If there’s a lesson to be found in the Jurassic Park movies, it probably has something to do with not messing with the natural process of evolution. If natural selection killed off the dinosaurs, there was probably a good reason for it. Still, we never seem to learn. We keep trying to bring fossils back to life, and we end up paying for it.
We can be the same way with our technology. Outdated business practices die hard, and too many companies keep dinosaur solutions alive because they’re not aware that evolution/innovation has rendered them obsolete. One of these technologies whose extinction is foregone are the Value Added Networks used by insurance companies to transmit data and communicate policy information with agents.
There was an age when Value Added Networks ruled the earth. In the 1990’s, VANs were the best option for insurance companies that needed a secure channel to transmit data. Since the internet was not yet mature, there were really no other options for data exchange. With the availability of modern API and web service offerings, though, maintaining traditional VANs is simply anachronistic. Here are five reasons why VANs for insurance companies belong in Jurassic World:
1. They’re Unnecessarily Expensive
For one, VANs charge transmission fees for every network connection. For growing companies adding agents at a rapid rate, this commission fee can quickly become outrageous. The worst part is that this expense is completely unnecessary.
2. Their Security Is No Longer Unique
Security used to be a key selling point for VANs, but now API and web services provide the same security with a much easier and more flexible framework. Modern offerings encrypt data and provide acknowledgments while making the management of exchange more efficient than ever.
3. Ramping Up Is Unnecessarily Difficult
VANs do not make ramping up with trading partners easy. API and web services, however, are flexible, scalable, and much easier to use to add agents and manage data exchange.
4. They’re Not Supportive of Backend Integration
VANs are not an end-to-end solution. They can deliver data, sure, but they can’t go the last mile and integrate with backend systems.
5. They’re Becoming Less Popular for Trading Partners
Forward-thinking companies no longer use VANs, and a company that cares about having flexible options for their trading partners is not going to want to offer such something so outdated as the only option for data exchange.
Whether you’re talking about data integration or genetic engineering, the lesson is the same: Let evolution run its course. Keep the dinosaurs in the ground, and let VANs for insurance die their natural death. Meanwhile, if you’re wanting to move B2B integration for your insurance company into the 21st century, check out Adeptia’s integration solutions for the insurance industry.
For more Jurassic fun, check out our new infographic: 9 Integration Dinosaurs That Belong In Jurassic World