The partnership aims to address the challenges and opportunities within Japan’s insurance sector, which is undergoing significant changes due to technological advancements, demographic shifts, and evolving customer expectations. By working together, Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer intend to provide innovative solutions that streamline core insurance operations while ensuring compliance and operational efficiency. The collaboration also emphasizes sustainable business practices, aligning with global trends in the insurance industry.

Advancing Insurance Operations with SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance

The SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance offers an integrated platform designed to handle the end-to-end processes required in the insurance industry. It encompasses critical areas such as product management, underwriting, policy administration, claims processing, and payment collections. Leveraging SAP Fioneer’s proven technology, the platform combines global best practices with localized solutions tailored to meet the unique requirements of the Japanese insurance market.

This collaboration between Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer includes the creation of the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance. The Japan-specific version aims to standardize insurance operations and introduce new efficiencies by incorporating regulatory and functional requirements unique to the region. Fujitsu plans to launch this tailored solution by March 2026, following rigorous proof-of-concept testing.

The platform will not only modernize legacy systems but also support insurers in strategically reallocating resources. Insurers will be able to focus on high-value activities such as product innovation and expanding sales channels, ultimately enhancing their competitive edge. Additionally, the platform will strengthen governance, improve IT capabilities, and foster continuous quality improvements, aligning insurers with global digital transformation trends.

The insurance industry in Japan faces numerous challenges, including an aging population, declining birth rates, and a rapidly evolving technological landscape. These factors are reshaping consumer expectations and intensifying market competition. Furthermore, legacy systems and a shortage of skilled IT professionals present obstacles to achieving the agility and efficiency needed to compete in this dynamic environment.

By adopting SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance, insurers will be better equipped to overcome these hurdles. The platform’s emphasis on streamlining operations and enhancing compliance will provide insurers with the tools to adapt to these challenges while maintaining a sustainable business approach.

Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer’s Shared Vision

Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer share a vision of driving innovation across Japan’s insurance sector. Through this partnership, Fujitsu brings its expertise in system development and customer success, while SAP Fioneer contributes its advanced financial services technology and global experience. Together, they aim to establish the SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance as the standard platform for the Japanese market.

Fujitsu’s Corporate Executive Officer Masaru Yagi highlights the partnership’s importance in transforming the financial sector by merging Fujitsu’s technological expertise with SAP Fioneer’s industry solutions. Fujitsu intends to collaborate on every aspect of the project, from product planning to marketing, to ensure the platform delivers maximum value to customers.

Similarly, Chirag Shah, Managing Director of Insurance at SAP Fioneer, underscores the importance of addressing Japan’s local regulatory and functional needs. He emphasizes that the development of the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance will combine global best practices with tailored solutions to meet the unique demands of the Japanese insurance industry.

With a target launch in 2026, this initiative promises to reshape the industry, enabling insurers to meet evolving customer needs and thrive in an increasingly competitive market. The collaboration reflects a commitment to delivering meaningful solutions that address both current challenges and future opportunities in the insurance sector.

The post SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance Powers Digital Change in Japan appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

A virtual event hosted by Bankers Institute of the Philippines (BAIPHIL) and co-presented by SAP last March tackled how digital innovations in rural banking can significantly contribute to the rural economy and deliver relevant services to the communities in the countryside. Themed “Digitalisation in Rural Banking: Strategies for Financial Inclusion in the Midst of the Pandemic and Beyond”, the event highlighted how financial inclusion can be better realised with technology adoption and how rurals banks can transform into intelligent, agile, and sustainable organisations.

Sharing about the hurdles rural banks in the Philippines currently face, Estrellita Ong, Director of the BAIPHIL and Chief Internal Auditor of BDO Unibank Inc., said:

“Rural banking is a segment most vulnerable to economic stops brought by calamities and the pandemic. It also requires approaches that are more personal, inclusive, and far-reaching. And while competition is fierce, regulatory compliance is a must.”

“That is why rural banks need more than good people and sufficient capital. It requires an upgraded and robust IT infrastructure to keep pace with the evolving technology landscape,” she stressed.

