SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Inspro Technologies (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Inspro Technologies is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Inspro Technologies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Inspro Technologies can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Inspro Technologies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Inspro Technologies operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Inspro Technologies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Inspro Technologies
2. Improving business portfolio management of Inspro Technologies
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Insurance (Life) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Inspro Technologies
Strengths of Inspro Technologies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Inspro Technologies are -
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Life) industry
– Inspro Technologies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Life) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Inspro Technologies digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Inspro Technologies has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Inspro Technologies has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Life) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Inspro Technologies have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Inspro Technologies is one of the most innovative firm in Insurance (Life) sector.
Learning organization
- Inspro Technologies is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Inspro Technologies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Inspro Technologies emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Inspro Technologies has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Inspro Technologies to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Life) industry
– Inspro Technologies has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Inspro Technologies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Life) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Inspro Technologies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Inspro Technologies in Insurance (Life) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Inspro Technologies has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Inspro Technologies in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Inspro Technologies has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Inspro Technologies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Life)
– Inspro Technologies is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Life) industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Inspro Technologies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Inspro Technologies has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Inspro Technologies staying ahead in the Insurance (Life) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Inspro Technologies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Inspro Technologies are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Inspro Technologies is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Inspro Technologies to provide better information regarding Insurance (Life) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Inspro Technologies is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Life) industry, but Inspro Technologies needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Inspro Technologies to focus more on services in the Insurance (Life) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Inspro Technologies supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Inspro Technologies is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Inspro Technologies vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Life) industry, Inspro Technologies needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High dependence on Inspro Technologies ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Inspro Technologies still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Life) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Inspro Technologies has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Inspro Technologies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Life) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Inspro Technologies has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Inspro Technologies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Inspro Technologies needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Inspro Technologies has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Insurance (Life) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Insurance (Life) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Inspro Technologies is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Insurance (Life) industry.
Employees’ less understanding of Inspro Technologies strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Inspro Technologies don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Inspro Technologies Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Inspro Technologies are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Inspro Technologies can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Insurance (Life) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Inspro Technologies can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Inspro Technologies to increase its market reach. Inspro Technologies will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Life) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Inspro Technologies in the Insurance (Life) industry. Now Inspro Technologies can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Inspro Technologies has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Life) industry. This can help Inspro Technologies to build a more holistic ecosystem for Inspro Technologies products in the Insurance (Life) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Insurance (Life) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Inspro Technologies can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Inspro Technologies can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Inspro Technologies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Inspro Technologies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Life) sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Inspro Technologies to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Inspro Technologies to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Inspro Technologies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Inspro Technologies can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Life) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Inspro Technologies can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Insurance (Life) sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Inspro Technologies to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Inspro Technologies to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Inspro Technologies in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Insurance (Life) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Inspro Technologies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Inspro Technologies are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Inspro Technologies in Insurance (Life) industry. The Insurance (Life) industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Inspro Technologies high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Inspro Technologies.
Increasing wage structure of Inspro Technologies
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Inspro Technologies.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Inspro Technologies demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Insurance (Life) industry and other sectors.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Inspro Technologies will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Inspro Technologies can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Insurance (Life) industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Inspro Technologies has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Life) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Inspro Technologies needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Insurance (Life) sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Life) industry are lowering. It can presents Inspro Technologies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Life) sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Inspro Technologies is facing in Insurance (Life) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Inspro Technologies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Inspro Technologies needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Inspro Technologies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Life) industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Inspro Technologies Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Inspro Technologies needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Inspro Technologies is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Inspro Technologies is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Inspro Technologies to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Inspro Technologies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
