Driving Customer centricity with Move to the Cloud, Data and AI
02
AXA International and New Markets: Customer-focused Tech and Data transformation across the globe WRITTEN BY
MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY
JAMES PEPPER
03
w w w.a xa . com
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
Kuldeep Kaushik, COO at AXA INM, discusses the Tech and Data strategies driving a customer centric transformation across its global entities
I 04
n the age of digital transformation, global insurance provider AXA has adopted a decentralised approach to innovation.
AXA International and New Markets (AXA INM) takes charge of AXA’s operations in emerging and developing markets, covering Eastern European territories, Latin America, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), Africa, India, Singapore, Malaysia and more. “There’s a significant amount of Transformation to deliver across the 20-25 entities,” says Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating and Transformation Officer at AXA INM. “We have very different maturity levels across the businesses and very different technology landscapes as well. Part of my role is evaluating each of those entities and defining programmes which are specific to their maturity, business strategy, and needs and capabilities.” While AXA INM has an overarching transformation strategy, Kaushik notes that this is open to deviations where necessary. “We have key
05
w w w.a xa . com
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
“ We’re focusing on solutions that are keeping the customer in the middle of all solutions we design” 06
— Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating Officer, AXA International and New Markets
areas from a strategy perspective that everybody needs to follow and have a roadmap on. However, if there are scenarios where regulations are not evolving fast enough, certain providers aren’t present locally, or we do not have a strategy in place to build local solutions, we do make exceptions at that point.” In terms of the core principles being driven at a group-wide level, Kaushik says there are seven key pillars being addressed: Legacy and technical debt, Cloud, the Partnership and Customer Service ecosystem, Big Data, Innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), People Capabilities, and Information Security. Each of these pillars can face regulatory and infrastructural hurdles, but AXA INM’s ability to tailor its approach to wildly differing markets is reaping dividends. The Move to the Cloud initiative is a particular challenge when it comes to local regulation in some of AXA INM’s countries, Kaushik explains. “If you look at our geographical spread, we have entities which have quite strict regulatory constraints. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), for example, has regulatory limitations from a public
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘AXA’S 2018 INTEGRATED REPORT’ 07 cloud perspective and in terms of moving
answering the crucial question of the
data out of the country.” In terms of
authority of control. In an interview
negotiating a concern of this magnitude,
with FinTech Magazine, Olivier
the firm must consider both time and
Schemberg, Head of IT (CIO) at AXA
alternative solutions.
Poland, said operations will begin to
AXA INM does not want to establish
launch on the Polish National Cloud
any additional on-premises data centre
in summer 2019. In the Middle East,
environments, but territories whose
Kaushik notes, concerns surrounding
public cloud regulations necessitate
cloud strategy were alleviated by
private clouds are changing with the
the adaptations of cloud providers.
times. For example, the Polish
“We might have to make an exception
government is currently developing
in countries where we have regulatory
the Polish National Cloud, a new
data residency challenges and public
environment that will enable enterprises
cloud isn’t available,” he says. “Gulf
to move to a public cloud whilst also
countries, for example, had been w w w.a xa . com
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
08
a concern in this area, but luckily cloud providers have evolved their business strategy and we now have both Azure and AWS (Amazon Web Services) available in the Middle East.” Cloud maintains a centrality to AXA INM’s transformation plans as a key enabler of other technologies, such as Big Data and AI. Across the group, AXA INM is keen to increasingly leverage data as a means to drive business decisions, enhance customer centricity and build more meaningful relationships with customers.
“ We have very different maturity of the businesses and very different technology landscapes as well” — Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating Officer, AXA International and New Markets
Simultaneously, the firm aims to simplify customer journeys and data input needs from customers, especially for claims processes. “Our CEO is driven from a customer perspective,” says Kaushik. “We’re focusing on solutions that are keeping the customer in the middle of all solutions we design. For example, we’re significantly focused on making sure that the customer journeys on the sales, servicing and claims sides are streamlined. In terms of data touchpoints that we expect from the customer, we’re ensuring that we only ask for relevant information at the relevant time.” Not only are
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating and Transformation Officer Kaushik is an engineer with an MBA from HEC Paris, with over 18 years working experience of which nine years have been with AXA. As a result, Kuldeep possesses extensive experience in Life, Savings and Health Insurance businesses, with key contributions in crystallizing the Life, Savings and Health strategy and building new innovative business models in AXA Group. He is currently Chief Operating and Transformation Officer of AXA International and New Markets platform in Madrid
w w w.a xa . com
09
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
TRANSFORMATION IS AN ATTITUDE everis is an NTT DATA Company, dedicated to consulting, technology and outsourcing in all sectors, with a turnover of 1.43 billion euros in the last year, with more than 24,500 professionals across Europe, USA and Latin America, and with one goal: transform business all around the world. Consulting, Transformation, Technology and Operations everis.com
11 customers being asked for less input throughout the process, but new technologies are being applied to simplify how those data inputs can be delivered. “In some of our countries, we can issue a motor insurance quote as long as the customer can upload an image of their driving licence and car registration document. That, for me, is customer centricity: you’re actually delivering solutions which make the life of a customer easier,” enthuses Kaushik. “From a servicing perspective, there are a lot of new technology-driven claims solutions that we have delivered in Turkey, Morocco, Greece and Nigeria,
“ We’re able to survey motor claims using various technologies, such as image recognition, to expedite the claims process” — Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating Officer, AXA International and New Markets w w w.a xa . com
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
for example, that deliver on the spot claims assessments. We’re able to survey accidents using various technologies, such as image recognition, to expedite the claims process as well.” AI has been brought into the fold to speed up policy issuance as well as enhance the company’s cybersecurity capabilities. Robotic process automation (RPA), combined with AI, has revolutionised the back-end processes of entities across the group, and the positive results for efficiency are manifold. Kaushik offers an example 12
launched in Brazil that has cut policy issuance from weeks to just a single day. “We brought RPA and AI technologies together to deploy a solution that can take the process of policy issuance (which can take around 14-16 days) and turn it around in 24 hours.” he says. “Automation solutions are also being deployed in the security space – we have a sizeable landscape and exposure in terms of digital assets available in various entities, and on a monthly basis we now scan the entire landscape to ensure assets are protected and there are no vulnerabilities.” In addition, the AI-augmented scanning enables AXA
13
w w w.a xa . com
A X A I N T E R N AT I O N A L A N D N E W M A R K E T S
14
“ It’s full steam execution for the next 18 months to become a truly Tech-Led organization” — Kuldeep Kaushik, Chief Operating Officer, AXA International and New Markets
INM to monitor whether any fraudulent assets have been launched across the internet that are aimed at deceiving AXA customers. “There are fake assets popping up across the globe, so we are using automation solutions to identify anything that could put our customers at risk.” For Kaushik, one of the most exciting things about AXA INM’s work is the ability for emerging markets and entities to leapfrog established solutions and cut
€102.9.bn Approximate revenue
1982
Year founded
125,000
Approximate number of employees
ahead of mature markets. “In Senegal,
capabilities on the distribution side,
for example, you can upload pictures
and it’s about improving our data
of a vehicle and have a quote issued
capabilities. It’s full steam execution
for a motor policy; some of the mature
for the next 18 months to become a
markets don’t have that capability yet,”
truly Tech-Led organisation. Amen!”
he says, adding that we will see some major new projects delivered imminently. “The next 18 months is about delivery; it’s about getting the legacy and the technical debt reduced to a minimum level. It’s about moving our infrastructure to the cloud, it’s about building digital w w w.a xa . com
15
AXA International and New Markets AXA Group, 25 Avenue Matignon, Paris, France www.axa.com