A lot has changed since the early 2020s. We work hybrid or fully remote, have less travel time and higher productivity. Change is also happening in our industry. The need for custom software is decreasing, while we learn in conversation with our customers that they are running into problems when it comes to managing IT solutions. When change is fixed, it's up to us to move with it. ANVA's strategic director Justin Schlee explains how we are doing that.
We are starting small and focusing initially on advisory firms up to a maximum of five FTEs, and slowly developing and growing from there to larger advisory firms and eventually proxy firms. We are doing this on the one hand to gradually fill the need that exists, but also to be able to offer member offices of service providers a very nice, integrated solution. Where we expand ANVA Hub, we will scale back on the other side. Eventually ANVA Hub for advisors will become our new base, or in other words, the replacement for ANVA 4/5.
Justin: "Other aspects we want to make a difference in is fulfilling the duty of care and proactive risk management. In order to inform clients about legislative and product changes, it is essential to have a good overview of the client's situation. The registration of objects, for example, is insufficiently covered within ANVA 4/5. Within ANVA Hub we are developing appropriate tooling specifically for advisors."
He continues: "You can imagine that all these developments together caused quite an intensive change within ANVA. By significantly strengthening our Agile working method and actively involving customers from the very beginning of our product development, we can build much faster, more focused and validated software solutions for the future." The biggest challenge in this is maintaining a good balance between a generic software package and customer-specific requirements. "If we do everything customers ask, we develop an 'out of control' application. It is therefore up to us to assess whether new additions are actually of interest to all our customers. I personally find that quite exciting!".
Interaction with our customers gives us a taste of what is expected of us in the market. Based on that, we decide what to do and adjust where necessary. "Earlier we introduced a product that we thought was good. We no longer believe in that. We consciously choose to work short cyclically, testing, validating and adapting. That sometimes includes stopping, changing or leaving it the way it is, simply because it's good the way it is. Google and Microsoft do the same, so why not ANVA?" states Justin.
Apart from serving ANVA customers, we also feel socially responsible for our industry. For example, we founded Aplaza several years ago to contribute in the exchange of documents and messages within our industry. With current changes in the market, we see that standardized rates and underwriting rules are in question, while the need for them is growing. In partnership with AWI, we are taking our responsibility and ensuring that this type of service is maintained within ANVA Hub. Moreover, we are also adding all kinds of innovative solutions.
At the same time, digitization and innovation are leading to more and more cyber issues. To maintain digital resilience in our industry, a new framework is in the works: the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The AFM expects DORA to take effect late next year. "Legislation needs time to form. We follow developments closely and take them into account in our software," Justin concludes.
