The latest reports suggest that the tourism industry might return to its pre-pandemic state in three or even more years. The recovery process is a long run, and it is important to think beforehand and predict possible scenarios.

Global crisis effect not only industries but also their customers. They change their behavior and have new demands to the facilities that should be taken into account to make visitors feel safe and comfortable by paying attention to more contactless interaction and general hygiene.

We will discuss the top 5 customers’ demands and ways how to respond to these inquiries. Modern tech tools and solutions and tools can be most helpful to the hospitality businesses, provide new ways of interaction with the visitors, enhance in-house processes, etc.

5 Modern Hospitality Consumer Demands Every Leader Should Know About

Customer’s expectations grow each year, and the demand for a personalized experience and special care will only be increasing.

As leisure and tourism businesses constantly strive to improve their services, they should always take into account customers’ demands and follow the latest trends in the industry.

Some of the trends are influenced by the visitors themselves, some are based on the latest technologies, and some are the result of global changes. Here are the top 5 trends leaders should follow in 2021.

Contactless Interactions

Contactless check-ins and check-outs are possible with mobile apps and NFC (Near Field Communication). Some hotels have already implemented this technology and made it possible for the customers not to interact with the reception staff and go straight to their room once they arrive.

Contactless check-ins and outs save a lot of time for the guests. There is no need to wait in line or sit for hours in the hall of the hotel. This technology will increase the level of guest satisfaction.

Also, the app can provide useful information for the hotel staff and notify them when their visitors will arrive, so everything is ready on time.

There are also other types of contactless check-ins that use:

• facial recognition
• membership programs (Hilton Honors mobile application)
• passport information

The Whole New Level of Safety and Hygiene

Customers will pay more attention to the safety measures and hygiene of the place, as the worldwide pandemic is not over yet. So, these concepts should be a priority for hotels, restaurants, etc.

As the survey shows, visitors are expecting to have more intense room cleaning. Employees should wear protective equipment, and a hotel has to issue free protective equipment for the customers.

In addition to this, hotels should constantly inform their visitors about the rules of social distancing.

Chatbots Who?

A chatbot is another useful tool that can help visitors solve issues or provide necessary information when staff is not available. Today software development companies use AI technologies, so chatbots can act like real company staff.

Smart Rooms

The smart hotel room is one more popular trend in the leisure and travel industry.

This type of hotel uses IoT (Internet of Things) devices and systems that allow their visitors to manage every device in their room from a single place (for instance, a mobile app).

Virtual Tours

VR (Virtual Reality) tours become more and more popular within the industry as they let the potential guests see how their stay will look like from home.

The visitors can check the place and its territory, pay attention to all the important details, and switch from planning-mode to active one. Executives have to make sure that the tours are available even without a VR headset.

How to Respond to Modern Demands? Three Ways Leaders Should Use

Recovering from lockdown can be challenging, but businesses can accelerate this process by paying attention to customers’ demands and technology incorporation.

The new norm will require three critical capabilities: flexibility, creativity, and resilience. So, how the leisure and tourism industry can respond to new demands?

• Sow your desire to listen to your customers, understand, respond, take into account their preferences and expectations. This can help you rebuild visitor trust.
• Make sure the physical environment is as clean and stress-free as possible. Prioritize employee well-being.
• Use available tech tools and solutions to minimize interaction between visitors and employees.

Reassess operations of your business and reconnect with customers.

Modern Technologies and Software Development for the Hospitality Industry

The recovery road is not that simple. The leisure and travel industry should be ready to respond to the latest trends, quickly incorporate new tech trends, and pay attention to customers’ demands. Tech devices and solutions will help executives to overcome this hurdle and retain customer loyalty.

If you want to keep up with the leaders in the field or take your business to the next level, think about custom software development for travel and hospitality. Intellectsoft is your reliable digital transformation partner to help you survive the competition.

Having an experienced and professional team working on your projects is essential. It allows you to make no or fewer mistakes when enhancing business operations and to overcome crises of any kind. Let’s talk!

The post Hospitality Trends and Challenges for 2021 [and How Leaders Should Respond] appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

The United States is the world’s biggest insurance market showing growth during 2018, 2019, and 2020. The robust growth is also expected to happen in developing countries.

What Is Operational Excellence in Insurance?

The Smartsheet.com experts defined operational excellence as “a framework for businesses to focus on growth and execute their strategy better than their competitors.”

Companies pursuing operational excellence led by the desire for continuous improvement adopt a mindset of problem-solving, teamwork, and top-line growth, allowing them to create more value for customers.

How Does It Work?

Operational excellence can be best described as a mindset that embraces certain principles and methods to create significant improvement within a working environment and corporation in general.

It is a ground for business focused on growth and can be reached only when every organization member works to maximize customers’ value. Consequently, OE is a path for achieving stable growth.

What Is Cost Efficiency in Insurance?

Cost efficiency is the act of saving money by making a product or performing an activity better. Since the insurance industry is mature and highly competitive, cost efficiency may be the main profitability driver.

Insurance Cost Efficiency Strategies

Kepner-Tregoe.com defines 6 main strategies to improve cost efficiency for increasing operational excellence:

1. Improving Business Processes
2. Shutdown, Turns, and Shutdown (STO)
3. Supply Chain Management
4. Security Efficiency
5. Corrective and Preventive Action Management (CAPA)
6. Quality Improvement

These are effective methods for improving operational efficiency. The strategies can reduce operating costs while increasing productivity by allowing to reallocate the resources strategically. Moreover, Kepner-Tregoe cost reduction strategies provide additional benefits that impact the entire business by eliminating waste, speeding up processes, and using resources efficiently.

5 Ways to Achieve Operational Excellence and Cost Efficiency for Insurance Organizations in 2021

1. Celebrate Success, Incentivize Good Performance

The key point of this tip is to build support, top-down and bottom-up. The strategic priorities of many successful companies are to have a culture of operational excellence and cost-efficiency. It gives a huge impact and effective impulse for keeping the organization prosper. No matter the dimension and the purpose of your organization, ensure operational excellence is a number one priority guided by the management team.

Moreover, be sure to award employees for good performance. At the end of the year, at Foundrymag, they offer awards for the best workers alongside the President’s Award for Excellence for the best example of optimum performance.

