Digitisation has been on the tip of the tongue of many industries in the recent past. Every sector is looking for a competitive edge that will keep them relevant for years to come and at present, almost every answer starts with technology.
Talks of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has urged many to re-evaluate their work environments, personnel and industry culture to ensure that they are fit for the future.
The insurance industry body responsible for the promotion of the advancement of knowledge and skills, the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA), through its Learning Centre, introduced a Data Science Workshop this year.
The Learning Centre provides a variety of courses and topics in keeping with the institute's mandate to maintain the highest level of professional development within the insurance industry as the premier knowledge and standards hub for insurance industry professionals in the country.
Data has been described by industry publications as the new fuel running the digital economy. It is viewed as a source of competitive advantage for many industries. The ability to unpack it and use it to solve complex organisational and industry-related problems is regarded as highly valuable.
The Data Science Workshop aims to empower participants with a good foundational understanding of the Big Data ecosystem which mainly deals with the extraction of patterns, trends and behaviours from large quantities of data. Participants walked away with knowledge of the functions of data science and data scientists, the difference between data science, analytics and traditional statistics and an understanding of what data engineering is and why it matters. This guaranteed those who attended a competitive advantage as the ability to link this knowledge to the sector is not readily available at the moment.
IISA partnered with the African Leadership University of Insurance (ALU) and Ixio Analytics to bring these workshops to the insurance industry. The course also saw a sponsorship from the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) which saw the costs of the session drop drastically for those who opted to attend.
Though launched this year, the Data Science Workshop will remain an offering of the Learning Centre in future years.
It provides a big picture view of the power of data and its ability to create competitive advantage in several industries through the use of case studies. Delegates got an opportunity to learn about the analytics maturity curve and how it relates to their organisation and how to align opportunities within data science with their strategy. Those who attended also gained a better understanding of the possible use of data science as a tool for solving problems within the financial services sector.
Data science creates numerous opportunities in relation to organisational strategy in as far as increasing revenue through better customer engagement and reducing costs through greater effectiveness and efficiencies is concerned. Another value-add for the insurance industry is the use of data science as a tool to manage risk through better insight. All of which was unpacked in the workshops which took place in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth this year.
This practical course used real life examples to unpack the relevant uses of data science for the insurance industry.
What we have come to learn about the 4IR is that in as much as it calls on industries to change their behaviour, it brings with it a technologically advanced consumer as well. To remain relevant to the needs of our clients in a few years' time, we must make use of the tools that assist in ascertaining those needs.
If indeed technology is the language of the future for all competitive industries, then the South African insurance industry should not be caught out.