AVBOB Integrated Annual Report 2018

The Society’s model is to deliver an integrated, intelligent approach to ICT risk that incorporates security intelligence, analytics and external threat intelligence. This aids us in building a strong risk and security strategy that can reduce costs, improve service and enable innovation. A variety of governance instruments are used in the Group to ensure confidence in the controls. These include a charter that defines the way in which ICT is managed; policies that guide and specify behaviour and activity; a Governance Framework that lays out a structure for governance; a strategy that clarifies the intention of ICT investment; and an information security strategy that ensures the safety of the Group’s information assets and the privacy of data entrusted to the Group. In addition the Board receives independent assurance on the effectiveness of ICT internal controls through the internal and external auditors. While our technology capabilities have come a long way, we know that we have only begun to develop the ability to support a streamlined, customer-centric company. The ICT Steering Committee is critical in ensuring the implicit value of the technology portfolio by driving the ICT principles as depicted below: The drivers of sustainable digital infrastructure are to continually preserve value for our policyholders, service evolving customer needs, capitalise on emerging opportunities for future growth and to sustain the Group’s leadership position in the funeral insurance and service business. We have over the past year dedicated our efforts on transforming legacy platforms, delivering a clear direction for the legacy transformation blueprint based on true market needs aimed at our new digital future, long-term viability and competitive differentiation. The archetype of our legacy transformation is a model where we are leveraging emerging application program interface (API) technologies to create a nimble, sustainable and connected platform. Over the past financial year, we have taken the optimal approach to transform legacy applications and accelerated the delivery of exemplary service in pursuit of the Group’s vision. We have invested in customer-facing digital applications, intelligent automation to streamline processes and smart business models. We have extended the foundation of our datacenters providing strength in depth and a resilient digital foundation in unified communications and next generation contact centers. The past year we focused on the continuous 33