Eric Larson, a company’s head of a department responsible for developing a culture of operational excellence and improving efficiencies, says that maintaining and improving a dashboard of key metrics for each team and senior management has given him insight into best practices to promote efficiencies and ensure that capital expenditures improve technical effectiveness.

2. Develop Appropriate Metrics

One of the most important aspects of operational excellence is how you measure success. Deciding on what metrics to use is crucial for every business, and insurance is not the exception. There are plenty of metrics to track the OE success, and for insurance, we suggest the following.

1. Percentage Pending
2. Bind Rate
3. Number of Referrals
4. Contract Rate
5. Quota & Quote Rate
6. Policies In-Force per Agent
7. Retention Rate
8. Sales Growth Rate

3. Network for Improvements

Make sure you have an efficient system to support agents and departments that might need back-up. Find ways to provide the newbies with the assistance of experienced workers. This can be done in both formal and informal ways.

Again, Foundry Mag specialists have elaborated the beta-version of a program named OPERA (Operational Expert Resource Application), whose goal is to help the business solve operational issues. This app helps them connect their North American workers with foreign employees to find organizational and other kinds of issues.

4. Respect Every Individual

Every insurance company member is a value chain that plays a significant role in an organization’s welfare. Everyone has dignity and potential, so each employee deserves to be respected. It would help if you manifested this respect by involving the employees in any improvements in their department. Such an approach would help all team members feel more empowered, appreciated, and valuable. Remember that successful leaders always practice humility.

5. Reach for Perfection

This step is met with resistance by people who claim that perfection is impossible. Even though it may be truly impossible, nobody says you still can’t try to reach for it. Setting the high bar, you make up a different mindset in your organization. Facing a problem, try to look for long-term solutions, and always simplify the process without harming the outcome’s quality.

In a Nutshell

The insurance business is a well-established business in the USA that performs as its biggest insurance market. In this article, we’ve discussed the modern state of the insurance industry, operational excellence and cost-efficiency in insurance, and where to find custom insurance software development services.

At Intellectsoft, we develop custom solutions to help insurance companies reach their goals. Are you and your organization looking for improvements? Talk to our experts and find out more about the topic and how your business can start benefiting from it today!

The post Next Generation of Operational Excellence And Cost Efficiency for Insurers [2021 Insights] appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

What Is Web Application Architecture

Web application architecture is a framework connecting different elements to enable web experience. It is the backbone of our daily internet browsing: typing in a URL and viewing and interacting with the website while the browser communicates with the server is one of the ways to describe what is web application architecture.

Attributes of a well-built web application architecture:

• Solves business problems
• Supports visual aesthetic
• Enables A/B testing and analytics
• Ensures fast user experience
• Provides security
• Sustainable and self-regulating
• Scales out and logs errors in an easy way
• Guarantees a high level of automation

Components of Web Application Architecture

Web application architectures consist of application components, middleware systems, and databases. They can be divided into two groups:

• UI/UX components
• Structural components

UI/UX components include dashboards, statistical data, notification elements, layouts, activity tracking, and other elements. These components create the visuals of a web page and lay the foundation for user experience.

Meanwhile, structural components include the web application server and the database server. The knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, as well as  Python, PHP, Java, Ruby, .NET, and Node.js are required to create them.

When it comes to building the components, there are several models to choose from:

• 1 web server and 1 database
• 2 web servers and 2 databases
• More than 2 web servers and databases

One web server with one database is the simplest model. With this web server architecture, the successful operation of an application depends on server stability. In other words, if there is a problem with the server, the app will not work. Still, the model is sufficient for testing and private sessions.

Using one database for two web servers is a more reliable model, as there is a backup server. On the other hand, ensuring the database is secure and always running is important.

Having more than two databases and web servers are the most dependable option. Due to its ability to manage and process large amounts of data, this model is a solid basis for an enterprise web application architecture.

Types of Web Application Architecture  

There are three web application architecture types. Each has its upsides and downsides and serves different purposes:

• Legacy HTML web app
• Widget web app
• Single-page web app architecture

Legacy HTML web app is established on the very basic logic: a user receives the whole HTML on request. In terms of web server architecture, it means that all the elements (namely, web page logic and overarching business logic) react to the full reload of the web page. This type of web application architecture is suitable for static pages, but not for dynamic web apps.

As a more sophisticated type, a widget web app allows for loading data without requesting the page reload. In this web application architecture type, widgets send AJAX queries and receive chunks of data in HTML and JSON. The widget web app type is more suitable for mobile apps. The downsides of the widget app are cybersecurity issues and long development time.

With a single-page web app architecture, a user simply needs to request the page. This web application architecture type relies on server requests in JavaScript or HTML instead of exchanging data in JSON.

Web Server Architecture

As web servers play a key part in the successful operation of web apps, the concept of web server architecture deserves special attention within the web application architecture topic. The servers are chosen by performance indicators like processing power, storage, speed, and app tiers (the number and quality of connections established with various applications, operating systems, and networks).

Now, let’s look at the types of web server architecture.

Types Of Web Application Server Architecture

Java Web Application Architecture

Within Java-based web application architecture, it is possible to achieve the highest level of versatility, meaning its it can be used to create simple and sophisticated pages alike. More so, Java web application architecture allows for building a reliable app for a long-term perspective, which is important for web application architecture of any scale.

The versatility is enabled by a wide array of Java-based tools for web application architecture, so Java web application architecture developers and businesses also get flexibility in how to reach their goals.

Cloud-based Web Application Architecture

The trend of moving operations to the cloud inevitably led to the development of cloud-based web application architecture. A big benefit of this type is data decoupling: a cloud-based app runs and is stored both on a local server and in the cloud. As for security, cloud-based web application architecture enables access and identity management to protect app data.

Node.js Web Application Architecture

Node.js web application architecture relies on model-view patterns, including MVC (model-view-controller), MVVM (model-view-view-model), and MVP (model-view-presenter). The patterns allow for identifying code elements and a proper way to route and configure them. Node.js enables the creation of a proper directory and design patterns.

Node.js web application architecture uses an entity-relationship diagram for data systematization, dividing the code, breaking logic into modules, and processing valuable insights from logs to ensure the application runs smoothly. In addition, Node.js web application architecture allows for building scalable web apps.

