HBR Staff; Dana Neely/Getty Images Summary.

Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) has gone on a journey from being the least efficient user of technology in the Blue Cross system to the most efficient as measured on a technology cost per employee basis. Not only that but they have absorbed waves of new technology: cloud, new security protocols, extensive mobile support, more than 20 production AI applications and now generative AI (gen AI). Today, they also have three gen AI applications that they use and are planning on selling to other firms, all while complying with more than 700 regulatory bodies. Getting there meant undertaking a multi-year journey to renovate their core infrastructure to deal with the emerging complexity and member demands in their marketplace, while simultaneously increasing their agility. Interviews with the BCBSM management team identified seven principles that guided their actions.

How One Major Healthcare Firm Became the Leader in Innovative AI Use