INSURANCE AND INVESTMENT with regards to taking things to market , but it is necessary to maintain stability . The challenge is balancing that with the need to be more agile and flexible .
“ The closer we are working to the customer and the distributor the more flexible and agile we need to be .”
Technology : power at the fingertips Moving the business closer to the customer and responding to the increasing demands placed on the business through innovation and technology has seen businesses make the move to mobile and tablet devices .
“ Banks went through the process years ago of moving out of the branch and closer to the customers , through online and particularly mobile phones . In a way they are ahead of insurers ,” says De Villiers .
“ It ’ s the same with insurers , we need to move closer to customers and distributors in terms of the services that we are providing – being right there when needed on the device that they want .”
AXA is already in the mobile app market , but De Villiers believes that there is soon to be too many mobile apps . This is where AXA is streamlining its apps into one place .
“ It ’ s not always clear which apps customers need and where to go when they need certain services ,” he adds . “ Part of what we are doing is bringing it all together , instead of 10-20 apps with different user experiences we will have one app and one experience . Leveraging what we have built into one place , putting together a more integrated customer experience around it .”
Recruiting the right people Moving forward , it is the recruitment of those smart young technology focused people that is crucial to the success of the business , believes De Villiers .
He says : “ When I am interviewing people to join my team I always ask ‘ When was the last time you learned a new technology ?’
“ As an IT professional it ’ s a given
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