Enhancing Operations with SC Spheres at Discovery Health

Background:

Discovery is a leading insurance and banking provider known for its innovative approach to product design and use of behavioural science to improve the health and financial wellbeing of its customers. Extensive research and development has gone into the development and evolution of its various online platforms aimed at its customers.

One neglected area up until recently has been a platform to manage the boards of the medical schemes where Discovery is the provider of administration and managed care services. Rather than build its own proprietary platform, Discovery Health took a decision four years ago to offer the SC Spheres platform to its medical scheme clients in South Africa.

Challenge:

Discovery Health needed a secure and reliable platform to manage the secretarial services provided to its medical scheme clients and to house the scheme documentation efficiently and securely. The challenge was to find a solution that was consistent with its other platforms in being cutting edge, innovative and elegant.

Discovery Health also wanted control over the platform so that they were able to take control over the platform development should they want to offer services that were unique where they could protect their Intellectual Property.

Solution:

SC Spheres was implemented to address these needs. The platform has been developed as a progressive web app and leverages the sophisticated features now built into all the modern web browsers to manage the secure storage of documents and agenda papers. While the platform is available on a subscription fee basis, for enterprise clients such as Discovery Health, we are able transition to a contractual arrangement whereby the Intellectual Property inherent in the platform can transition to the enterprise client.

Cutting edge, innovative and elegant:

Progressive web apps offer enterprises a one-stop digital interface for customers with a single solution rather than having to offer a traditional web site, a mobile site and a native app. This ensures that your customer has the same experience whether they are communicating with you via their desktop, tablet or phone.

Progressive web apps are able to leverage the capabilities and accessibility of the web with functionality much like that of a native app but without the disadvantages of having to work via the app stores. In particular,

o No app store download is needed so access is immediate. o Distribution of the platform can be via email, SMS or WhatsApp. o Build costs are lower. o Data usage is lower; and o There is a huge ecosystem of JavaScript open-source software to aid development

Secure and professional:

COVID-19 has fast tracked a new way of conducting business with a much greater reliance on electronic decision making and transacting. In this new world of work, there are some practices that have been adopted that can be subject to challenge where the digital controls are not as tight as they might be.

Board secretarial services must be able to deal equally with face-to-face and virtual meetings. Reliance on email and password protecting documents has become commonplace but is not a secure or professional solution for global leaders such as Discovery.

Over the four years since Discovery have been using SC Spheres, the platform has integrated the following features into a single secure and encrypted platform:

o Dealing with round-robin decisions where information can be shared, multi-way discussions undertaken, and decisions recorded. o Electronic signing and storage of documents. o Delegation of secretarial services for committees and investigations to third-party individuals and entities while still maintaining the integrity of the platform. o Development and distribution of interactive induction and training presentations. o Establishing virtual data rooms for regulatory inspections or service provider tenders; and o Signing attendance registers and gift and conflict of interest declarations.

Conclusion

The implementation of SC Spheres at Discovery Health has proven to be a pivotal move in enhancing the efficiency and security of their board secretarial services. By choosing SC Spheres, Discovery Health has not only ensured that their platform aligns with their reputation for innovation and elegance but also provided their medical scheme clients with a cutting-edge, secure, and reliable solution.

As the digital transformation of board secretarial services continues to accelerate, the need to protect intellectual property will become increasingly important. Discovery Health's decision to partner with SC Spheres reflects their forward-thinking approach, recognising that the ability to differentiate services through protected intellectual property is vital in maintaining a competitive edge. SC Spheres offers the flexibility and security that Discovery Health requires, ensuring they are well-positioned to navigate the evolving landscape of digital secretarial services.