NEWS
Two South African teams lead the charge for real-world change in annual SAS Hackathon
Stephan Wessels the country ’ s commitment to finding innovative , data-driven ways of overcoming the pressing issues facing local markets .
The annual Hackathon is seeing 530 hackers and 140 organisations spanning nine industries participate using the SAS Viya artificial intelligence , AI-based automation platform . SAS Viya is making it possible for participants to integrate teams and technology thereby enabling all types of SAS and open-source users to collaborate .
“ Now in its seventh year , the SAS Hackathon is an enabler for deeper engagement and provides the means to stimulate innovation . More than that , through the two South African teams , the country is highlighting how data analysis can combine with solutions that can drive real social change ,” says Stephan Wessels , SAS Head of Customer Advisory for South Africa and 2023 Hackathon ambassador .
Tumi Nomlomo
Commencing earlier this year , the SAS
2023 Hackathon aims to inspire 104 teams from 74 countries to be curious and passionate ; to invent something new that could change our daily lives , the way we do business , or approach humanitarian causes . South Africa has two teams , from Absa and Dake Solutions , participating in this prestigious event this year , which reinforces
“ The Hackathon runs for six weeks and provides corporates with the ideal platform to get a sense of the capabilities of SAS Viya in virtually real-world conditions . They also have the opportunity to use SAS technology to drive collaboration internally across their different business units ,” says Tumi Nomlomo , Senior Business Solutions Manager at SAS in South Africa and 2023 Hackathon mentor .
TFG migrates to Cape Town-based Root ’ s low code , digital policy administration system
TFG , The Foschini Group has started moving its insurance book onto Cape Town-based start-up Root ’ s digital policy administration system . This has changed how TFG develops , markets , sells , and manages insurance policies for its existing store card account holders .
The move is aimed at broadening financial inclusion in the South African market by making a wider range of financial services products accessible to its customers through TFG ’ s extensive stores network .
Khim Franciscus , Product Manager at TFG Insurance , says Root has changed the work lives of the group ’ s insurance staff . “ The platform allows our customers to easily access their insurance policies , make claims , and pay their premiums , all in real-time . For our employees , the entire customer journey can be managed through one interface . Before , our back-office processes required us to work across multiple platforms with disparate spreadsheets and reports .
“ Now , we manage the full policy lifecycle on one system , from quote generation to policy administration , premium collection , reporting , claims and more . Instead of focusing on admin , we spend our time prioritising customer satisfaction and building stronger customer relationships ,” Franciscus says .
“ We use APIs to help businesses like TFG to launch insurance products faster than the traditional way ,” says Charlotte Koep , Chief Operating Officer at Root .
The infrastructure has been designed with TFG ’ s existing customers in mind . With a single view of customers , TFG can now drive greater revenue and operational efficiency through its existing financial services products and easily build , sell and service new products without technical barriers . The
Charlotte Koep
platform enables direct communication with customers in real-time so that they are kept informed at every step of the way , whether they are signing up , making a claim , or requesting assistance .
TFG Insurance has been offering its customers insurance since 1994 and is underwritten by GuardRisk , which is already an entrenched part of Root ’ s partner network .
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