C-Suite: Embracing the cloud

The high levels of regulation in the insurance industry has made the adoption of new technologies challenging, particularly when it comes to mission-critical applications.

Despite concerns over security, data access and loss of control, cloud computing is beginning to win acceptance, particularly as consumers become increasingly accustomed to the high level of digital services available in areas such as personal finance and e-commerce.

Thankfully insurance companies can respond to the varied compliance issues they face and overcome their concerns around cloud with appropriate procedures, techniques and infrastructure.

There are four main areas that insurance companies need to consider when planning their cloud deployments. Often abbreviated to PLDC, insurance companies need to consider the connections with people, location of users, number of cloud services available and essential data links to the cloud.

Companies need to think about how to build a platform that will connect data with people, one that will enable both employees and third party agents to sell products to customers in an efficient manner.

To address concerns around the location of users or offices, companies need to ensure they have access to hubs that mirror the distribution of the organisation as closely as possible.

The hubs then take care of high-speed, secure access to individual cloud services or cloud exchanges, in addition to dealing with access to services built to respond to data protection or data sovereignty requirements.

This is particularly important in a region like Asia-Pacific, where the insurance industry faces increased complexity, varied new regulations from country to country and heightened consumer expectations, all of which are placing immense strain on legacy IT systems.

Secure links from an organisation to its services and data is another consideration, and if an organisation is using just one cloud, it is a relatively easy task to arrange secure dedicated links between the cloud and an office.

However this process becomes increasingly complex if a company has multiple locations or is using multiple cloud services. There are many ways companies can address this complexity.

For those wanting to take advantage of multiple clouds, using a platform that can offer access to a variety of services is a good option. Users need to ensure they have full control over access speed and bandwidth, in addition to the ability to add, remove or amend connections dynamically and quickly.

Using platforms such as cloud exchanges can offer this level of choice and cost efficiency, something that is particularly valuable in a market like insurance where increasing competition is reducing product margins.

A well thought-out and considered cloud strategy can help companies respond to emerging rules and enhance data, protection and security controls in timely fashion, ensuring customers and business partners truly reap the benefits of the cloud.

James Maudslay, pictured, is head of global insurance, Equinix