Leading local software house Bateleur Software Solutions has implemented ApplinX, a rapid application development tool, for Swiss Re Africa, thereby delivering substantial cost and productivity benefits to the reinsurer.
Swiss Re, which is among the top three reinsurers locally and second-largest worldwide, is using ApplinX to integrate its legacy mainframe-based applications with newer Web-based systems.
"The decision to use ApplinX has resulted in significant savings in development costs and delivered extensive strategic benefits," says Thinus Bekker, Manager - Business Solutions of Swiss Re Africa.
Developed by global enterprise integration specialist Sabratec and distributed in SA by Bateleur Software Solutions, ApplinX enables rapid development of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) solutions by integrating existing systems with new applications residing on emerging computing platforms such as the Web. Maximum flexibility is provided in support of new and existing business rules and workflow, and ApplinX is fully compliant with industry development standards and platforms.
In the process of implementing third-party workflow processes for its underwriting and accounting functions, Swiss Re identified a need to integrate the Web-based workflow system with its other applications, which run on the group`s mainframe in Zurich. Criteria which needed to be met included transferring information in and out of the mainframe in Web format, tightened controls and no need to make changes on the mainframe.
"ApplinX fulfilled all the criteria and was therefore selected," Bekker says.
Although the workflow application took six months to implement, ApplinX was up and running in just two weeks, with all screens fully defined. Swiss Re uses the workflow system for all its business processes, including renewals, new business, endorsements, claims, premium administration and document management. ApplinX provides real-time integration between these core business processes and the group mainframe.
In addition, ApplinX enables Swiss Re Africa to complement the existing business rules on the mainframe. Fifty extra validations have been included for users performing data entry, thereby increasing the integrity of the data. Errors have been further reduced by implementing reporting rules at the front-end, so that checks are done at the point of capture rather than post-capture.
Commenting further on the benefits of using ApplinX, Bekker says because the company doesn`t have in-house development skills, the required modifications to the mainframe software would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. "Without ApplinX, the 50 extra validations would have cost five times as much," he points out. "Besides these huge cost savings, we also have more control in developing systems specifically for the local market and increased flexibility in terms of Web development.
"The integration is extremely efficient, making the process of sending information back and forth completely smooth. The management team is able to easily extract information from a spreadsheet and use it for escalating queries where necessary."
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