Johannesburg, 17 Nov 2005
Specialist insurance company Lloyd`s of London has installed Information Builders` WebFOCUS business intelligence software which is represented in South Africa by Fujitsu.
"Crucially, we sought a solution that guaranteed seamless migration and integration with our existing architecture and processes," explains Ian Wootten, manager of Lloyd`s Settlement and Trust Fund.
"The Settlement and Trust Fund operations are at the core of our business and we could not afford to jeopardise these by using an inappropriate system."
Lloyd`s considered various options, including rewriting its existing codes in another package or deploying a BI solution from other third parties.
"However, developers quoted prohibitively high costs for these options, which could not offer the security reassurance Lloyd`s required for the migration process," says Wootten.
"WebFOCUS from Information Builders, on the other hand, offered greater flexibility with a platform that could transfer Lloyd`s existing code directly into the new package. In addition, its advanced inquiry package was attractive to Lloyd`s being powerful and easy to use," he says.
Lloyd`s established a project committee headed by Wootten with personnel from the technical team, systems experts, Information Builders system engineers, and an external auditor to drive the migration and installation and ensure all necessary controls were in place.
"Communication was key to ensure the project ran smoothly in terms of timeframes and requirements from the new system," says Wootten. "The committee met regularly and Information Builders listened to our needs to create an ideal solution for us."
The WebFOCUS benefits were significant. They included the ability for users can create payment files and detailed, accurate reports in whichever currency they require at the touch of a button. WebFOCUS ensures all reports conform to the various banking interfaces. If a settlement user needs to alter reports, WebFOCUS ensures all corresponding figures match.
Details of any amendments show in reports for external auditors to ensure operations remain transparent and secure.
WebFOCUS reformats files according to precise user demands, settles payments with banks and other parties, and processes letters of credit in their preferred formats. In addition to the United Kingdom, Lloyd`s is able to settle credits and debits to Australia, France and the United States.
"When we went live with the new system, we had no problems and it continues to work reliably and cost-effectively with minimal maintenance requirements.
"The WebFOCUS architecture is robust and Lloyd`s now experiences less downtime. In addition, operations are up to five times faster than previously, thanks to the WebFOCUS user-friendly interface and its ability to simplify complex programs and commands into touch-button operations," says Wooten.
"For the first time, we have a system that incorporates our offices in different physical locations, which also speeds up the consolidation process across sites," says Wootten. "Because WebFOCUS is Internet-based, the location of where our processes take place is now immaterial."
Over the Web, operators in any location can request a letter of credit, check it is set up appropriately, ensure sufficient funds exist, and generate a letter of credit request to the bank.
"Information Builders has ensured the new system is flexible to adapt to future business and market changes. Lloyd`s is now planning to add four new currencies and adapt WebFOCUS for other departments," says Wootten.
"We have been impressed with WebFOCUS from day one and a cost-benefit analysis clearly justified our spend," says Wootten. "Information Builders truly understands our business needs and consistently delivers professional service and advice and created a solution that meets our needs precisely as we continue to evolve our market-leading business."
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