conclusions:

  1. The insurance sector maturity is higher than that of companies and organizations in other sectors in all 5 dimensions assessed;
  2. The majority of the organizations are positioned between the Opportunistic and Repeatable levels, with predominance (36,8%) for the Repeatable level, with a clear recognition that change is inevitable and a clear integration of the IT’s objectives and goals met at the project level, although only in short-term strategies;
  3. The majority of the respondents considers mobility and the big data and business analytics’ technologies decisive solutions to the insurance sector’s digital transformation over the next 5 years.
  4. Cloud Computing services and social networks are the 3rd innovation platform’s technologies that follow suit in terms of mid-term investment plans;
  5. Managers are looking closer to Internet of Things (IoT) as the major innovation accelerator, where 26% admit to invest in it over the next 5 years;
  6. The leadership dimension can be the main lever for success in the digital transformation of the organizations, since IDC believes that a large part of the Insurers will fail to develop this dimension.

In regards to the context of the Portuguese organizations’ digital transformation and after an initial period of pilot projects and proof of concept implementations of the 3rd platform technologies – Cloud Computing services, mobility, big data, business analytics and social business – the majority of national organizations is now starting to consider the implementation of these technologies on their processes and business activities. In this setting, the following graphic sums up the digital transformation’s maturity, in terms of national organizations, showing that most of them have already adopted digital transformation initiatives.

Digital Transformation

46% of organizations in EUA are still “Digital Register” or “Digital Explorer” VS 54% in Western Europe VS 60% in Portugal.

At the base of this digital transformation is the acknowledgement that the companies’ processes and data must enable front office experiences, although only a strong C-Level commitment and a leadership refinement within the organizations can ensure the continuing involvement of employees, consumers and business partners in the challenging execution of this transformation. While it is certain that this transformation will force Insurers to tread a challenging path, it is also clear that those who place digital transformation at the core of their corporate strategy will certainly be in a key position on the demanding digital economy.


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