.NET Web Application Architecture  

In essence, .NET web application architecture deals with cross-platform support, microservices, Docker containers, and side-by-side versioning. The framework’s Data Access Layer allows using stored data without applying a specific database code. Today, this type of web application architecture includes ASP.NET Core and .NET Core, which significantly enhances the functionality of this language when it comes to optimization and support.

PHP Web Application Architecture

Being one of the most popular web development languages, PHP is also one of the simplest and the most functional ones. Thus, an architecture of PHP web application guarantees rapid development, better security, clear maintenance, dedicated teamwork, and support from a big community.

Azure Web Application Architecture

Microsoft Azure web application architecture allows for designing a solution that would serve as a bridge between traditional tools and the cloud. The Azure cloud platform also adopts the best web application architecture practices.

AngularJS Web Application Architecture

Finally, AngularJS web application architecture serves both as a platform and a framework for HTML and TypeScript. This type of web architecture relies on building blocks called NgModules. Among its key benefits is lazy loading, which improves user experience and reduces code size.

Laravel Web Application Architecture

The Laravel web app architecture is a PHP-based framework with an elegant and expressive syntax. It implements the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture and offers software engineers a simple web development experience.

Laravel web architecture gives engineers various helpful features for seamless development. They include modular packaging, better routing, authentication, and caching and sessions, among others, allowing developers to optimize performance and increase traffic. Laravel also allows for creating numerous routes with route names accessed via unique URLs. On top of that, the architecture also helps software engineers finish their web projects faster.

Python Web Application Architecture

Python is a popular web development language that can be used to create a reliable architecture for a web product. It has a succinct and easy-to-understand code for server-side scripting, making it accessible for developers who only begin coding in Python or work on their first web app project.

In addition to accelerating the development process, Python also supports fairly good tools for maintaining your web application architecture. Since it is dynamic and has shortcodes, this programming language is the best fit for prototyping. Developers can use multiple Python frameworks to create a custom web app, as well as use other programming languages in a single web app project.

Web Application Architecture Diagram

Here is a descriptive example of how a web application architecture looks like.

Source: Easyrec

In brief, here is how a web application works on the user side and under the hood:

• A user generates a request by typing in the web link (URL) in a browser’s address bar
• The browser obtains the user request, determines the site’s location, and requests access
• The server sends the request data to the browser
• The browser translates the information it received and displays it to the user as a website

Trends And Best Practices in Web Application Architecture

An ideal web application architecture should ensure efficient and straightforward web application development and maintenance. Therefore, the best practices for designing web app architecture involve the following important aspects:

• Scalability
• Efficiency
• Seamless problem-solving
• Flexibility
• Reusability
• Swift testability
• Decipherable code

Technological advancements have made it easy for developers to create a solid web app architecture for any digital solution. Here are some web app architecture trends in the design and development of a web application architecture.

Service-Oriented Architecture

Developing a service-oriented web app architecture means creating software that can be sold and used as a service to other companies. A service-oriented architecture has its own HTTP API and may run on multiple servers at once as they work together by sending requests to each other. Creating software-as-a-service (SaaS) products is a long-established trend that stayed essential throughout the years.

Single-Page Applications

Single-page applications are becoming increasingly popular as they exhibit fewer page load interruptions, and are more cost-effective and quick to develop. Such a web app strictly has a single-page design whose objects are stored in tables linked with an SQL database. Each user action loads an object on the site dynamically, without the need for reloading the entire web page. As for the back end, the requests are performed via AJAX web development techniques or the WebSocket computer communications protocol.

Progressive Web Apps

These apps also support most modern web browsers and provide enhanced offline support with better cache management.

Increased smartphone usage has triggered the need for developing progressive web apps. These applications are designed as regular websites but support seamless mobile viewability.

In other words, a progressive web app is a website that resembles a mobile app, available in a browser, not an app store. This app type supports most modern web browsers and provides solid offline support with better cache management.

Most importantly, progressive web apps can reach a very wide audience (for example, users in developing countries who do not have smartphones that support the latest apps).

These apps also support most modern web browsers and provide enhanced offline support with better cache management.

Prioritizing Search Engine Optimization

The latest updates in the Google algorithm also count the web app architecture as a key factor for SEO ranking. The Google crawler supports sites with an easy-to-understand hierarchy.

Moreover, the developers creating progressive web apps should also consider mobile search rankings while developing the architecture.

Blockchain Network

Making blockchain technology part of your web application architecture makes it fail-safe and highly secure due to its inherent capabilities. Blockchain also brings decentralized load balancing, as any blockchain system is distributed across a network of computers.

How To Design Architecture For Web Application

Before starting to design a web application architecture, make sure you decided on the following key aspects:

• The goal of the web project
• How your web solution will scale and possible future features
• Target audience
• Timeframe for creating the web application architecture
• Web solution’s features
• Platforms the solution will work across
• Budget

If you carefully considered all the aforementioned aspects, you can now proceed to design and realize the web app architecture for your solution. Here are the things you need to consider at this step.

Backend Development:

• Language: Choose a language (either static or dynamic) that is relevant to your domain.
• Framework/Server: Choose a server that supports the selected language.
• Serverless/Microservices: You can also choose a serverless web app architecture by using the cloud storage of one of the cloud services providers for your CPU and memory needs. Some organizations use microservices, making their web solution operate on multiple small servers that communicate with each other via Queue or HTTP. This model also supports the use of multiple languages.

Database:

• SQL/NoSQL: SQL and NoSQL databases offer different features. SQL databases have tables and a predefined plan. NoSQL, on the other hand, has objects, key-value structures, etc., and offers more flexibility and scalability which makes them suitable for large-scale projects.
• Replicability: Replicable databases have better load management as the data is copied to clusters.
• Backup: Make sure to have an appropriate backup for your database.

API:

• API Design: A commonly used API design styles methods include REST, POST, and GET, all of which help to manage requests over HTTP. However, Facebook has introduced another innovative method for API design called GraphQL. It allows making lean calls by fetching different parts of various objects from a server in a single call. This is particularly useful for mobile applications with limited internet bandwidth.
• WebSocket: WebSocket is a computer communications protocol that sends messages from servers to update the client about new data. While useful, WebSocket is optional, particularly if the app does not need to keep the client updated regularly.

