{"id":59073,"date":"2019-10-10T14:08:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T18:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.majesco.com\/?p=59073"},"modified":"2022-11-09T18:43:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T23:43:26","slug":"what-is-a-platform-expert-opinions-and-insurer-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.majesco.com\/?p=59073","title":{"rendered":"What is a Platform? Expert Opinions and Insurer Actions"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1765, Philadelphia physician John Morgan announced that he would no longer practice surgery or drug dispensing, choosing instead to focus on \u201cphysic,\u201d another word for practicing general medicine.[i]<\/a> Prior to this time in the colonies, specialization in medicine was nearly unheard of. A doctor was a doctor. A team of doctors might gather to share opinions, but nearly all of them were considered generalists. Compare this to today, when one knee surgery can place a patient into contact with several doctors, an anesthesiologist, a surgical team and a physical therapist.<\/p>\n

There was a day when insurance was also a \u201cgeneral\u201d practice and even the technologies within insurance were pursued as the general programming within each insurance company. Hardware was mostly owned. Systems were home-grown or they were purchased and customized. Specialization and componentization grew up out of necessity. Specialization and expert technologies are now key precepts within today\u2019s InsurTech movement and they are an enabler within the rise of insurance technology platforms. Modern platforms are broad umbrellas including a number of technologies and processes, many of them originating with revolutionary InsurTech ideas.<\/p>\n

Because platforms are so crucial and relevant to today\u2019s insurance business, Majesco has devoted its forthcoming thought-leadership report to painting an accurate current picture of the modern insurance platform<\/a>. Next week, we\u2019ll release, Insurance Platforms \u2013 A Burning Platform for Market Leadership in the Digital Era of Insurance<\/em><\/a>. In this preview blog, we focus specifically on the foundational aspect of platform development \u2014 understanding what it is and why it is necessary.<\/p>\n

If we can assume that companies are out to do more with less, then the platform model is a business, technology and service imperative. In fact, as we look at platforms and specialization closely, it will be helpful to keep this one question in mind, \u201cWould your organization prefer to do less with more or would it prefer to do more with less?\u201d <\/strong>However we end up defining platforms, we need to keep in mind that they will provide us with the capability to do far more with far less than traditional system and process models, and they will allow future capabilities, networks and data streams to be inserted and utilized ad infinitum, whenever the needs and technologies arise.<\/p>\n

But what is <\/strong>a platform and how does it involve specialization?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In our 2019 Strategic Priorities<\/a> report, we found that platform technologies \u2013 cloud, APIs, AI, and microservices \u2013 were the top priority for insurers. From big tech companies, like Amazon and Uber, to new insurance start-ups like Lemonade, Ladder and ZhongAn, which are creating new business models and online structures, platform technologies are opening up the possibilities to how we work, create value, engage with customers, and more.  Platforms enable innovative companies to create speed to value, unique customer engagement, a \u201ctest and learn\u201d platform for minimal viable products, and value-aligned, optimized costs. They also allow us to use only those components that fit best for our purposes. That\u2019s the specialization aspect at work to increase outcomes, expertise and breadth of capability \u2014 more with less.<\/p>\n

With so many using the \u201cplatform\u201d word, it is important to note what a platform is not<\/em>. A platform is not taking \u201cmodern core systems\u201d and implementing them in a hosted environment and calling it \u201ccloud,\u201d lacking all the benefits of an architected solution that leverages cloud capabilities. It is not<\/em> having a time-consuming, costly upgrade process. It is not<\/em> creating a marketplace of partners using \u201caccelerators\u201d or point-to-point integrations. It is not<\/em> having a handful of APIs and stating that you are API-enabled. And a platform does not use a \u201cportal out-of-the-box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defining the word \u201cplatform\u201d \u2014 varied points of view<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Majesco defines a platform as an architected, networked system that provides access to a broad set of services, data and other capabilities; is continuously and seamlessly upgraded with newer technology, content and functionality; is accessed via APIs that are part of a robust, extensive API catalog; enables personalized customer engagement; is cloud-based with a designed-to-scale, pay-per-use pricing model; leverages AI and machine learning through embedded capabilities; is flexible to aggregate heterogeneous services from multiple providers (technology, data, InsurTech); and it enables rapid \u201ctest and learn\u201d for new business models and products while supporting current operational business models.<\/p>\n

Industry Analyst View <\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of the prominent insurance industry analyst firms have been studying the rise of platform technologies and platform-based business models over the last two years. They have published varied viewpoints on just what an \u201cinsurance platform\u201d<\/a> is, and they have offered advice on how both insurers and insurance technology companies<\/a> can use them to create the future of insurance. Interestingly, these views have some strong areas of consistency with Majesco\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

Celent <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Celent\u2019s June 2018 report, The Year of the Insurance Platform<\/em>, they defined an insurance platform<\/a> as \u201ca group of sites which provide insurers and other organizations access via APIs to a broad set of services, data, capabilities, and organizations, which are typically cloud based, designed to achieve scale through network effects, and monetized by the platform sponsor in various ways.\u201d[ii]<\/a>  The report further defines two different insurance platforms:<\/p>\n