The recent shake-out in NASDAQ-listed tech stocks spared few – not least insuretech disrupters such as Lemonade, Root and Hippo, who saw their market valuations slump an eye watering 85-90% from their peaks at one point. It wasn't difficult to see why, given aggressive and ongoing interest rate moves by the Fed and loss ratios (measuring claims incurred as a proportion of premiums sold) heading in the wrong direction. This in turn led to a substantial negative impact on earnings. Indeed, data from Capital IQ showed Root, Lemonade and Hippo collectively wracked up $1.1bn in net losses in 2021 vs. $474m two years earlier. Yet, if the travails of Lemonade, Root and Hippo offer a salutary lesson in frothy market valuations, they've also left the door open for traditional insurance providers to recapture (using third party software providers) lost market share.

With the pandemic making work and learn-from-home the new norm and Artificial Intelligence (AI) creeping into our lives, there are several traditional jobs that are likely to fade away a few years from now. With digital calendars and assistants meticulously managing schedules and AI churning out products with precision, several workers may soon find machines replacing their function within an organisation. They may not attend all-important business meetings but the peon is omnipresent in the office, from conference rooms and cubicles to in the corridors. Bringing fresh tea, sending parcels in the courier, peons don several hats. They often know exactly what's happening in different corners of the office and enjoy a good rapport with people across levels.

Artificial Intelligence Software has become an integral part of business software and is projected to continue dominating the software market in the foreseeable future. AI software incorporates machine learning (ML) and deep learning into its functionality with an aim to better automate user tasks, save time & energy, make jobs simpler, and boost productivity. Companies can derive the latest technological benefits from cloud-based AI. AI systems provide a wide range of benefits to businesses, such as personalized marketing, customer service, operational automation, inventory management, and recruitment. Nowadays, many AI apps are designed specifically for cloud-based systems, making them quick and easy to deploy.

Itiviti, a leading technology and service provider to financial institutions worldwide, announces the appointment of Mireille Adebiyi as Head of Marketing & Communications. Mireille has 17 years of experience within Fintech. Before joining Itiviti, she spent most of her career at Murex and joins from AI pioneer Yseop, where she held her most recent position as Chief Marketing Officer. Mireille began her career in London for a Paris-headquartered software provider, developing the company's marketing and sales support processes, which started her journey into the B2B financial software industry. For the past 17 years, she has run global marketing and communications for two of the top ten French software providers, leading new initiatives to raise brand awareness while working closely with management teams to support overall company strategy.

New York-based software startup Alkymi recently raised $5 million in a seed round to help financial institutions and other enterprise clients automate back-office workflow. The company, part of INV Fintech's current startup class, calls its automation solution Data Inbox, and uses machine learning that can be applied to various parts of everyday operations, including finance, human resources, sales and IT. For example, by leveraging Alkymi's Data Inbox, a bank could automatically extract and structure data from emails and documents sent by a business client applying for a loan, thus avoiding the need to process that documentation manually. The AI solution works with the enterprise's email platform, file-organization application and document-sharing application used on the job. Alkymi's standard API then connects the data in the applications and emails to the Data Inbox. According to Harald Collet, Cofounder and CEO of Alkymi, businesses struggle to manage data and documents, which is often a repetitive task that gets in the way of higher value tasks.

ARMONK, NY & REDWOOD CITY, CA – February 27, 2020 – IBM (NYSE: IBM) and C3.ai, a leading enterprise AI software provider, today announced a global strategic alliance to bring enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) solutions across industries globally. With the combined expertise of the IBM Services global delivery network and C3.ai's platform, this alliance is designed to help fast-track the delivery of enterprise-scale industry and domain specific AI applications, shorten the time to value and accelerate the scaling of mission-critical solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will become the first preferred global systems integrator for the C3.ai platform. "It takes a sophisticated ecosystem of partners to help companies realize the promise and opportunity of digital transformation," said Thomas M. Siebel, CEO, C3.ai. "C3.ai and IBM Services offer a powerful platform for companies seeking to dramatically reduce cost and risk, accelerate deployment, and quickly generate financial returns from their digital transformation programs."

Software development for businesses is a lucrative -- and highly competitive -- venture. No matter how good your coding skills, unless you can showcase them to prospective customers and convince them of your quality, it is of little importance. This is where lead generation comes in. Generating interest in your services and converting that interest into paying customers is how any business prospers, and software providers are no exception. The only thing is that software works very differently to say, a house renovation business and the same strategies of lead generation are hardly suitable.

On-premises software installation is taking its final breath. In just a short time, the cloud will completely dominate the software delivery market. Why are cloud computing delivery models so definitively poised for domination? They are simply more effective -- for the software provider and the customer -- than any other delivery method available. The benefits and applications are boundless, and more and more companies are leaning in and pushing their competitors to do the same.

Who's involved: German re/insurer Talanx and US-headquartered automation software provider, WorkFusion. What's happening: Talanx and WorkFusion have agreed a strategic partnership. In an initial step, the software from WorkFusion is being used for automated checking and processing in the claims division at Talanx's subsidiary HDI. The software will initially be used for invoices dealing with glass breakage and motor insurance. Significance of development: Talanx has described the new software as "automation 4.0" because the artificial intelligence platform can take end-to-end decisions, known as Intelligent Process Automation.

Applied artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced machine learning are among Gartner's Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2017. AI is beginning to be deployed by companies globally. International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55.1 percent during 2016–2020 for AI and cognitive systems solutions in its Worldwide Semiannual Cognitive/Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide. IDC estimates spending on cognitive applications to reach $18.2 billion by 2020. Large enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software providers such as Salesforce, IBM, Oracle and SAP are offering AI solutions to capture this growing market opportunity along with non-traditional software providers like General Electric (GE).