Is your business data forward enough to capitalize on what’s coming?

Being in IT has never been just about technology. For us, it’s about driving growth, innovation and engagement through data and technology while keeping our eyes firmly on the business outcomes. 

Early in our careers, we both made the mistake of getting caught up in the day-to-day tasks — keeping the lights on, troubleshooting issues and maintaining operations. It’s easy to get stuck there, but we learned to lift our heads up and focus on the long-term impact of the work. 

One of the best ways to keep the bigger picture in focus is to sit down with people across your organization and ask questions: Where do your customers struggle? What challenges are you facing, and how can we help? It’s impossible to drive meaningful innovation if you don’t understand how the business works and what its core purpose is. 

Everything we do — from automating busywork to driving digital transformation — must tie back to the business purpose. Otherwise, it’s just a solution looking for a problem. 

We’ve challenged ourselves and our team leaders to spend time working on the business, not just in the business. We’ve adopted a three-bucket framework to guide that mindset: 

• Protecting the house (maintaining security and core operations) 
• Keeping the lights on (day-to-day operations and incremental improvements) 
• Innovation (both “little i” and “big I” innovation) 

Once we set targets in each category, we started holding ourselves accountable by measuring outcomes. Without tracking progress, behavior won’t change. Making those targets front of mind and visible helps ensure we’re deliberate about innovation instead of letting it take a backseat to operational tasks. 

We also learned that innovation doesn’t always need to be groundbreaking. Sometimes, it’s as simple as automating a tedious process to give someone back an hour in their day. And sometimes, it’s “big I” innovation — launching entirely new capabilities that transform how we do business. Both are valuable, and both require intentional resource allocation. 

What does it mean to be data-forward? 

Being “data-forward” is the next level of maturity for a business like ours. It’s about taking the data you already have and asking: How can we use this to do business better? How can we deliver insights to our teams and customers at the point of engagement, not buried in dashboards and spreadsheets? For example, if one of our teams is working with a customer on a commercial property policy and our data can surface insights in real-time — like whether that customer also might benefit from management liability coverage — our team can offer a more holistic solution. The key is delivering that insight when it’s needed, not making someone hunt for it in a dashboard after the fact. 

We’ve also seen the power of cross-industry insights. One of our carrier partners recently shared a strategy they’d used successfully in a completely different industry. It sparked a conversation about how we might apply a similar approach to one of our business lines, and that exchange led to new opportunities. Those kinds of relationships don’t happen by accident. They’re built on curiosity and a willingness to collaborate across silos. 

One challenge we’ve faced on this journey is language consistency. It might sound simple, but when different teams use different terms for the same capability or process, it creates confusion and slows us down. A few years ago, we created a working group to tackle this issue head-on. We brought together representatives from across the organization to agree on a common taxonomy for our data and capabilities. 

It wasn’t easy. People asked, “Do we need to go back and update all our systems to reflect this new language?” The answer was no, but we did have to be consistent going forward. Now, when we talk about our products and services internally and externally, we’re speaking the same language. That consistency has made it easier to collaborate, market our offerings, and differentiate ourselves from competitors. 

Being data-forward isn’t just about technology. It’s about aligning people, processes and purpose to drive meaningful outcomes. It’s about being willing to test hypotheses, learn from the results and continuously improve. 

Bringing tech and business together 

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that IT and business are not separate entities. They must work in tandem. When we launched a new AI proof-of-concept (POC) project last year, we involved business stakeholders from the start. We didn’t want this to be a “tech experiment.” We wanted it to solve real business problems. 

To lead the project, we brought in a group of college interns. We didn’t recruit them based on their technical skills. Most of them didn’t have any experience with AI. What they did have was curiosity, a growth mindset and a drive to learn. Over eight weeks, they exceeded every expectation we had. Their success was a proof point for us: If you hire the right people and give them the tools and support they need, they can achieve remarkable things — even without years of experience. 

This experience reinforced our belief that technology is a tool, not a replacement for people. You hear the phrase “human in the loop” a lot when people talk about generative AI, and for good reason. AI can surface actionable insights, but it’s the human touch that turns those insights into meaningful customer interactions. 

For example, if a customer service rep is empowered with real-time data, they can anticipate a customer’s needs and offer tailored solutions. If a product manager can access cross-industry data, they can design offerings that address unmet needs. This blend of technology and human experience is what we call a force multiplier. It amplifies the impact of our work and helps us deliver better outcomes for our customers. 

Building a data-forward team 

Becoming a data-forward organization starts with building the right team. For us, that means prioritizing mindset and culture fit over specific skills. We look for self-starters who ask questions, seek to understand the business and embrace learning as part of their growth. 

We also emphasize empathy. At the end of the day, our job is to solve business problems. If we automate a one-hour task down to ten minutes, that’s a win — but we also have to help our colleagues navigate the human side of that change. People worry about how automation will impact their jobs, and we must empathize with those concerns. 

One of our team’s tenets is that the only constant is change. It’s true, but that doesn’t make it easy. We’ve found that fostering a culture of adaptability and learning helps us weather those changes and emerge stronger on the other side. 

The future is coming fast 

For us, being data-forward is about more than technology. It’s about aligning our people, processes and purpose to drive meaningful outcomes. It’s about asking the right questions, taking the time to understand the business, and continuously pushing ourselves to do better. 

The future is coming fast. We’re doing everything we can to stay ahead of it. Are you?