Our cover story reveals the digital transformation journey at global insurance services company Innovation Group using InsurTech advances to disrupt…

Our cover story reveals the digital transformation journey at global insurance services company Innovation Group using InsurTech advances to disrupt the industry.

Welcome to the latest issue of Interface magazine!

Read the latest issue here!

We’re excited to be publishing the biggest ever issue of Interface this month. It’s packed with insights from the cutting edge of digital technologies across a diverse range of sectors; from InsurTech to Travel via eCommerce, Banking, Manufacturing and Public Services.

Innovation Group: Enabling the Future of Insurance

“What we’ve achieved at Innovation Group is truly disruptive,” reflects Group Chief Technology Officer James Coggin.

“Our acquisition by one of the world’s largest insurance companies validated the strategy we pursued with our Gateway platform. We put the platform at the heart of an ecosystem of insurers, service providers and their customers. It has proved to be a powerful approach.”

Leeds Building Society: Tech Transformation Driven by Data

Carole Roberts, Director of Data at Leeds Building Society, on a digital transformation program driven by the mutual power of people and culture.

“We’ve made the decision to move to a composable architecture. It’s going to give us much more flexibility in the future to be able to swap in and out components rather than one big monolithic environment.”

AvePoint: Securing the Digital Future

Kevin Briggs, Vice President of Public Sector at AvePoint, discusses pioneering data security and management transformation in the global public sector.

“We ensure the security, accessibility and integrity of data for customers with missions from everything from finance and health services, through to national security, innovation, and science.”

Saudia: Taking off on a Digital Journey

Abdulgader Attiah, Chief Data & Technology Officer at Saudia, on the digital transformation program towards becoming an ‘offer and order’ airline.

“By the end of this year we will have established the maturity level for data technology, and our digital and back-office transformations. In 2025 we will begin implementing our retailing concept and the AI features that will drive it. The building blocks will be in place for next year’s initiatives where hyper personalisation for retailing is a must.”

Publicis Sapient: Global Banking Benchmark Study

Dave Murphy, Financial Services Lead, International – gives Interface the lowdown on the third annual Global Banking Benchmark Study and the key findings Publicis Sapient revealed around core modernisation, GenAI, data analytics transformation and payments.

“AI, machine learning and GenAI are both the focus and the fuel of banks’ digital transformation efforts. The biggest question for executives isn’t about the potential of these technologies. It’s how best to move from experimenting with use cases in pockets of the business to implementing at scale across the enterprise. The right data is key. It’s what powers the models.”

Habi: Unleashing liquidity in the LATAM market

Employees at Habi discuss its mission to help customers buy and sell their homes more effectively.

“At Habi, you can talk with the AI agent and you can provide information that streamlines the whole process.”

USDA FPAC: Achieving customer experience balance

Abena Apau and Kimberly Iczkowski, from USDA FPAC on the incredible work the organisation is doing to support farmers across America.

“We’ve created a new structure for ourselves, based on the fact that the digital experience is not the be all and end all, and we have to balance it with the human touch.”

Adecco Group: Digital Transformation driven by business outcomes

Geert Halsberghe, Head of IT, Benelux, at Adecco Group, talks transformation management, cultural consensus, and ensuring digital transformation starts (and stays) focused on solving business problems.

“It’s very crucial to make sure that we aren’t spending money on IT transformation for the sake of IT transformation.”

La Vie en Rose: Outcome-focused Digital Transformation

Éric Champagne, CIO of La Vie en Rose, on ensuring digital transformations are defined by communication, vision, and cultural buy-in. 

“I don’t chase after the latest technology just because it seems cool… My focus is on aligning technology with the business strategy and real needs.”

Breitling: Digital Transformation and the omnichannel experience

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram, CTO at Breitling, talks changing customer expectations, data, AI, and digitally transforming to deliver the omnichannel experience.

 “The CRM, the marketing, our e-commerce channels — they’ve all matured so much… we’re meeting our customers wherever they are or want to be.” 

Read the latest issue here!

  • Digital Strategy

Data revealed as Tech Nation and Dealroom launch the Impact & Innovation database…

New research from Tech Nation and Dealroom reveals that investment into UK impact startups increased 9.5x between 2014 and 2019. UK impact startups have raised €1.4B so far in 2020 with Cleantech and Climate tech companies raising the most capital of all UK impact startups. 

The biggest rounds for UK impact startups in 2020 include Octopus Energy, Arrival, Connexin (Hull), Tokamak Energy (Abingdon), Compass Pathways, Cera, Highview Power, FiveAI (Cambridge), The Meatless Farm Company (Leeds).

It comes as Tech Nation and Dealroom launch the  Impact and Innovation database, that catalogues 4,939 startups and scaleups, 7,472 funding rounds, and 232 exits of innovative companies addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. 

George Windsor, Head of Insights at Tech Nation, commented: “UK impact tech firms have come on leaps and bounds over the last six years – with nearly 10x more investment made into groundbreaking companies in 2020 than 2014. UK tech must continue to play a key part in tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges, including  climate change. This revolution is happening right across the country. Tech Nation is pleased to work with some of the leading companies in this space through our world-first Net Zero programme – ensuring that companies working in this sector can scale to have the greatest impact.”

The data also reveals that European startups are more impact-focussed than their global peers. €6B was invested into European impact startups in 2019, making up over 15% of all VC investment in the region. This research shows that what was once fringe investment and innovation activity is finding traction and proven success in Europe, becoming a core part of European innovation ecosystems.

Climate tech startups, which includes electric vehicles, have attracted the most investment within the Impact sub-sector, with European players emerging as global market leaders. European companies working to tackle climate change and its impacts have attracted €9.8B in VC investment in the last five years. 

Impact innovation startups are also fueling growth and job creation. Crucially, these startups are actively hiring, the Impact & Innovation database lists over 2,100 jobs in impact startups that are currently hiring in Europe – over 390 of these are in the UK. 

The Impact and Innovation platform will bring together startups, investors, non-profits, governments, and corporates in one open-access data-driven platform. The new mapping of the global impact and innovation ecosystem will facilitate data-driven policy and decision making, the sharing of cross-industry knowledge, and will foster the partnerships required to help next generation innovators succeed on the global stage.