Embracing Technology in Banking Industry 

A study by Bain & Company, Google, and Temasek (2020): The Future of Southeast Asia’s Digital Financial Services, revealed that over 70{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of consumers are either underbanked or unbanked. In Malaysia, around 55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the adult population is still underbanked and unbanked. In the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey revealed that almost 71 percent of the country’s adult population was unbanked. 

With the pandemic as the catalyst urging people to embrace digital banking, the BSP report stated that Central Bank is forecasting that at least 70 percent of the adult population will be bank account holders by 2023.

During the event, Nitin Vohra, Director of S/4HANA Center of Excellence for SAP Asia-Pacific and Japan, emphasised the pivotal role of technology and business innovations in advancing the banking sector. Detailing the need for rural banks and other financial institutions to devise a digital strategy that would allow them to strategically compete with traditional universal banks, he said:

“Banks should rationalise their product offerings and concentrate on areas that command a competitive advantage. Another option is to become a service provider to other banks or fintech companies to eliminate the need for others to engage in heavily regulated industries and activities, readily taking on the compliance burden.”

Vohra said that banks can operate as aggregators of financial services and products, which would not only save manufacturing costs and ensure compliance but also offer customers a comprehensive product portfolio. He added that it is pertinent to adopt a vertically integrated yet open platform to be able to deliver a higher level of customer satisfaction, capture the network effects, and leverage their competitive advantage.

RISE with SAP for Banking 

As a long-time key player in the Financial Services Industry (FSI) market, SAP has been supporting over 80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the top 1,000 banks and insurers worldwide. Last year, the German software giant launched SAP Fioneer, a dedicated FSI unit co-owned by the German software enterprise with entrepreneurial investor Dediq, to propel its Financial Services customers’ journey to the cloud through new enterprise-grade solutions based on SAP software.

Rural banks need to keep pace with today’s changing banking industry. SAP highlighted in the virtual event that to be able to transform into intelligent, sustainable enterprises, rural banks must continuously implement technology innovations, such as RISE with SAP, and best practices within its integrated business processes. SAP’s concierge, Business Transformation as a Service solution streamlines customers’ business transformation by bundling specific solutions and services under a single commercial contract.

“RISE with SAP provides cloud delivery capabilities that enable the journey to become intelligent banks. It mitigates risk, reduces cost, and accelerates time to value. It leverages the SAP reference architecture built with the industry’s best practices over the last five decades,” commented Nitin. 

The post Technology in Banking Industry Fosters Financial Inclusion appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

The Qualtrics research “The evolving state of customer experience in the financial services” revealed that today, more than ever, there has been a greater focus on customer experience, which is considered critical in financial services providers’ success. As the consumers’ behaviors rapidly evolve with the fast-changing digital economy, so are their expectations.

According to the study conducted across APAC, though online banking services are already being widely used in the region, there has been a significant increase in the consumers’ openness for digital-banks only or neo-banks. 72{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of consumers across the region are interested in using neo-banks in the next 12 months, driven by the expectation of receiving a better customer experience from a neo-bank. In Indonesia, 89{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents said they had some form of e-wallet and 64{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that they are willing to switch to non-traditional life insurance providers such as digital banks and fintech companies.

Bank Neo Commerce Focusing on XM

To gain a competitive advantage in the increasingly aggressive digital banking sector in Indonesia, one of the leading banking providers in the country Bank Neo Commerce has partnered with Qualtrics to deploy an experience management platform that would provide in-depth, actionable market and consumer insights. Qualtrics CoreXM, a single platform for data collection and analysis across every part of a business, enables Bank Neo to better understand the changing consumer behaviours and expectations.

Tjandra Gunawan, President Director of Bank Neo Commerce, highlighted that the institution is committed to meet the end-to-end digital banking needs of every Indonesian and is laser-focused on improving its products and services to meet their changing needs.

“By rethinking the traditional market research program with Qualtrics, Bank Neo is able to differentiate itself in the competitive digital banking sector through access to real-time insights that help us take confident and precise action to continually improve our customer, brand, and product experience. Using the findings from the market research, we’d love to know our users better in every aspect and to give them the neo banking experience with Bank Neo to serve them Banking, Above & Beyond,” Gunawan explained.

