“Europe can certainly do even more in software development. I’m thinking of having an own cloud or a search engine,” said the new vice president in a recent interview.

However, there is a decisive obstacle to such ideas. According to the EU Commission, there is already a shortage of around one million IT specialists across Europe by 2020, as demand has risen by 4 percent annually over the past ten years. In Germany alone, more than 124,000 jobs cannot currently be filled. This gap – according to a recently published study by the industry association of the information and telecommunications industry Bitkom – has more than doubled to a new record value within just two years:

Every third company is looking for programmers

Programmers are particularly sought-after. Every third company with at least one vacancy is looking for an appropriate expert. This is shown by the “serious changes that are taking place in companies as a result of digitalization,” emphasizes Bitkom: “Software is increasingly becoming part of the core business. This means that software development is moving into companies across all industries, where it is gaining massive importance.”

In our digital world, we are surrounded by things that contain software. “Since it plays a key role in companies and their products and services today, excellent software, systems, and service engineering have become an important competitive advantage in meeting the growing market requirements,” says Prof. Alexander Pretschner, Chair of Systems & Software Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. And these programs must be “functional, flexible, secure, durable, easy to maintain and user-friendly.”

But this is exactly what is often lacking, for example in the insurance industry. Here, many providers have to struggle with outdated software systems that are complex and expensive to manage. A typical problem is the lack of data interchangeability when, for example, motor vehicle and life insurance policies run on different systems. At the same time, insurance companies are now accumulating so much information about their customers, their policies and claims that the capacity of their own data centers is no longer sufficient and migration to external cloud servers is becoming indispensable.

The insurance industry relies on open software platforms

Europe’s largest insurer – Allianz – sees this trend as an opportunity and wants to develop into the leading software provider for the risk business in an alliance with Microsoft. For this purpose, parts of the in-house software system ABS will be offered to other companies in the insurance industry on the cloud servers of the Americans. In addition, the source code is to be disclosed as open-source software so that external developers can develop and integrate new functions. The goal is an industry ecosystem on an open platform – a trend that can also be observed in other industries.

A survey by process automation specialist Camunda draws attention to a further development among European insurance companies: Two out of three insurers want to increasingly develop their own software. More than half of them have already started, and one in seven is on the verge of doing so. Existing IT departments are being expanded and new teams are being set up to deal with this. This makes the industry less dependent on external service providers.

With their own software development, many top dogs want to catch up faster with new offers to the digital competition of InsureTechs. For example, 65 percent of classic providers are working on better apps and digital deals. 61 percent are investing in the digital processing of reported damages. The providers are also focusing on faster processes. 64 percent want to automate their processes both internally and with customers.

According to this study, open-source also plays an increasingly important role. 39 percent are already working with open source software, a further 19 percent are planning to use it. It is hoped that those who develop software themselves will be able to use the know-how of an entire community to improve their own products.

News from ERNI

In our newsroom, you find all our articles, blogs and series entries in one place.

  • 22.11.2023.
    Newsroom

    Recognising trends: An insight into regression analysis

    Data plays a very important role in every area of a company. When it comes to data, a distinction is made primarily between operational data and dispositive data. Operational data play an important role, especially in day-to-day business. However, they are not nearly as relevant as dispositive data. This is because these data are collected over a longer period of time and provide an initial insight into the history or the past.

  • 08.11.2023.
    Newsroom

    Why do we need digital transformation for medical devices?

    For hospitals, it is not up for discussion as to whether they want to digitalise. The increasing age of the population in western countries and the progressive shortage of medical professionals mean that without digitalisation, the healthcare system will not be able to provide the quality that patients want in the future.

  • 25.10.2023.
    Newsroom

    Mastering the challenges of mobile app testing: Strategies for efficient quality assurance

    Discover the unique challenges faced in testing mobile applications and learn how to overcome them effectively. From selecting suitable devices and operating systems to leveraging cloud-based test platforms, test automation and emulators, this article provides seven essential strategies for optimising your mobile app testing process.

  • 11.10.2023.
    Newsroom

    Incorporating classical requirements engineering methods in agile software development for a laboratory automation system

    Traditional agile methodologies can sometimes struggle to accommodate the complexity and regulatory requirements of laboratory automation systems, leading to misalignment with stakeholder needs, scope creep, and potential delays. The lack of comprehensive requirements documentation can result in ambiguous expectations and hinder effective communication among cross-functional teams.

  • 27.09.2023.
    Newsroom

    Unveiling the power of data: Part III – Navigating challenges and harnessing insights in data-driven projects

    Transforming an idea into a successful machine learning (ML)-based product involves navigating various challenges. In this final part of our series, we delve into two crucial aspects: ensuring 24/7 operation of the product and prioritising user experience (UX).

  • 13.09.2023.
    Newsroom

    Exploring Language Models: An overview of LLMs and their practical implementation

    Generative AI models have recently amazed with unprecedented outputs, such as hyper-realistic images, diverse music, coherent texts, and synthetic videos, sparking excitement. Despite this progress, addressing ethical and societal concerns is crucial for responsible and beneficial utilization, guarding against issues like misinformation and manipulation in this AI-powered creative era.

  • 01.09.2023.
    Newsroom

    Peter Zuber becomes the new Managing Director of ERNI Switzerland

    ERNI is setting an agenda for growth and innovation with the appointment of Peter Zuber as Managing Director of the Swiss business unit. With his previous experience and expertise, he will further expand the positioning of ERNI Switzerland, as a leading consulting firm for software development and digital innovation.

  • data230.08.2023.
    Newsroom

    Unveiling the power of data: Part II – Navigating challenges and harnessing insights in data-driven projects

    The second article from the series on data-driven projects, explores common challenges that arise during their execution. To illustrate these concepts, we will focus on one of ERNI’s latest project called GeoML. This second article focuses on the second part of the GeoML project: Idea2Proof.