Front-End Development:

• Type of Architecture: Choose between Model View Controller (MVC), Single Page Application (SPA), or Server-Side Rendering (SSR) for your application.
• Platform: Angular, Vue, React, and Web Components technology suite are some of the most commonly used platforms for front-end development.

Apart from these key aspects, other things to consider in the process of designing your web application architecture are cloud storage, security, app processing power, etc.

Summary

Web application architecture is the backbone of any web-based solution, so its success largely depends on how well it is thought-out. Put the pieces together according to the technical requirements and aim of your web solution, and your product will work properly, appeal to the right audience, and reap the benefits.

The post Web Application Architecture: Components, Types, Best Practices appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

In “PART 2”, we’ll keep revealing two more strategies and sharing scientific data, so you can be sure to include all the necessary details when you create your next fintech strategy.

5 Fintech Strategies for 2021: Summary

1. Real-life adoption of Big Data and enhanced analytics
2. Changing and shifting legacy systems
3. Move to online banking
4. Developing blockchain and platforms
5. Automatic robotic processes

Blockchain Solutions

Blockchain is among the technologies that shape the world’s future. It’s already the core of numerous innovations and is about to define the digital landscape of 2021 in 4 ways:

• ICO Launch Support
• Cryptocurrency operations
• Smart Contracts
• Identity Management

2020 Global Blockchain Report by Deloitte shows that blockchain has turned into an integral part of organizational innovation as “a top-five strategic priority” for companies. Among key advantages already offered, these digital solutions contribute to cybersecurity empowerment and the DeFi (decentralized finance) development. In a broader social context, the know-how helps establish sustainable food safety, provide digital identities to impoverished people and refugees, and prevent uncontrolled weapons tracking.

For businesses, blockchain solutions promise significant facilitation and productivity boost. For example, it helps to trace the lost and previously unnecessary data for accurate decision-making. Also, blockchain is irreplaceable in ownership protection, providing easy-to-track distribution that protects the rights of creators. Finally, the technology shapes the future of transactions, with further development and greater popularity of smart contracts and cryptocurrency operations.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

According to McKinsey insights, the adoption of robotics automation technologies has accelerated during the pandemic, especially in processing workflows. In 2021, we expect to witness the growing popularities of these RPA technologies:

• Account reconciliation,
• Automated mailers,
• Monthly account reviews, and
• Regulatory reporting.

In essence, the installation of robots is already a new industrial trend. Even though Hollywood movies tended to dramatize the situation with apocalyptic movies, reality shows that humans and robots work well together. With the robots’ involvement, it’s possible to simultaneously do the job or delegate certain processes and tasks that are better completed if done automated.

The reality of social distancing makes robotic process automation a good solution not to stop manufacturing. Moreover, it can serve as the basis for remote collaborative coding and any other way of automating the routing processes remotely. As another core use case, the RPA industry helps to deal with staff shortages. In particular, it can cover the elementary tasks of entry-level personnel effectively.

The Future of Fintech: How to Make It as Bright as It Seems

Of course, nobody knows the future. We can only make predictions from the current dynamics and prepare for the possible changes based on these forecasts. By taking into account the statistical data from key analytical centers and our experience in the field, we see the future in financial software — with or without Coronavirus, this black swan factor of today.

To make the most of Fintech opportunities, we recommend picking the IT partner who knows how to help you grow. You can refer to us. At Intellectsoft, we offer a wide list of financial software development services — including online banking, blockchain & cryptocurrencies, digital wallet apps, AI and ML solutions, securities trading automation, and RPA enhancements.

Talk to our experts and get a personalized recommendation on the benefits Fintech can bring to your business!

The post 5 Most Promising Strategies For Financial Software Development in 2021 [Part 2] appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

According to a KPMG report, the global FinTech industry received an investment of $150.4 billion in 2019, and the current industrial trends include the growth of platform business models, greater consolidation, and considerable strategic deal activity.

In its turn, Deloitte analysts state the remarkable rise of investments in the USA: the country received $6.6 billion, which accounts for 62% of total funding in Q3 2020.

The year 2021 is just around the corner, and financial software development has nothing but to keep growing. If FinTech demonstrates such outstanding performance before and during the problematic 2020, the post-pandemic era promises even better results to the industry.

Here are 5 key dimensions of how FinTech will evolve in the near future — thanks to the application of revolutionary technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing.

5 Fintech Strategies for 2021: Summary

1. Real-life adoption of Big Data and enhanced analytics
2. Changing and shifting legacy systems
3. Move to online banking
4. Developing blockchain and platforms
5. Automatic robotic processes

Real-life Implications of Big Data and Analytics

Since the loud case of using Big Data for Donald Trump’s election campaign, enhanced analytics has become among the most desired elaborations for business owners.

And there’s no surprise: the more information a company has about its clients, the better it knows these people. This means faster and more accurate decision-making, cost-effective research, and great customer satisfaction in everyday business situations.

In this context, the application of AI deserves special attention. It assists in working with data significantly. In practice, AI bots can facilitate businesses’ lives in different ways: from automating loans to creating a machine-aided procedure for account opening. Other instances include task management, transaction visualization, and providing risk scores to client profiles.

Legacy System Transformation and Migration

With the FinTech application, it’s possible to change and transfer key units and entire business systems to the cloud. This opportunity became vital these days with the disruption to working processes.

Because of COVID-19, at least one-tenth of employees worldwide are engaged in remote work, according to the McKinsey Global Institute insights. Each business owner faces the need to find the software to shift the essential data and processes in this situation.

Cloud solution enables smooth integration of the existing business model, guaranteed by sustainable support from leading IT specialists and engineers.

However, this shift should happen with a reliable IT provider who can lead your business through the process. Otherwise, you can fail like Salesforce in 2016, when the platform went offline for more than 24 hours and received tremendous business damage.

Online Banking

Steadily, Fintech is turning into a full-fledged alternative to traditional banking. It also offers functionality that reaches beyond simplistic account management (like checking balance and transferring money to cards) and shifts all the banking operations to the Internet.

