INFORMATION OVERLOAD

The ability of insurers to transform their raw data into knowledge is critical to their survival; yet, despite this imperative, many data warehousing efforts have been postponed and others have failed, according to a recent Conning and Company study. In the study “Data Warehousing and Data Mining in the Insurance Industry: Floods of Information, Fountains of Knowledge,” Conning found that organizational issues tend to discourage data warehouse development because many employees view the widespread sharing of horizontal data as a threat to their job status. Conning emphasizes that data warehouse implementation requires a close partnership between a company’s business and IT leaders. It is a complex effort that requires a number of complementary skill sets (i.e., data modeling and programming skills).