Configurable software: what does it mean and why do insurers need to integrate it into their technology stack?
As the insurance industry becomes more digitised, it's becoming increasingly common for insurers to rely on their technology stack to deliver a competitive edge. Investing in technologies that deliver superior user and customer experiences can contribute to business success. However, not all technology investments provide the same experiences or benefits. It's crucial that insurers select technologies that best suit their needs to ensure future success.
Flexible and scalable software is increasing in both sophistication and importance. This has created an upward trend in organisations looking for configurable solutions to help them remain at the forefront of technology and create a path to future growth. When integrating new solutions into your technology stack, configurable solutions provide key benefits.
Custom versus configurable
As the insurance sector continues to evolve and develop, insurers may grapple with the choice between custom and configurable software. While there are benefits to both, it’s important to understand what these are and how they can support your organisation to determine which is the best fit for you.
Custom solutions are traditionally developed for a single customer. They are designed with that business's specific and unique needs in mind. Although this software provides companies with great benefits, this strategy also has the potential to lock organisations into a static workflow and create barriers to change. Custom software often requires significant time and resource investments when updates are needed. This can lead to significant challenges throughout the system's lifespan, especially for businesses that require agility and flexibility.
Comparatively, configurable solutions tend to be out-of-the-box strategies that deliver a more personalised experience by letting users customise aspects of the system to meet their needs without needing to engage developers to make changes or updates. Configurable solutions also tend to be easier to integrate than their fully custom counterparts; configurable solution implementation is generally a short process that involves a specialist working on configuring the system the way you need it right from the start.
Configurable software is the smart investment
Configurable solutions offer greater flexibility and scalability compared to custom solutions. This delivers the agility insurers need to support customers in an evolving market. Additionally, they can be adapted and shaped to meet industry- and organisation-specific needs, which lets insurers stay ahead in a dynamic and multifaceted landscape.
Configurable solutions provide a framework for insurers to build their processes. Insurers can leverage the built-in features of the software solution to create and implement their own internal processes that meet industry best practice.
The business-level control offered through configurable software empowers organisations to make changes to the systems in real time without delay, and without the need for third-party development support. Ultimately, this creates software that is functional, flexible, and improves user experience, helping to drive greater internal and external growth.
The configurable software's flexible and scalable approach allows insurers to achieve the agility they need to support customers in an evolving market.
With Stelvio’s EstImage product suite, users gain a highly configurable solution which adapts to the business’s specific needs and requirements. Contact our specialist team today for more information on how Stelvio and the EstImage suite of products can help your insurance business run better.