Investing in visionary leadership, delivery talent, and experience-informed expertise has always been a priority at Gerent — and now, we're proud to announce that we've advanced that mission a step further by launching a unified practice for Highly Regulated Industries (HRI). This new department bridges Gerent's existing Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare & Life Sciences teams into a collaborative, effective, and innovative whole. 

"I think I speak for the entire team when I say we're excited about this change," Pamela Hannett, Gerent's Senior Vice President for Regulated Industries, shared. "Establishing a unified division just made intuitive sense, given the three teams' shared focus on enabling continued compliance in the face of ever-changing regulations and market conditions."

Highly-regulated industries are subject to significant government oversight and strict compliance requirements to protect consumers and businesses while maintaining market stability, and ensure fair practices. Banks and Credit Unions are regulated to maintain financial stability, safeguard customer deposits, and prevent money laundering; healthcare providers are heavily regulated to maintain patient safety, privacy, and quality of care. Insurers specializing in property and casualty insurance must comply with regulations on risk assessment, pricing, and claims handling when offering coverage for property assets. 

While limited, these examples illustrate an overarching fact — that while each industry faces unique regulatory challenges, all three view compliance with evolving regulations as a mission-critical imperative. For organizations within highly-regulated sectors, adhering to the rules is fundamental to maintaining public trust and protecting consumers' interests. Yet, staying up-to-date with changing requirements requires significant resources, expertise, and ongoing monitoring. Organizations within these industries often need complex technology solutions to meet regulatory requirements, maintain data security, and enhance operational efficiency.

By launching a Highly Regulated Industries practice, Gerent intends to drive more productive collaboration across its Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare & Life Sciences (HLS) divisions while fully utilizing each team's extensive, industry-specific knowledge base. The new Practice will be overseen by Hannett, whose 25+ years of financial services experience and decade-plus track record as a Salesforce ecosystem leader make her optimally qualified to lead the highly regulated industries. 

Hannett and her HRI leadership team are committed to driving achievement and elevating outcomes for Gerent's clients via more frequent and strategic collaboration, Hannett says. 

"With this launch, we'll have the means to focus on the unique needs of each sector, capitalize on market opportunities, and deliver specialized, compliant solutions — which we believe will ultimately lead Gerent to continued business growth and development of an even stronger reputation in these critical industries," Hannett said. 

A unified practice drives value for Gerent — and our industry customers

By breaking down the metaphorical walls between practices, Gerent's Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare & Life Sciences teams will have a crucial opportunity to share knowledge and collaboratively deliver Salesforce solutions that are more tailored, effective, and comprehensive than ever. Additionally, Hannett says, a cross-functional team will be uniquely positioned to serve customers whose needs cross practice lines. 

"Customers don't always sort themselves neatly into industry categories," she explained. "A financial institution may also have insurance needs; a healthcare provider might want to streamline its back-office claims adjudication process and provide a better self-service portal for patients." 

With a unified HRI practice, the three teams will market, sell, and deliver as a single unit. This consolidation will allow our consultants to streamline their processes and develop methodologies tailored to suit organizations in highly-regulated industries — which, in turn, will improve project management, drive efficiency, and ensure solution consistency for customers who, despite being in different industries, may have similar needs. We also foresee improvements to solution quality, as the HRI team intends to implement rigorous quality assurance to guarantee that every delivered solution adheres to high-performance standards and complies with relevant regulations. 

Of course, these improvements aren't the only ones Gerent expects to see following the HRI launch. This change will drive significant value for customers with potential benefits including but are not limited to:

• Deeper Expertise and Specialization: Highly-regulated industries have unique challenges and specific compliance requirements that demand specialized knowledge. Gerent's dedicated HRI division features a robust cohort of subject matter experts who have an in-depth understanding of the regulatory landscape and technological intricacies of their respective industries.

• Enhanced Credibility and Trust: In establishing a specialized division for highly-regulated industries, we've demonstrated our commitment to understanding and addressing the unique needs of clients in these sectors. This decision will increase Gerent's credibility and build trust among potential clients who need technology solutions aligned with their industry-specific regulations.

• More Tailored Solutions: Highly-regulated industries often require custom technology solutions to meet compliance obligations. Gerent's HRI division will leverage the team's deep industry-specific knowledge and broad best practices when developing tailored accelerators, products, and services — so our clients receive compliant and optimized solutions for their specific requirements.

• Elevated Risk Management: Organizations in highly-regulated industries are exposed to various risks related to data breaches, non-compliance, and reputational damage. By building a dedicated HRI division, our team is better positioned to implement robust risk management practices and empower our clients to mitigate potential threats and challenges.

At Gerent, we're proud to stand apart as an industry-led implementation partner with extensive expertise in crafting solutions for regulated industries — and we don't plan to stop pushing the envelope anytime soon. In the upcoming months, we intend to continue to deepen our industry expertise, continue forging robust customer relationships, build more effective Salesforce solutions, and encourage constructive innovation. 

"At Gerent, we pride ourselves on being industry-led and industry-delivered; our consultants know how to address complex compliance and security challenges and deliver a solution tailored to your organization's unique needs," Hannett concluded. "We want to be a partner that customers can come to for immediate, industry-tailored solutions — and continue relying on for years to come." 

To find out more about Gerent’s industry-specific capabilities, please visit our Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare & Life Sciences microsites — or contact us today to start a personalized conversation.