When I took the role of Insurance Vertical Lead at Citrix in January 2021, I had heard anecdotes about insurance being a traditional business with an approach to service delivery, including IT, that was a bit outdated.
What I’ve seen is an industry, like many others, in a period of accelerated modernization, and I’ve been impressed by how IT security leaders have seized the opportunity to evolve their organizations.
To understand the current environment better, we recently hosted a private virtual roundtable event for IT leaders in the insurance industry, where we talked frankly about their own experiences and the transformation taking place in their own organizations. A few common themes and challenges emerged.
Expectations for IT have never been greater
Throughout the pandemic, IT has assumed the role of “superhero,” helping to keep insurance businesses moving forward and customer services up and running. As a result, expectations for IT have never been greater, and IT staff are working harder than ever before. Demands, they say, are coming from employees primarily, and less so from management.
As one IT leader said, “I feel the expectation on IT … has really stepped up, because the business saw what we had to cope with, and that has become the new running pace.”
The timeframe for modernization is being accelerated
Insurance businesses are keen to continue with the rapid acceleration of their IT modernization, and as a result, digital transformation plans have been expedited from years to months.
During our discussion, one IT leader shared that, at his business, “roadmaps that were across five years have been pulled into the next 18 months to 24 months.” Others shared this view, including one IT leader who said, “We have thrown away our five-year plans and our CIO has said that three-year plans are the longest he wants to see”.
The business and users are pushing back against change, saying “don’t disrupt us”
While there is money is available for IT modernization, provided there is a strong business case, a common sentiment was that the business and users are simultaneously objecting to disruption to their day-to-day.
This push-back sits in juxtaposition to the need to modernize. As one of roundtable participant said, “There is more pressure to do things in a shorter window and out of hours. However, the business is saying it can’t afford any interruptions to service, so that is adding more pressure and preventing us from doing things quickly and efficiently.”
The role of IT support has been made more complex by remote work
The shift to remote work has had a notable impact on the role of IT support, which is also having a knock-on effect on the time left for innovation and modernization. As one participant shared, “Pre-pandemic, our support hours were the standard 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Since people have been working from home, I’ve had people working from 6 a.m. and finishing at midnight, expecting IT to cover that extended window, which then has a massive knock-on on infrastructure changes.”
Security is a top priority
The insurance industry has always been vulnerable to attack, but the security risk has escalated and the consensus among participants was that security has become a top-level concern, gaining the attention of the C-suite. As one person shared, “We increasingly feel more exposed; the cyber landscape is more challenging, which we have seen through COVID and beyond.”
IT departments are seeing a rise in shadow IT
Roundtable participants shared that not only are they seeing a rise in unsanctioned software within the company, but they are also having to accept it. “There are a lot of tech-savvy people out there, such as data scientists, and they know what they want and how to do it. If we don’t do something in the timeframe they need, they will buy that software themselves.”
People resourcing is a real challenge
Recruitment is proving a common challenge for many of the roundtable attendees, along with higher levels of churn. “It has been easier to get a contractor than a permanent resource … and this means you don’t keep the momentum of skills or knowledge in your IT team,” said one IT leader.
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The pace of change within the insurance industry is showing no signs of slowing down. That’s a positive thing.
Security leaders have gone above and beyond, accelerating security roadmaps from years to months, and ultimately, the pandemic has enabled organizations to better understand the vital role that security plays. It is encouraging to hear that security is being treated as a top-level concern, gaining the attention of the C-suite.
Now that we have momentum, IT modernization and digital transformation plans can continue, which it is what the industry needs. However, as part of this, there needs to be more appreciation for the challenges that IT leaders are currently facing. Ultimately, security is a shared responsibility, and a collaborative approach is needed for true and lasting change to occur.
For more on SASE and zero trust for banking and insurance, please check out our discussion below. And If you would like to discuss these issues further, or if you are interested in attending our next Insurance Club roundtable event, contact me at damien.bartlett@citrix.com.
