At a time when there is increasing talk of the “sovereign cloud”, Michel Ramos, co-founder of Apidata, prefers to defend the digital sovereignty of companies in the cloud. Convinced that insurance companies must retain control over the hosting and administration of their data, he explains why and how this can be achieved.

“Cloud sovereignty has become a political notion that refers to state strategies,” explains Michel Ramos, co-founder and CTO of Apidata. “So I prefer to talk about the sovereignty of data, its hosting and administration. In other words, the sovereignty of companies in the Cloud”, he insists. Because going to the Cloud is no longer an option. But this must not be to the detriment of data security and hosting cost control.

Partitioned hosting

As a Middle Office manager, ”we have to guarantee that no one can access our servers to consult, delete, copy or manipulate our databases,” explains Michel Ramos. However, when infrastructures are shared, data security cannot be guaranteed. For Michel Ramos, it is therefore essential that insurance companies retain total control over their infrastructures and their management.

Controlling costs and carbon footprint

The management of health and provident benefits relies on vast quantities of data. It therefore requires computing power and solid infrastructures, albeit sometimes excessive in size and energy consumption. As Michel Ramos observes, ”There’s no point in embarking on a profligacy of resources when it’s possible to adjust the power used to the company’s real needs ”. Let’s not forget that the digital sector’s carbon footprint already accounts for 3% to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is set to double by 2040.

Digital sovereignty depends on security, accountability and transparency, particularly in terms of billing policies. “The pricing equations of some cloud providers include so many parameters and variables that it’s impossible to know a priori the cost actually billed each month,” comments Michel Ramos.

Clarity on reversibility

Transparency also means total openness about the technologies used: “At Apidata, we provide our customers with a complete diagram of the infrastructure, the tools used and the way in which we host and administer their data,” explains Michel Ramos. This information is crucial when a company decides to leave the cloud or change operators. Such a decision is very difficult to make with the major Cloud operators, even when hosting costs are perceived as prohibitive and unpredictable: “Their reversibility clauses are as opaque as their billing practices and data hosting and administration schemes,” smiles Michel Ramos. He warns insurance companies:

“This dependence on your Cloud operator means you lose control of your information system.”

A sovereign middle office

Apidata is a Middle Office operator that supports the various regulatory and technical functions of health and provident insurers.

“We work with French Cloud operators with whom we can implement this vision of sovereignty. This seems all the more crucial to us as the Middle Office is the nuclear heart of an insurer!”

It is therefore particularly deserving of security…

Read the article on the L’Argus de l’assurance website