In detail, the list of online banking technologies worth investing in 2021 includes:

• Custom online banking platforms,
• Online banking mobile apps,
• Online banking security,
• Online banking UI/UX, and
• Online banking system integration.

In essence, FinTech is the revolutionary invention for online banking because it makes a smartphone the only tool needed. You can use your phone for all the banking operations, including issuing cards and using different currencies. And the mobile users worldwide seem to welcome this greater smartphone usage trend warmly.

According to the Global FinTech Adoption Index published by Ernst and Young, the adoption rate of Fintech increased from 16% in 2015 to 64% in 2019.

There are numerous examples of online banking in real life. Basically, we already use this transaction type every day, from paying for Uber with Apple Pay to using a Bitcoin wallet to purchase a new car. We are already living in a world of online banking, and social distancing and closed banks only increase the need to develop this trend. In 2021, FinTech can establish platforms for check deposits, money transfers, applying for financial assistance, and cryptocurrency exchanges.

The post 5 Most Promising Strategies For Financial Software Development in 2021 [Part 1] appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

FinTech companies and startups’ changing dynamic forces them to be more adaptive to stay afloat or pivot during these difficult times. Financial institutions from all over the world change the way people practice their finance. These are all credited to the growth of new digital trends such as Cryptocurrency, Contactless, Trading.

The upcoming webinar “The Future of FinTech: Insights, Trends, and Use Cases Defining the Industry in 2021” offers fintech visionaries access to the unique resources for accelerating the infusion of digital finance in their business.

Throughout the live 45-minute talk, our top minds will develop a robust digital fintech blueprint for the financial companies, tapping into Intellectsoft’s IT expertise and know-how of the fintech sector.

Register Now

In this webinar, you’ll hear from industry experts who will discuss five promising trends shaping the fintech industry in 2021, including:

• Online banking
• Mobile wallets
• Cryptocurrency and blockchain
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Trading and securities

The webinar also reveals never-before-seen use cases of emerging technologies for digital finance and generates a common language for accelerated collaboration across the executive’s organizations. Participants explore a strategic overview of real-life solutions application, leaving with a strategic roadmap that ensures sustainability across all the stakeholders.

Emerging FinTech trends that are most likely to impact fintech businesses in 2021

Learning Outcomes Include: 

• Exploring global fintech trends every leader should look out for in 2021
• Revealing how to make your fintech business stand out in the post-digital world
• Discovering today’s featured examples of Intellectsoft clients’ technology solutions that can help you provide better and more efficient services
• Discussing how to evolve in 2021 using emerging technologies and more efficient solutions

Meet Your Hosts for the Webinar: 

After the webinar, all participants will have a chance to discuss the topic with our experts in a Q&A session.

Click here to sign up and learn more about the webinar.

The post Webinar: The Future of FinTech. Insights, Trends, and Use Cases Defining the Industry in 2021 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

The systems usually aim to understand your insurance company’s unique needs and match your requirements with customized solutions and technologies.

Having an efficient HR system means that your company has more time to spend creating strategic results.

We look at the best solutions and how they can make managing payroll, in-house certifications, incentives, and other personnel-focused tasks much more manageable.

What Is HR Management Software in Insurance?

Human resources software is used by insurance businesses to combine a number of necessary HR functions and assists with the following:

• Benefit Administration
• Online Enrollment
• Onboarding
• Compliance
• Communication
• Payroll Integrations
• COBRA Offerings
• ACA Reporting

To compete in a highly changing market, insurance leaders need a system that pushes their organization forward. Proper HR systems can build custom benefits administration systems for your clients.

Using emerging technologies, these systems centralize HR records online and sync employee data across multiple systems, including payroll, benefits, and time off. Usually, there aren’t one-size-fits-all systems, but finding the right vendor and technology can ultimately help your operations run smoothly.

Solutions

While evaluating current HR operations and needs, insurance companies seek out opportunities to eliminate redundant work through employee management systems, including:

• Payroll
• Benefits and HR administration
• Timekeeping
• Applicant tracking
• Performance management

Robust technology systems can have a significant impact on business operations. While other insurance firms focus primarily on benefits administration, there’s a possibility of creating a system including any tool your company uses to attract talent, manage the group’s population, and optimize HR responsibilities.

Key Features of HR Software

Attracting & Retaining Talents

Make managing your people easy, from streamlined onboarding and easy PTO tracking (paid/personal time off) to organizational charts, performance reviews, payment options, etc.

Streamlining Processes

Save your time by streamlining workflows and automatically incorporates everything from payroll and expense management to analytics and planning. This means less time spent on low-priority tasks so your team can focus on more important things.

With streamlined processes, your company can grow productivity, reduce costs, and create new levels of flexibility.

Meeting Client’s Requirements

Get deeper insights into market demands by using advanced analytics to bring insurance data together.

Adapting to Regulatory Changes

Prepare your company for regulatory changes by transforming key HR processes into one intelligent system.

One Centralized System For All Your HR Needs

Whether you’re looking to manage leaves, track expiring documents, send out notifications, or centralize employee databases — HR systems for insurance companies are designed specifically to cover all pain points that could arise during the digital journey.

When it comes to picking the best one for your business, consider your budget, location, and HR software you’re already using so you don’t pay for duplicate services.

Need to empower your insurance company with a smart HR system? Intellectsoft has created impactful solutions for EY, the London Stock Exchange, and EuroAccident. Explore what we offer for the insurance industry.

The post Smart HR Management Systems for Insurance Companies appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Arguably financial technology (fintech) evolved to be a crucial engine fueling the digital revolution’s advancement. Here is a list of emerging fintech trends:

1. Cloud Computing
2. Big Data and Analytics
3. Defi (Decentralized Finance)
4. Cybersecurity
5. Artificial Intelligence
6. The Internet of Things
7. Machine Learning
8. Robotic Process Automation
9. Software-defined Networking
10. 3d Printing
11. Biometric Security Systems
12. Voice Technologies

According to PwC research, 80% of telecommunication and 75% of financial services organizations are currently creating jobs related to fintech. Half of those also consider it as a part of their strategic operating models.

Global investment activity in fintech reached $150.4 billion in 2019, though it slowed down to $25.6 billion in the 1st half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US-based investments account for the biggest share, standing at 62% of total world fintech funding in Q3 2020.

