On the 9th of March, we joined forces with our strategic partner and low-code solution provider, Netcall, to host a webinar on Supercharging Operational Efficiencies in the London Market using low-code.
Our panellists debated a range of questions led by Peter Mungeam, Managing Director at r10. Jordan Moss from Lockton shared how they had used low-code to enhance client experiences within his organisation. James Lawrence from Netcall talked about low-code solutions, and James Willison from WCL shared his views on current and future use cases.
Below you will find highlights of the webinar, or you could watch the discussion here.
1. The London Market today.
The London Market is continuing to lose its prominent position as a global leader despite various attempts to address this over the past several years. It remains a complex and expensive place to trade and attempts to bring companies together in a collaborative manner has been a challenge.
Many companies cannot continue to wait for the Market to become aligned behind a single solution and are taking matters into their own hands. The world has changed and they need to be able to operate within a global environment, follow their own strategy, or risk being left behind. Many of the systems and solutions built in years gone by were designed to be used by people working in and out of a London based office. Due to government restrictions and the need to work remotely, many companies require systems to enable their staff to work efficiently from home and will continue to do so.
2. What is the fuss about low-code?
James Lawrence explained that low-code is a way of building applications without using some of the more traditional coding languages. With low-code, applications are typically built using a drag and drop interface and are put together using pre-configured components. Therefore, it means that you can get them off the ground much quicker, democratise those applications’ development, and bring business-people a bit closer into that process.
James Willison added that people are utilising visual programming techniques to build applications rapidly by using low-code solutions. In today’s world, requiring agility and speed-to-market, rapid development is a differentiator. In the last 12 months, every organisation has had to have its own digital strategy in one form or another. The key components to a digital strategy typically involve utilising the cloud, connectivity utilising APIs, a combination of AI and/or MI to make informed decisions and some form of application development. The ability of low-code to build user interfaces quickly can support the rapid delivery of a firm’s digital strategy.
James Lawrence added that the low-code is now considered a more mature and established technology, used to build full enterprise great applications. We are now seeing its way into the insurance market more frequently.
3. A real example of improving data and documents from Lockton’s in-house system using low-code.
Jordan Moss from Lockton talks about delivering transformation against their in-house system developed 20 years ago – working primarily as a database on claims, placement and accounting. He adds that they started a project to look at the future of this system and if it was still right for the next 20 years. They concluded that to replicate what had been built in terms of core functionality would be very difficult with an ‘off the shelf’ product; the system fundamentally does what it needs to do. The project then shifted to looking at how they could deliver new technology and features to enhance it.
Low-code was the perfect solution as it allowed them to develop in-house and integrate with other systems and the solutions they wanted. It was a neat way to bring transformation to the business without significant cost and time to deliver it. It helped automate low-value tasks, improve the structure of data and documentation produced, giving the team back time to focus on clients.
4. Use cases of low-code in the London Market.
There will not be a single trading platform in the London Market, with even more being authorised by Lloyd’s to accommodate different approaches. From a company and underwriting perspective, having to deal with these multiple systems makes connectivity key. It creates the need for a single view of what is happening and the ability to work efficiently across multiple classes of business.
James Willison continued to add that low-code can rapidly develop applications to consolidate the different views of trading platforms and enhance efficiency, for example, an underwriter’s workbench.
James Lawrence added that companies are more likely to fund shorter transformation projects and improve what they currently have in agile and iterative ways to meet business requirements, with the uncertainty we have seen over the last year.
5. A collaborative approach between IT and the business.
Low-code technology enhances the ability of the IT team to support the business. IT still does the “difficult” parts and BAU work, but they can surpass to the business easier development work. Having a collaborative approach gives greater chances of successfully delivering transformation projects since the business and IT are aligned.
6. Looking beyond the technology.
Jordan Moss spoke about the importance of understanding the low-code product first by tackling a smaller project and process. It allows organisations to become familiar with building processes based on the tools available, rather than trying to automate the current process based on the restrictions of the current systems and controls.
James Willison gave an example of the Delegated Authority bordereau process that needs to be done monthly or quarterly. It is not just enough to automate an existing process, the whole end-to-end process should be considered using technology, for example, considering real-time data flow in the Delegated Authority process.
Let’s talk about low-code
r10 have teamed up with low-code specialists, Netcall, to help clients understand what low-code is and how they might use this technology within their own organisations. If you or your team wants to attend one of our tailored sessions, please get in touch with Peter Mungeam at peter.mungeam@www.r10.global to arrange a workshop aligned with your requirements.