nib Group completes cloud migration with AWS in cloud-first strategy

Nib Group, an insurance provider, recently completed an extensive migration to the cloud, fulfilling its cloud-first strategy. The Group deepened its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), transferring over 95% of its on-premises workloads across all business branches onto the giant's cloud platform.

In a move completed in February, nib Group shut down its seven data centres, including five in Australia and two in New Zealand, in March 2024. As one of the top 100 ASX-listed companies, nib Group handles a significant amount of data. The Group had a revenue of AUD $1.7 billion in the latest reporting period, including a payout of AUD $1.2 billion in private health insurance claims resulting from 224,670 hospital visits and two million visits to ancillary health providers.

Brendan Mills, Chief Information Officer of nib Group, stated that the transition to AWS provides the Group with flexibility and the ability to innovate further. "AWS allows nib to expand its current use and future exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ways that AI might drive nib's consumer-facing businesses as they grow to support Australians managing their everyday health," said Mills.

Mills described the move as strategic, offering several benefits, including agility, cost containment, and enhanced member data analytics. The flexibility of cloud-based computing allows nib to adjust its environment as required, providing a cost-efficient solution that facilitates superior data analysis.

Since one of nib's earliest migrations, the transition to AWS of the Group's corporate health insurance branch GU Health in 2019, the Group's cloud usage has expanded significantly. Throughout these changes, nib has ensured compliance with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)'s Cloud Adoption Standards and Techniques (CAST) requirements.

The recent migration included several Extreme Inherent Risk (EIR) systems, aligning them with industry best practices. "By transferring these EIR systems, we have further fortified our technology backbone, ensuring that critical operations are running on advanced and resilient platforms," Mills explained.

Post-migration, nib now operates thousands of workloads in AWS, which are dynamically transformed using micro-services and serverless computing. This cloud-native approach optimises performance, scalability and resilience.

As part of the cloud migration process, nib has expanded and enhanced its digital offerings, utilising AI services like Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Lex to develop "nibby," an AI chatbot. Since its introduction, nibby has handled more than 3.2 million customer inquiries.

Rianne Van Veldhuizen, Managing Director Australia and New Zealand at Amazon Web Services highlighted that the healthcare insurance industry is undergoing major modernisation to improve member experience and outcomes. She said, "nib has been at the forefront of leveraging the depth and breadth of our services since 2017, especially in the use of AI and machine learning."

"Migrating 95% of its workloads to AWS has allowed nib to remain resilient and agile, extract key business insights, develop personalised member experiences, and improve the cost and operational efficiency for members."

Nib Group's extensive migration to the cloud, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), marks a strategic leap forward in enhancing flexibility, innovation, and efficiency within the insurance industry. By leveraging AWS's robust cloud platform, nib has achieved significant cost savings and unlocked new possibilities for advanced data analytics and AI-driven initiatives. This transformation underscores nib's commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation while continually improving member experiences and operational effectiveness.