12 Fintech Trends for 2021

1. Cloud Computing

In the world significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, even the most traditional organizations have to find ways to interact with their customers digitally.

More importantly, they need to build a system allowing them to access, manage, analyze, and control massive data storage in a reality where managers and analysts cannot physically reach their offices.

Caption 1. Technology trends that are most important for businesses today

As about 265 million Americans are forced to live under official social distancing guidelines, there is a vital need to move organizations to the cloud as quickly as possible. Leaders should undertake a few essential steps to achieve a smooth transition:

• Providing sufficient funding to ensure the employment of all the required technology
• Integrating the cloud to the business model to reflect its widespread and long-lasting impact
• Attracting well-qualified engineers and IT-specialists to support the technology’s everyday performance effectively and to avoid any disruptions

2. Big Data and Analytics

Per The Economist Intelligence Unit survey, 37.9% of businesses see big data and analytics as one of the top three trends. Most organizations are trying to capture all possible data streaming inside and apply all kinds of analytics to it.

There are numerous positive outcomes achievable, for example:

• Faster decision making: various analysis tools allow making instantaneous decisions based on immediate data streams
• Cost reduction: it helps to find better ways of doing business by scrutinizing individual aspects of everyday operations
• Customer satisfaction: having the opportunity to analyze the customers’ behavior over time, organizations get a chance to develop new products to meet their needs more effectively

3. DeFi

Even though cryptocurrencies have not been occupying headlines that often in 2020, their underlying technology keeps tremendous potential.

For instance, blockchain usage in Europe has shifted dramatically to payments (33% of organizations), data access and sharing (30%), identity protection (30%), and data reconciliation (29%).

Caption 2. Primary challenges when implementing blockchain technology

Earlier, we covered supply chain optimization and tracing, including the IBM Foodtrust platform. The new trend, however, is decentralized finance or DeFi. It is about creating autonomous protocols (set of rules) for money to operate; no trusted party is needed. The hottest topic is lending, namely yield farming.

4. Cybersecurity

With the COVID-19 world facing the rise of online activities, cybercrime constantly expands its endeavors.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 80% of firms have seen increased cyberattacks, cloud-based attacks rose 630%, and phishing attempts rose 600%. In 2021, the cybersecurity market is expected to grow significantly to over $200 billion worldwide.

5. Artificial Intelligence

Organizations are paying more and more attention to Artificial Intelligence power. AI has been named the most disruptive technology by managers and IT leaders worldwide, exceeding big data and analytics.

Artificial intelligence statistics by NewVantage displays that 91.5% of top businesses surveyed report having an ongoing investment in AI.

The latest statistics show that by 2021 about 15% of customer service interactions worldwide will be fully powered by AI, and by 2025 the industry is forecasted to reach $31 billion in revenue.

6. The Internet of Things

The giant ecosystem of the Internet of Things is multiplying. IoT devices are everywhere, from voice assistants to slow cookers.

The IoT market is expected to expand to $520 billion in 2021, having systems integration and data center and analytics as its biggest segments.

Caption 4. Reasons for technology usage

7. Machine Learning

Machine learning is often seen as synonymous with artificial intelligence. It is a subset of AI, making the former perform faster by reinforcing its learning abilities.

These make machine learning a key component of AI, a fact confirmed by the latest machine learning statistics.

The machine learning market has been rapidly growing. The most significant segment of this market is the deep learning software set to reach about $1 billion by 2025.

Current machine learning market research has shown that the market for AI-powered hardware and assistants is expected to grow at a high pace.

8. Robotic Process Automation

Between 2020 and 2022, almost 2 million new industrial robots are expected to be installed in factories around the world. The range of collaborative applications offered by robot manufacturers continues to expand.

Currently, shared workspace applications are most common: robots and people operate together, completing jobs simultaneously. They enable this by voice, gesture, and recognition of intent from human motion.

Caption 6. Service robots for personal/domestic use

9. Software-defined Networking

Software-defined networking (SDN) solves the issues of rapid network architecture to handle large data traffic. The world SDN market is expected to rise from $13.7 billion in 2020 to $32,7 billion by 2025.

Given the growing adoption of SDN, the demand increases among service providers and enterprises. Based on services, the SDN market has been fragmented into implementation, consulting, and support. These services help users in managing and comprehensive network infrastructure required for the effective imposing of SDN.

10. 3D Printing

From cost reduction to an increase in efficiency to fuelling innovation, 3D printing reinforces rise for many industries and has made a considerable impact in manufacturing.

The 3D printing market was valued at $13.7 billion in 2019 and is set to achieve $63.46 billion by 2025, at an annual growth rate of 29.48% over the period of 2020 to 2025.

11. Biometric Security Systems

It is vital for the fintech industry organizations to take all possible security measures. And biometrics is the best way to lift security to the next level, ensuring users’ confidence that their information is protected.

The world biometrics market is expected to reach $45.96 billion by 2024 as the partnerships between tech and biometric companies will be growing.

The range of solutions is set to grow bigger to utilize such biometric data as fingerprint, face, iris, vein, voice, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry, signature, and several behavioral features.

12. Voice Technologies

Chat-like platforms keep arriving for everything customers need to deal with on an everyday basis. Voice assistants are being developed to provide support for various issues. Voice technologies have evolved to tell the weather forecast or stream sports and improve customer service in the banking sector.

Voice technologies are divided into two main groups: the phonetic recognition of different words and the interpretation of the actual language as spoken, also known as natural language processing (NLP). The voice technology market reached about $11 billion in 2019 and will rise by close to 17 percent by 2025.

Conclusion

The financial software development services keep emerging in response to the customers’ and businesses’ needs, allowing the latter to deliver better services, store and analyze vast amounts of information, secure various communication streams, and many more.

We, at Intellectsoft, empower fintech companies and their workforces with innovative solutions and approaches. Are you and your organization looking for some? Talk to our experts and find out more about the topic and how your business can start benefiting from it today!

The post Disruptive FinTech: 12 Technology Trends to Watch in 2021 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

It’s hard to distinguish these agency management systems for insurance in the given circumstances and pick the best one. In this overview, we’ll describe what insurance agency management software serves, which traits it should have, and what kind of benefits must bring.

What is insurance agency management software?

