Intelligent CXO Issue 04 | Page 57

REGIONAL ROUND-UP

AFRICA APAC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST NORTH AMERICA

SUNCORP NZ INVESTS IN A TECHNOLOGY- ENABLED WORKFORCE

Suncorp New Zealand has announced it is doubling down on developing a technology-enabled workforce , following its success in adapting to fully remote work during last year ’ s COVID-19 lockdowns .

Suncorp NZ began a major digital overhaul in 2016 with a focus on offering employees the freedom to flexibly balance work , family and other commitments .
This strategy proved prescient , enabling Suncorp NZ to continue serving the needs of its customers throughout the height of the pandemic .
Suncorp ’ s existing hybrid cloud architecture , built around the Nutanix Hyper-Converged Infrastructure ( HCI ), enabled it to seamlessly shift its employees to fully remote work , which it says has validated its investment and accelerated its appetite for hybrid working .
Now Suncorp NZ is looking to further support its new ways of working and build on its efforts to foster a digital mindset among its employees , by bringing in additional Nutanix capabilities such as Clusters – a multi-cloud extension tool between public and private cloud environments . Clusters is anticipated to be central to the insurance firm ’ s technology roadmap .
Jane Brewer , Suncorp NZ ’ s Executive General Manager Technology and Transformation , said the resiliency , performance , security and simplicity of the Nutanix platform meant the insurer could focus on supporting its employees during the COVID crisis .
“ We had two days ’ notice before the country went into lockdown ,” she said . “ But because we didn ’ t have to worry about our underlying technology infrastructure , we were able to focus on ensuring our people had the equipment they needed to work safely at home and on supporting them during the transition .
“ Although we were in lockdown , we were still serving our customers ’ needs as if nothing had changed . Our flexible approach has always been about supporting our people to integrate their work and home life in a way that suits them , and although for many juggling personal and professional commitments became much harder during COVID-19 , we ’ re proud that our technology only served to support our people and make this transition easier .”
The scalability and simplicity of the Nutanix platform were central to Suncorp NZ ’ s seamless transition to remote work , but the benefits also support the insurer ’ s long-term strategy of digital-first customer engagement .
“ Because we ’ ve led with an infrastructurefirst approach , much of the day-today operations and maintenance of our infrastructure have been greatly simplified , and our IT teams are empowered to focus on projects that generate more value for our employees and customers ,” Brewer said .
One of these projects is the development of application programming interfaces ( APIs ) and portals to enable its network of brokers and advisers to integrate directly with Suncorp NZ ’ s core systems , to make its processes – from initial quotes through to claims – as streamlined and customerfriendly as possible .
“ Our infrastructure means we have no
constraints and are in a position to focus on our business transformation ,” said Brewer .
“ This approach has helped us attract and retain high-performing employees who believe in the value of what we do and are committed to continuously doing more for our customers .” x www . intelligentcxo . com
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