Celent Grows Successful Peer Networking Event Series
Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm, recently conducted an Insurance peer networking event, exploring the topics of enterprise content management (ECM) and digital commerce. This event continued a string of successful networking events, with hosts including Allstate, The Hartford Insurance Company, and Sun Life Financial.
The most recent Peer Networking event took place at the headquarters of The Hartford Insurance Company. Forty participants, representing 14 companies, exchanged insights on alternative approaches, successes, and gaps.
The morning kicked off with a presentation by Ben Moreland, Celent Senior Analyst, which summarized the results of research on ECM in insurance. Among the many data points reviewed, the most active discussions concerned moving away from metacode formats and responding to personalization and prioritization requirements by the business.
Numerous practical solutions were shared. One company detailed its use of a middleware utility to aggregate and control output from multiple administration platforms.
One attendee described their ECM platform and detailed the technical and governance challenges involved in managing a complex, legacy environment. From the comments exchanged between participants, it was clear that a common goal is to rationalize and consolidate products and platforms. In addition to making the correct technical decisions among many alternatives, the softer dimensions of governance and change management are key success factors in modernizing content management.
The afternoon included a great deal of networking and a panel discussion that examined the transition to digital commerce. The panel included both IT and business representatives as well as an executive from the banking industry. The panelists outlined the successes and challenges in their efforts to deliver a consistent experience across digital channels, integrate digital and analog customer service touchpoints, and provide personalization of the user experience. A fascinating approach used by a North American bank to self-fund its digital commerce development effort was outlined.
“All in all, a great deal of practical information sharing and great networking took place in a very productive and relaxed environment,” says Mike Fitzgerald, Senior Analyst with Celent’s Insurance Group.
Celent is in the process of planning additional peer networking events, so please stay tuned for announcements about upcoming events. If you are an insurance carrier and would like to host a Celent Peer Networking Event, please contact Chuck Smith at csmith@celent.com.
Insurance carrier staff are invited to join Celent’s Peer Network on LinkedIn. The group provides a forum for insurer IT and business strategists to share ideas and network.