In essence, insurance management software is the type of technology that serves all the actors involved in this industry. Precisely, it assists in working with clients, optimizing the existing business processes, and computerizing the workflows.

Within the established software system, an insurance company can get full-stack control over its business processes, client support, billing, and reporting. Besides, the system supports numerous administrative functions, including tracking policy implementation, managing claims, and ensuring team collaboration.

For clients of insurance agencies, the software enables convenient access to policy information, filling the forms, and premium features. This package of services is a must for this type of software.

In short, the know-how serves the goal of ensuring smooth flow and greater effectiveness within an insurance agency. Providing internal clarity and accuracy, insurance management software also guarantees delivering the required information to clients. This way, it contributes to greater business effectiveness significantly.

The role of insurance agency management systems in the insurance business

Simply put, the enhancement of daily operations is the most important contribution of insurance agency management systems in the corporate structure.

To play this role, the technology should deal, among all, with back-office automation and CRM-connected services. If applied correctly, agency management systems for insurance facilitate all types of information processing, especially related to sales and revenue.

The most evident result of applying management technology in insurance is getting a clear competitive advantage on the market. This complex achievement comes from improvements on all the levels of prosecution:

1. Operational management: the insurance agency management software increases the speed and accuracy of the typical operations
2. Marketing: the technology improves the quality and accuracy of leads and assists in their conversion into buyers
3. Customer support: the software takes complete control over customer accounts and ensures effective communication that always ends with informed decisions
4. Business development: the analytical tools provide a broad picture of how the company is doing and where and how it can potentially grow
5. Scaling: the technology is flexible enough to adjust to the business needs and massive information flows in the changing environment
6. Finances: the software is an investment that pays off in the long run

Features of insurance management software

The list of main features of a beneficial insurance agency management software includes:

• Automation
• Control
• Integration
• Storage
• Analysis

Better automation means the presence of prescribed algorithms that assist in exercising routine operations faster and easier. The most illustrative case is claims management, where the software allows tracking and reacting to the complaints in real time.

Also, with the help of insurance management software, the insurance agency gets enhanced control tool over the prosecution of daily operations and cooperation with clients. With technology, client management means easy and secure access to personal information and renewing policies or assisting in handling their problems.

Moreover, insurance management software integrates the isolated processes in an entire consolidated system. It helps to determine the weak parts quickly and to increase the overall processing effectiveness.

For example, technology creates better policy management, meaning uniting interactions with different categories of customers under one administration system.

Besides, the management software’s ability to deal with Big Data turns it into the perfect storage system for the insurance agency. Precisely, the insurance management system tracks all the corporate information in real-time and provides an opportunity to react within seconds.

Finally, the enhanced analytics within the insurance management software makes it easier for the agency to build forecasts and search for codependencies. Specifically, the tool helps to analyze the profitability and generate various reports.

Bonus: the additional features may include ensured compliance to regulations, the ability to track potential clients, and sending automatic premium notifications.

Benefits of insurance management software

One of the key advantages of insurance agency management software is saving time. In particular, greater automation means creating space for accelerated operations and better time management. In practice, the insurance agency will understand how to spend time more productively and process routine billing and reporting hassle-free.

Also, insurance management software protects data. In this dimension, the in-built encryption and authentication provide a secure space for working with sensitive information. In the contemporary stage of digitalization, data security is concern #1. And insurance software, being among the safest technologies these days, addresses this concern effectively.

Among the non-obvious perks of the software, technological solutions to insurance management improve communication within the team. Most routine conversations can be replaced by automatic push notifications, handy templates, and easy-to-use task management systems. In the given circumstances, the most critical negotiations gain more attention and time from the insurance workers.

The last significant benefit of insurance management software is matching customer service. In this context, the greater accuracy of satisfying clients’ needs comes from instant, reacting to their claims and complaints and providing requested solutions.

Overall, the sum of all the above-mentioned advantages leads to gaining a competitive edge on the market. With the software, the insurance company can become the fastest and safest provider, beyond being the most effective and attractive insurer in potential clients’ eyes.

Are you ready to implement insurance management software?

If you’re interested in adding insurance agency management software into the list of your corporate technologies, Intellectsoft will help you with that.

We’re specialized in insurance management software development and ready to provide the technological solution of any complexity to your insurance agency. Feel free to contact us!

The post How to Pick Insurance Agency Management Software Right appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

When it comes to the limits of predictive analytics in insurance, the main concern is on the extent to which the sphere can apply artificial intelligence in its daily operations. Throughout the years, insurance was not eager to introduce new technologies.

However, some technical improvements have shown their benefits, especially car sensors, telematics, and social media software. Thanks to these know-hows, it’s possible to discuss the role and application of predictive analytics in the insurance industry today.

What Is Predictive Analytics?

In essence, predictive analytics is an analytical tool that keeps track of historical records. By searching for connection and logic in these data sets, it forecasts upcoming events.

In practice, applying predictive analytics aims to reach the entire business’s higher profitability and the effectiveness of its common practices.

Using and drawing models from the set of data, algorithms, and machine learning practices, predictive analytics enables to calculate the likelihood of certain events and the possibility of certain types of customer behavior.

This peculiarity makes this analytical tool highly attractive for businesses, promising them the greater competitive advantage and ability to feel the trends coming. And the key actors in the insurance sector also acknowledge these perks and incorporate predictive analytics into their daily practices.

The role of predictive analytics in the insurance industry

The surfeit of data makes the insurance industry a perfect sphere for predictive analytics implementation. In particular, this tool helps to construct basic patterns and get fundamental insights about the insurance business and manage the complex relations between agents and clients.

Mainly, predictive analytics is used in insurance for forecasting customer behavior. Precisely, the process involves collecting information from various communication channels, interactions with clients, agent feedback, and smart home systems. From all these sources, the analyst gets the raw data to define and improve existing relationships.

In practice, better claims management and clearer underwriting services are the main improvements that predictive analytics brings to the insurance industry. With the application of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral intelligence, it turns the sphere into a data-driven, predictive, and efficient system.

The common areas for the predictive analytics process

Among all, the appropriate planning of a predictive analytics introduction ensures the insurer will experience all the benefits of this tool. That’s why you should pay precise attention to the areas of implementation. This way, you’ll get the most profit and effectiveness boost.

