The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a major shift in South African shopper behaviour, with extra consumers turning to loyalty programmes than ever earlier than. In reality, the common economically energetic South African belongs to about eight completely different programmes. Because the CIO of Discovery Vitality, Nadira Misthry is invested on this development.
Vitality is the rewards programme for Discovery, a South African-founded monetary providers organisation that serves the healthcare, life assurance, short-term insurance coverage, financial savings and investments, banking and wellness markets. Vitality is one in all South Africa’s largest medical support rewards programmes, which supplies clients advantages for residing a wholesome way of life.
Loyalty programmes are developed to encourage members to stay with a selected product or enterprise by providing rewards as an incentive for loyalty, Misthry says. “Know-how and knowledge are key enablers of those programmes as a result of they guarantee steady member engagement, from linking a smartwatch to purchasing with a programme accomplice. Know-how underpins and drives your entire course of,” she says.
Liable for the technical facet of Vitality — from the cell app and web site to the completely different integrations with the rewards programme’s varied companions — Misthry is often seeking to enhance and replace Discovery’s vastly fashionable programme to cater to a altering expertise surroundings, and to fulfill the wants of a extra digitally enabled and savvy consumer base.
Right here, CIO Africa chats with Misthry concerning the expertise she and her crew are utilizing to maintain Vitality members engaged.
CIO Africa: What expertise traits are you maintaining a tally of in 2022?
Personally, I’m fascinated by the potential of synthetic intelligence. There are loads of use circumstances for it. I’m maintaining a tally of AI on two completely different fronts.
First, there may be what I name the “attractive facet” of AI, taking a look at sample recognition to assist us extra precisely make predictions round consumer behaviour. Right here, we’re extra within the conception section, taking a look at what it could do and the way it could possibly be utilized throughout our surroundings.
On the much less attractive facet, I’m additionally very fascinated by RPA [robotic process automation] as an operational effectivity and automation enabler that may assist us release time in order that my crew can deal with different, extra strategic issues. At present, our inner growth crew is utilizing Blue Prism’s RPA device to extend operational effectivity so that individuals to focus on the extra advanced facets of their jobs. We selected to not outsource our RPA wants as a result of we’re utilizing it to enhance our inner processes, and clearly our inner groups are greatest positioned to do the upfront course of evaluation they usually have the insights to design one thing the place we’re solely automating processes that take advantage of sense.
CIO Africa: We’d like to speak about among the tasks or initiatives you’re engaged on in the mean time – delving into what you’re attempting to realize, why you’re doing it and what expertise you’re utilizing and why?
We are literally doing a methods improve on a few of our key elements in the mean time. It’s a pure improve to a few of a few of our key tech. Vitality is an API-intensive operation with many inner and exterior integrations. The current expertise stack is predicated on Java and the Spring Framework as an in-house-deployed resolution. Our focus is to maneuver to a extra cloud-native, reactive, and event-driven structure. The brand new structure can be structured round containerised Spring Boot Companies operating in Kubernetes. The brand new purposes and providers will leverage Kafka occasion streams to set off varied required functionalities. Some great benefits of this are that it permits for a extra strong interconnected system which may higher deal with extra advanced enterprise eventualities at scale.
This performs fairly properly into our pay-as-you-gym venture, which we’re nonetheless engaged on. This may enable members to entry the gymnasium with out having a conventional contract. This explicit venture concerned loads of integration as a result of there are loads of completely different events. With this sort of factor it’s important to maintain the mixing factors in sync in order that members at all times have a easy journey. This makes the venture fairly advanced but additionally fairly fascinating. The venture is ready to launch fairly quickly however the date hasn’t been confirmed simply but.
CIO Africa: Have you ever skilled any main obstacles whereas engaged on this explicit venture that you just didn’t count on?
There haven’t been any important points on this explicit venture however I need to emphasise how important an upfront product and methods design is and the way necessary the iteration course of is. Something we do should be solidified from a product and methods perspective earlier than it goes to the implementation crew. This helps us to handle and keep away from main points earlier than they occur. We have now intense design classes upfront. We’re fairly cautious to iterate with the product, operational, methods, and enterprise structure groups all in the identical room in order that we aren’t working in silos anymore.
CIO Africa: Are you utilizing the cloud in any respect?
We aren’t within the cloud straight, however we do have technical service suppliers (internally and externally) utilizing the cloud, and we work together with them by way of APIs. Our apps are being constructed with cloud structure in thoughts in order that they’re cloud-compatible ought to we resolve emigrate in future.
CIO Africa: What have been a few of your key classes over the course of your profession and, extra particularly, throughout your time at Vitality?
I actually assume it’s necessary to roll with the punches and to not take issues too personally. You want to have the ability to settle for criticism with out getting offended and to present constructive criticism to these working round you. When you’re not open to it, you aren’t rising. As a CIO, I’ve an enormous duty to develop and develop the individuals round me.
Working with Vitality, a platform that my family and friends are interacting with each day, I do really feel a way of duty and possession across the work I do, which places additional strain on me. But it surely’s additionally rewarding to be part of one thing that has such a widespread affect.
CIO Africa: What recommendation would you give to aspiring IT leaders, significantly younger girls?
I believe mentorship is extremely necessary, however don’t mistake a supervisor for a mentor. For me, these should be two separate individuals. This trade isn’t simple, so I’d actually encourage girls to not be deterred by obstacles. There can be bumps within the street, however it’s essential persevere and use these experiences as a chance to be taught and develop.
The IT trade is certainly altering, particularly if I evaluate what it seems to be prefer to at this time to what it regarded like once I first bought into it. Personally, I’ve been in touch with so many males who’re eager to raise up the ladies round them and that, for me, is encouraging.