Benefits of Adopting a Modern Research Platform

Harnessing the capabilities of Qualtrics CoreXM, Bank Neo is able to:

• Conduct ongoing market and consumer research studies to rapidly understand how preferences are evolving, with real-time access to insights 
• Continually improve and personalise the experiences it delivers to customers using Qualtrics XM Directory – a single database for all customer and employee experience data
• Combine Bank Neo’s operational data, such as CRM and marketing automation tools, with the collected feedback stored in XM Directory to build rich customer profiles

Mao Gen Foo, Head of Southeast Asia, Qualtrics, shared that Bank Neo is one of the first organisations to adopt this innovative approach in Indonesia. The bank has seen immediate returns on its investment on Qualtrics’ modern, agile research platform that incorporates a range of studies to help the organisation identify the products, services, and experiences expected by consumers.

“With customer needs and expectations across all industries evolving rapidly, having full autonomy of market and consumer research programs is now essential. Bringing research capabilities in-house allows organisations to cost-effectively and efficiently scale and manage such programs, while access to real-time insights supports faster and smarter decision making,” Foo stressed.

The post Bank Neo Commerce Deploys Qualtrics CoreXM  appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

In April, SAP and investment company Dediq announced a strategic alliance to establish a dedicated FSI unit named SAP Fioneer, slated to be launched in the second half of 2021, to cater to the needs of the rapidly evolving banking and insurance industry. Together, the two companies aim to jointly expand SAP’s financial services portfolio with a significant investment in digital and cost-effective innovations in core FSI areas such as commercial lending, retail banking, core insurance as well as insurance finance, and bank management. 

SAP Japan announced that the joint venture extends to country with the establishment of the Japanese subsidiary SAP Fioneer Japan Co., Ltd. (SAP Fioneer Japan) to be launched on September 1, 2021, simultaneous with SAP Fioneer’s global launch. 

“SAP has a long history of success in the financial industry. Of the top 1,000 banks and insurers in the world, over 80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} are SAP customers. At SAP Fioneer Japan, we focus on accelerating innovation in core banking, core insurance, and financial solutions specific to the financial industry, with the goal of meeting the digital transformation and cost efficiency needs of our financial services customers,” the statement read.

As a joint initiative with SAP Japan, SAP Fioneer Japan will be headed by SAP leaders to ensure that the Japanese financial services industry will receive the same level of service and expertise as they embark on digital transformation. Ken Ishiura, who is currently the General Manager of Digital Industry Solutions Department 1, SAP Japan Industry & Customer Advisory Headquarters, will be appointed President of SAP Fioneer Japan; and Hiroshi Suzuki, President and CEO of SAP Japan, will be appointed as an outside director of SAP Fioneer Japan in addition to his current position.

SAP Software Solutions Dedicated to FSI

SAP recognises the great potential in the FSI market and through SAP Fioneer, the software giant will be able to reinforce its commitment to delivering industry cloud solutions in this fast-changing market. SAP Fioneer will offer SAP software solutions that cover the full cycle of banking and insurance operations processes while meeting regulatory requirements. The new solutions will be part of SAP’s industry cloud solutions based on SAP technologies and applications such as SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP Business Technology Platform.

Luca Mucic, Member of the Executive Board at SAP SE, earlier highlighted that front and center for SAP’s new FSI unit is helping customers to become more agile through digital business innovation and cloud technology. He added:

“The new unit will be very flexible and customer-centric with full autonomy to set its strategic direction. At the same time, it will be a strong member of the SAP family. Customers will benefit from SAP’s leading technology and the FSI Unit’s agility and focus on their specific needs.”

SAP Fioneer Update

In July, SAP released an update on SAP Fioneer’s investor structure in response to some concerns on compliance of the decision-making process on the joint venture with Dediq with applicable rules and the valuation of the shares in SAP Fioneer. The enterprise software shared that, based on the evaluation of two independent, external experts commissioned by the Audit and Compliance Committee of the SAP Supervisory Board, the valuation is fair and that the decision-making process was in compliance with existing regulation.  

Moreover, Hasso Plattner Foundation has decided to cede its passive investment in SAP Fioneer to an equivalent investor. The statement emphasised that the funding of SAP Fioneer, exceeding €500M, is not impacted by the Hasso Plattner Foundation’s planned sale of its indirect, passive stake in SAP Fioneer. 

The post SAP Japan Announces New Subisidiary to Offer SAP Software Solutions for FSI appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.