I'm pushing for our actuarial team to transition to more R + Git. After 3 years of preaching, most of the actuaries now use RStudio + git as their primary work tool. It is happening.
What we did :
1) Provide documentation on everything from install to using internal R libraries for ETL.
2) Provide mostly problem free, always updated VMs with RStudio Server/ Shiny Server.
3) Establish an hotline channel for instant help on R or git.
4) A couple members on the team developed really close working relationship with IT and we have great respect for each other work.
What we provide is way better and by being active, we built users trust in the tools.
We are phasing out SAS and proprietary modeling tools. Python never took hold even if we bought Anaconda entreprise. Excel is there to stay for sure but since actuarial student learn R in school, it is easier to onboard new hire.
If you want to go down this path and have a chat, hit me up. I'm in P&C. We use R both in development and production environments. We use it for pricing, spatial contractual obligation, claims assignment and a couple more models.
What we did :
1) Provide documentation on everything from install to using internal R libraries for ETL.
2) Provide mostly problem free, always updated VMs with RStudio Server/ Shiny Server.
3) Establish an hotline channel for instant help on R or git.
4) A couple members on the team developed really close working relationship with IT and we have great respect for each other work.
What we provide is way better and by being active, we built users trust in the tools.
We are phasing out SAS and proprietary modeling tools. Python never took hold even if we bought Anaconda entreprise. Excel is there to stay for sure but since actuarial student learn R in school, it is easier to onboard new hire.
If you want to go down this path and have a chat, hit me up. I'm in P&C. We use R both in development and production environments. We use it for pricing, spatial contractual obligation, claims assignment and a couple more models.