The scope for innovation concerning the “Business Connected” implies the safety and support in core business activities with particular focus on micro-enterprises, professional firms, craft and commercial businesses in the territory.
It is a field where digital technology and innovation can play a role and have great opportunities of development and innovation, as for small businesses, the bank, insurance and management-supporting services are not very advanced or are adapted to the target by starting, on a case-by-case basis, from the needs of the retail market or the corporate market.
Like for the other sectors of Vittoria hub, the scope for innovation is about prevention, monitoring, on-call emergency and repair services in relation to accidental damage and thefts. Furthermore, the whole chain for the safety of premises, content and people is important.
Another very important scope for innovation relates to the business continuity in case of various operational risks (e.g. owner’s health, legal risks for company and directors, continuity of production processes and information systems, etc.). In this regard, it is very important to handle cyber-risks that may impact the business continuity or evolve in relevant reputational risks. From the customer’s point of view, it is therefore essential to focus on the prevention rather than on the remediation. From the company’s point of view, it is also important to make use of risk assessment tools that are more targeted and sophisticated than the existing ones.
A further area of potential development is the one which enables to support small businesses in some basic management processes (accounting, account aggregation, automatic reconciliation of payments and collections, prospective cash flow, etc.). It is about processes that are not closely linked to the typical insurance processes of property and person protection but may be a driver for the development of a more consolidated relationship between companies and customer, as well as an essential factor in attracting new prospects.
Applicant startups can have differentiated profiles in relation to the two main dimensions: technology of emergency prevention/repair/management and service model.
