The need for mobile, specialized services is the calling card of the best-of-breed approach for insurers. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Insurance technology can be a highly cyclical industry. We have seen centralized mainframes give way to distributed desktops, then back to centralized servers, and now back again to distributed endpoints with the adoption of cloud-based hosting and SaaS delivery models. Full-suite solutions versus best-of-breed components is another cycle I've seen from both sides.
A few years ago, the pendulum swung toward full suites, but now we are seeing the advent of something that wasn't even on P&C insurers' radars just a few years ago: Microservices — isolated, single-function services that integrate with carriers' core systems as part of a broader vendor ecosystem.
Related: Implementing successful technology projects: A short history of agile development
Microservice adoption
We are seeing a trend toward, and need for, service-based capabilities. For example, many carriers are now seeking headless implementations of their core systems, which basically means they need the behind-the-scenes capabilities of modern core systems, but want to provide their own unique front-end user experiences. Another great example is the industry's shift toward adopting microservices.
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