Achmea Builds an Agile Business Model with Hybrid Cloud Capabilities using Azure VMware Solution

The insurance industry is on the cusp of significant change. New forms of data gathering allied to advances in AI promise to transform how insurance premiums are priced. In 20 years, the industry can look back on this moment and wonder how, given the blunt tools at its disposal, it ever managed to calculate risk accurately.

The challenge, particularly for established insurance providers, is to make this immense change while continuing to operate and fighting off threats from new Insurtech start-ups. From what has essentially been a cost-based business, insurance companies can pivot to become data-led, service-focused enterprises. Digital workflows enable new ways to communicate with customers for greater feedback, speed and convenience.

Reimagining service expectations

Achmea is a Dutch insurance group comprising 13 domestic and international brands. Across all its operating companies, the group serves more than 10 million customers.

Digital transformation and changing consumer habits are causing massive disruption to the industry. Achmea recognizes it must reimagine its product offerings and service delivery to remain relevant. The group wants to allow its individual brands to find their own path, but to do so, Achmea must become more dynamic, agile and responsive in the way digital applications are developed.

Cloud is a vital part of this strategy. Achmea plans to exit its on-premises data centers by 2025. The group wants to be able to move workloads into the most appropriate private or public cloud environments and, given the breadth of its business, does not want to be tied to one cloud provider. The flexibility now enabled by the portability of VMware Cloud Foundation licenses to and from Azure VMware Solution offered by Broadcom and Microsoft frees customers, like Achmea, from locking VMware licenses to a single cloud provider.

"With a project of this size, we're looking to reduce complexity," says Wilbert Van Vilsteren, senior manager of infrastructure delivery and cloud transformation, Achmea. "Given the breadth of the VMware product offering, it was a logical choice to simplify our IT landscape. Azure VMware Solution gives us the same management experience across on-premises and Azure. It greatly simplifies the migration process.

"We have thousands of applications and workloads, our different operating companies have their own digital plans, and there are new regulations coming through constantly. We are in a situation of constant change. We must balance simplicity with flexibility."

Extracting more value from data

For Achmea, the advantages of scale and the ability to extract value from data drive the company's cloud ambitions.

"We want to get to a position where we know everything necessary about our customers, and our customers see us as a trusted partner. We want to extract more value from our data, and we must handle this data with respect," Van Vilsteren says.

Transformation of the industry is not a before/after event. Companies must create conditions where change is continuous and where service improvements are constantly being refined.

"AI can help find new insight in data, but it can also improve some operational aspects. We can resolve any customer queries faster, confirm evidence or process claims," Van Vilsteren says. "Customers expect improvement. As an organization, we need to be prepared to adapt."

Achmea wants to become a digital-data driven insurer and is on the right track with its future in the cloud.