To overcome month-end delays and an inefficient DOS-based system, long term insurance company, Clientele Life has upgraded its database system to Pick System`s D3 ProPlus. The system runs on an Intel dual Pentium Pro server.
The new system provides Clientele`s telephone operators with service support and customer information. It manages everything related to Clientele`s business such as client profiles and policy enquiries, through to recording all transaction details, plus keeping track of all client and policy statuses and incorporates the functionality required for premium collections via the Automated Clearing Bureau (ACB).
As Clientele Life`s database of clients and policies expanded so did the demands on its legacy system until Clientele Life outgrew the file size limitations imposed by the DOS based system. This constraint meant that every month-end Clientele Life had to invest much time and resources to find ways to circumvent the problem. Added to this, the system was not locally supported and Clientele Life experienced problems when it required support and additional licenses.
Pat Felton, executive director, Clientele Life says: "At the outset of the project we decided that whatever we chose should have a "Pick flavour." By remaining in the Pick environment Clientele Life was able to minimise the learning curve for the users and ensure an almost transparent migration path. Additional requirements included ODBC connectivity and indexing capability.
"We saw a number of product demonstrations and looked at benchmarks of Pick and other similar products. As regards our specific requirements, Pick`s D3 database was superior," says Felton.
The first phase of the migration took about three months and consisted of transferring the existing code to the D3 platform. A key consideration was ensuring that the user-interface of the new system was identical to that of the previous system.
Says Felton: "This meant we were able to eliminate user training and minimise the disruptions associated with a migration of this nature."
"This migration to D3 has eliminated all our file size constraints and provided us with the additional functionality that we had to program around on the previous platform. In addition, through ODBC connectivity we can use off the shelf applications to merge information from the database for mail shots and client communications. This functionality reduces the maintenance backlog significantly as the users are able to develop their own text-based documents for reporting and client communications."
"We were fortunate to be able to draw on the skills of our suppliers. It was fortuitous that Pick Systems Africa had people who were available to assist us during the initial stages of the migration. Access to their skills and knowledge facilitated the migration and eliminated any inefficiencies that could have been introduced through lack of product knowledge. "
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