Applied Systems hosted their 2nd virtual conference last week from Aug 23-26th with the theme “Welcome to the Digital Ecosystem of Insurance”. Taylor Rhodes kicked off the event, addressing the fact that the world is changing at an accelerating pace and that we need to confront the ‘brutal’ facts associated with these rapid advancements. Applied Systems, he explained, was acknowledging the ‘brutal fact’ that Digital Ecosystems must be open to flourish and has already begun making changes to their culture, technology and relationships with both customers and partners, in order to reflect this. Simplicity, openness, the ability to choose which BI tools to use and a new obsession with data are all guiding forces as Applied looks to make changes across the company. Rhodes’ comment that technology will change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 25 years may end up being an understatement. There is such momentum to how we are all consuming data and expecting technology to support everything we do in life – both personal and professional- that it’s likely to lead to an even increased timeline for accelerated change. 

How does that directly impact the insurance industry?

Rhodes shared some examples of what we’ve been seeing over the last 18 months. Included in these examples is that despite a challenging economy,  mergers and acquisitions did not stop. M&A was seen at the small agency level all the way up to mega providers. M&A is here to stay, he stated, and technology plays an even more important role than in the past. To get to the point of value creation, these businesses need to be truly integrated and that means sharing data with open integrations. Some of the M&A deals in the last year actually blurred the lines of traditional insurance businesses where one or more companies arrived with non-insurance data and technology- further increasing the need for open platforms. And alongside the importance of these open integrations is the resulting digital connectivity, which he described as “the lifeblood of insurance innovation”.

Applied Marketing Automation

Further evidence of Applied’s goal to make their digital ecosystem simpler, more productive, more intelligent and more valuable for clients and partners alike was seen across multiple sessions featuring AMA – Applied Marketing Automation. Launched last year, AMA was created to help agencies save time and money while engaging with prospects and customers, with timely and relevant content. The content library was front and center in many sessions and boasts almost 2k pieces of content for both P&C and benefits which can be shared across an agency’s website, social channels or sent directly in an email to a contact or list of contacts who exist in EPIC. Newsletters, e-books, and campaigns allow insurers to share relevant information about coverage or legislative changes either using prebuilt frameworks or in a more ad hoc fashion; all of which provide reporting to indicate how successful the campaign has been and uncover new opportunities. The applied team also shared the AMA Roadmap with the big items focusing on CSR integration and Drip Campaigns – both of which seem to be eliciting a lot of excitement.

Applied is already featuring next year’s version of Applied Net on their website – a return to the excitement of an in-person tradeshow and conference. Applied is promising a very exciting year to come and that will be a great culmination of everything they’ve got planned. 

If you’re looking for opportunities to engage with your customers or prospects and need some guidance on how to get your marketing for you, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us.