HDFC Life consolidating data warehouses & data lakes for digital transformation 2.0

In the fast-evolving landscape of digital transformation, businesses worldwide are upgrading processes and embracing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA) to elevate customer experiences. HDFC Life, one of the largest private life insurers, established in 2000, has positioned itself as a frontrunner in this journey.  

Anticipating the digital shift well before the pandemic, HDFC Life adapted to the surge in digital demand. Ayan De, Head of Enterprise Technology at HDFC Life, emphasizes the company's agile and innovative approach, stating, “We take pride in anticipating emerging technologies well ahead of the industry curve.”  

Now actively engaged in Digital Transformation 2.0, HDFC Life boasts a fully digital operation, with 100% of sales and back-office processing being paperless. De highlights the company's focus on consolidating data resources through enterprise data warehouses and data lakes, making data the core of the technology transformation. 

He said, “In our digital transformation journey spanning the last eight years, we, like others, adopted diverse application stacks. However, the post-Covid realisation emphasized the need for a single source of truth or the industry’s “golden copy”. To achieve this, we established enterprise data warehouses and multiple data lakes. Now, our focus is on consolidating these resources, undergoing a comprehensive technology transformation, with data at the core.  

Currently, 70-75% of HDFC Life's workflow operates on various public cloud platforms, with plans to increase this to around 88% in the coming years. The company also aims to integrate AI/ML into daily operations while shifting to cloud infrastructure as a primary foundation.  

While relying on IBM, Oracle, AWS, and GCP for technology solutions, HDFC Life has shifted towards internal expertise development. De notes, “We’ve shifted away from external hires to seamlessly integrate the blueprint into our Intel architecture management.” 

Further initiating the INSPIRE project, HDFC Life aims to build intelligent systems and platforms for insurance reimagination, focusing on IT governance, data architecture, cloud strategy, and cybersecurity. Additionally, through 'Futurance,' the company incubates tech startups in collaboration with IvyCamp, fostering innovation in blockchain, AI, and wireless sensing technologies.  

However, HDFC Life remains cautious about integrating next-gen technologies like generative AI into customer interactions. De explains that the company is assessing the technology’s benefits and alignment with the core function of offering financial products in a heavily regulated environment.