In essence, the most profitability comes from incorporating predictive analytics into claims management. Also, managing underwriting services will work well.

Start working with these two dimensions while establishing your predictive analytics process. Also, consider the nuances of life insurance and health insurance before building the predictive analytics process.

Predictive Analytics in Life Insurance

In life insurance, key industry actors mostly use predictive analytics to work with Big Data and track any valuable connections. In this context, the insights that are driven from this processing include better addressing of common concerns. They include sophisticated bureaucracy around underwriting and extra time spent on registration.

At the same time, purchases are the blind spot for predictive analytics in life insurance. There exist some difficulties with their modeling because of the lack of needed data in low-frequency periods. That’s why the key emphasis in life insurance analysis is on fixing the underwriting process to date.

Predictive Analytics in Health Insurance

Among all, predictive analytics in health insurance supports the key industry actors, like health agencies, hospitals, and medical providers. Its main improvements refer to the areas of business operations, operation accuracies, and treatment adjustments.

Specifically, the application of real-time reporting ensures timely and precise adjustments to the changing environment, including fast adaptation to the changes. At the same time, Deloitte’s report on using predictive analytics in health care warns of possible moral hazards of promising risk control. That’s why the application of this analytical tool calls for maximum caution.

How to get the most from the use of predictive analytics in insurance

Predictive analytics promises two main advantages for the insurance sphere: cost-effectiveness and problem-solving. That’s the reason why this tool is mostly associated with higher profits and better sales figures. However, you won’t be able to enjoy the full package of its advantages without knowing how to apply predictive analytics correctly in the exact insurance areas.

Predictive Analytics Sample Project in Insurance Claim Management

Since predictive analytics brings the most money to insurance businesses by managing claims, we highly recommend incorporating this tool as a project. By this, we mean working with data sets by adopting the “predict and act” approach, incorporating the tools in several stages, and setting effective KPIs.

Among all, by applying predictive analytics, you’ll create the background for better customer experience, greater operational excellence, and improved risk management. For the proper start, IBM Software report recommends adopting a “predict and act” approach to business decision making. It means getting clear answers to 3 questions:

• How are we doing? (Meaning what the insurance company thinks of itself and what its clients assume)
• Why? (The answer comes from user-driven top-down analytics and data-driven bottom-up analytics)
• What should we be doing? (Matching individual level and portfolio level).

With the right and timely answers, you’ll get the sustainable ground for taking effective action from the already connected data. This will let you pass five key decision points:

1. First notice of loss,
2. Additional information request,
3. In-depth investigation,
4. Payment and closing, and
5. Subrogation.

Finally, to track your progress, we recommend setting the following KPIs:

• Reserve adequacy,
• LAE,
• Fraud avoided,
• Investigator efficiency,
• Amount subrogated,
• Number of products per policyholder,
• Customer retention, etc.

Predictive Analytics in Insurance Claims

While claims management is already an integral part of the insurance routine, predictive analytics improves and significantly accelerates its processing. In particular, it enables high client personalization with the clear perks of better time management, cost optimization, and resource control.

These preventive measures ensure customer satisfaction, and the very chances claims will appear in the future are low. Simply put, the longer you use predictive analytics to manage insurance claims, the fewer claims you get in the future.

Outlier claims, as a special dimension in claim management, are also handled by predictive analytics effectively. In this case, the tool ensures cost-effectiveness by preventing expensive losses, thanks to the enhanced automation and similarity check. From a long-term perspective, this kind of digitalization enabled effective planning and informed decision-making.

Predictive analytics in the insurance industry: Steps to take

To make sure that predictive analytics in insurance will reveal its best, use this checklist on the necessary measures and tools. There can be many more steps, but these four actions are basic and inevitable.

“What-if” Modeling, or an Alternative Method for Predictive Analytics in Health Insurance 

“What-if” modeling is one of the most effective tools for underwriting preparation. In particular, it helps you check the underwriting workload, produce the registration process, and measure the impact.

Do Market Research

Market research is a critical part of any project strategy. So, don’t hesitate to use enhanced predictive analytical tools to determine your target market. Your data will include behavioral patterns, demographic aspects, and other important characteristics. Everything you need will be on social media, mostly.

Determine the Customer Loyalty Opportunities

Branding activity is an important part of any strategy, and predictive analytics can help here. In this case, your focus here should be on defining and analyzing their needs. An ability to address customer pains in the best manner possible will contribute to your future steady market success.

Determine KPIs

Working with measurable performance indicators makes your business problem achievable. That’s why you should set KPIs as the must-have stage in working with predictive analytics. Use the already collected data to understand your starting points and the milestones you’re about to reach. For example, KPIs for claims management can include reducing claims cycle time, customer satisfaction improvements, fraud control, claim recovery optimization, and savings.

Predictive analytics: Use cases in insurance

There are many good examples of predictive analytics in the insurance industry. In particular, it showed itself effective for data collection, risk management, product optimization, behavioral intelligence, Big Data analysis, and timely resolution of claims. In this section, we’ve collected the top 4 use cases of predictive analytics in insurance.

Pricing and Risk Mitigation

Data insights driven from firsthand information make the decision-making more effective. That’s because the availability of numerous sophisticated data sources enables drawing valid conclusions about customer behavior. Social media posts, smart technologies, and claims are by themselves highly reliable reference points. And the ability to collect and analyze them together in one place provides numerous advantages to insureds.

Customer Care

The great benefit of predictive analytics is in its power to save clients you’re about to lose. The data insights can track visitors who are unhappy or don’t use the insurance service fully and address their concerns long before they become the reason for your breakup.

Fraud Prevention

Predictive analytics has already started handling fraud risk effectively. In this context, social media serves as the perfect source for collecting insights and addressing threats.

Trends Tracking

Predictive analytics can help you keep a competitive advantage by keeping an eye on and notifying about emerging trends. In practical terms, insurers can arrange new products, design customer experiences, and incorporate necessary technological solutions.

Need to empower your insurance company with predictive analytics? Intellectsoft has created impactful solutions for EY, the London Stock Exchange, and EuroAccident. Explore what we offer for the insurance industry.

The post What Is Predictive Analytics in Insurance and How to Use It appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.