As highlighted by Andy Fairchild, CEO of Applied Systems Europe, during a roundtable discussion at the recent Applied Net Europe event on ‘Our Digital Path Forward’, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a simple but poignant truth, that there is real value in digital interactions. This fact was thrown into sharp relief throughout the Applied Net Europe event which saw senior leaders across the business gather to provide interactive engagement with broker and insurer partners.
Find out more: Learn everything you need to know about Applied Systems here
From exploring the next steps Applied will be pursuing in a bid to take market share in both the UK and Irish insurance markets, to outlining how the expansion of the Applied Client Network into Europe will provide further access to its Irish customers, each event was designed to provide clear insight into the business.
Revealing the future for Applied Europe, European sales director Dave Chapman (pictured) noted that, as one of the 60 or so new hires who have joined the business in 2020, he is excited by the opportunity Applied has to take a market-leading position. Building on its proven track record in North America gives the European team a superb foundation on which to build and expand its capabilities on this side of the Atlantic.
“I’m fortunate that my role brings with it a wide variety of tasks and focuses,” he said. “We’ve got a market-leading position in Ireland, and we have an opportunity to cement this through new initiatives that will make our position even more compelling. In the UK, we’re very much the new kid on the block but the market here in the UK is crying out for competition for the legacy providers. The foundations that we’ve put in place over the last couple of years really give us a great opportunity and a unique perspective to grow our organisation, which will ultimately benefit all of our existing and future clients.”
With offices in Brighton, Belfast, Dublin and Galway, and a team of over 300 professionals, Applied is uniquely poised for substantial growth.
“We’re also very acutely aware and incredibly grateful for the continued support we get from our clients,” Chapman said. “And that commitment and engagement will be key to us moving forward as we look to evolve our technology and ensure that your businesses have the greatest opportunity to be successful and be more and more efficient through our delivery of new and exciting initiatives.”
Detailing the technology strategy Applied is employing, he touched on both the functional initiatives the business is developing and the modernisation of its technology and the processes it uses to bring new technology to the market. Building this strategy means taking feedback and input from a broad variety of sources, he said, from the advice of market experts or internal recommendations. Within the business, the team holds significant expertise in both the technology and insurance sectors, with Chapman himself having spent 18 years in the industry.
“We look at partnering with specific customers to build out technology that we can build once and use many times,” he said, “we take their insight and input into ensuring that our technology is as easy to use and drives as much efficiency through their business as possible, and ultimately gives our clients the best value for money. And events like [Applied Net Europe] give us the opportunity to work with the Applied Client Network to drive wider debate and discussion around the areas that we need to enhance and improve within our product set.”
Information sharing is integral to successful product development and Chapman highlighted how each development by the business, whether that is its broker management system or its pricing enrichment tools, has been evolved with this in mind.
“Over the past few months,” he said, “we’ve brought our teams together across Ireland and UK and perhaps one of our most exciting recent successes is our opportunity to take technology that has been developed and established in the Irish market and bring that to the fore for our wider user community across the UK.”
Applied Systems was recognized as one of the Top Insurtech Companies in the UK. Learn more about the winners in Global 5-Star Technology and Software Providers 2023 special report.
Find out more: Learn everything you need to know about Applied Systems here.
