Denmark-based software company TIA Technology has descended on the South African market, targeting the insurance sector.
The company has opened its first African regional office in Johannesburg to provide technology support to the insurance industry across the continent. TIA's core insurance software gives insurers flexibility and customer insight, it notes.
TIA says it already has a well-established customer base in the region, making it well-placed to help transform this growing market. Tian Horn, ex-MD of Roundcube SA, has been hired as area manager for Africa.
The organisation points out that the South African insurance market is currently experiencing a period of unprecedented change. A large portion of the population remains uninsured and the lack of available insurance products catering for this uninsured segment remains a big challenge for local firms, it adds.
TIA believes demand for insurance is still growing, but insurers are struggling to bring products to market quickly enough to address the need.
"There will be a substantial investment into South Africa to establish a fully-fledged subsidiary office of our holding company in Denmark," Horn says. "South Africa will serve as the springboard into the continent from where we will service not only existing South African customers but also those in other African countries.
"I am first man on the ground, although we will be bolstering the local operations with more people, most notably in sales, pre-sales, professional services and account management eventually. Our intentions are to ramp up the team as the requirements from our customers and prospects grow."
Horn explains that TIA is working with a number of local and international partners that implement the company's technology.
"These partners have many man years of experience in implementing our solutions and some have actually grown beyond that by developing their own proprietary solutions that are used as accelerators to deliver projects more rapidly and efficiently."
Considering that TIA is focusing on the tier one and two markets, Horn says there are not many local competitors. "From an international perspective, we obviously have significant competition. Of these international competitors, only one really stands out and that is Guidewire."
"We understand that local knowledge counts - and in such a fast-changing market, we're confident that we can add real value to the local insurance industry in South Africa," adds Christian Kromann, CEO of TIA Technology. "We're excited to be here. We're eager to provide great service, expertise and hands-on support to insurance companies and technology partners in the region."
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