OLD MUTUAL
“ Old Mutual is a 179-year-old organisation , so – as you can imagine – comes with a lot of complexity and challenges . However , the most exciting development for me in the last three years has been Old Mutual ’ s digital and people transformation journey .”
For an insurance organisation – not traditionally known for rapid change and execution – this transformation has been remarkably swift . “ For us to leapfrog and achieve our ambition , we realised we had to take a two-pronged approach . We needed to fix the current issues we were experiencing and get the foundational elements right . At the same time , we needed to figure out what our tomorrow looks like today . The cloud migration was a step towards building for a tomorrow that aligns with our strategy and ambition .”
As Govender describes , Old Mutual did not have the benefit of time when it came to implementing its transformation . The imperative was clear : to get the organisation moving at the pace required for the new digital era . “ We did not have the luxury of waiting four to five years , we knew that we needed to make a difference now .”
The two-pronged approach kicked into gear – one track focusing on ripping out legacy infrastructure , the other focused on evolving the customer experience . “ We had to work simultaneously to phase out our legacy infrastructure very quickly , while also recognising the importance of transforming our customer proposition and experience .
“ Presently , customers encounter a diverse range of experiences across various industries , from companies like Google and Netflix to convenient banking services on
“ As an insurance organisation , it ’ s imperative for us to stay abreast of these customer trends and meet their evolving expectations ”
MAY GOVENDER CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER , OLD MUTUAL LIMITED
the go . These encounters significantly shape customers ’ expectations regarding what constitutes a positive experience . As an insurance organisation , it ’ s imperative for us to stay abreast of these customer trends and meet their evolving expectations .”
“ Our biggest challenge in achieving this ambition was the ability to execute at pace as we didn ’ t have the luxury of time to have the foundational elements and technologies in place ; so really it ’ s about how we fix the aeroplane while it ’ s in flight .”
Old Mutual ’ s cloud transformation This cloud transformation journey began around 2019 when Old Mutual decided to migrate its IT estate to the cloud at the back of the digital transformation that commenced in 2017 . “ At that time , the organisation was facing challenges associated with ageing data centre infrastructure , suffering from several stability issues and downtime that impacted business operations .”
180 May 2024