Report Summary:

At its fall meetings, 20 of the more than 70 insurer technology executive members of the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council, shared their perspectives and experience in a broad range of areas, with discussions and presentations emphasizing agility and communication. Whether the topic was SOA, application portfolio management, staffing, or legacy extension, three themes stood out:

• Business/IT communication based on firm metrics is the basis for success.
• Iterate and control development and deployment.
• Be prepared for change: legacy business practices need to be re-evaluated and updated even more aggressively than legacy systems.

This report summarizes the discussions and presentations for a broader audience while protecting participant anonymity.

CONTENTS

Introduction…2
Key Metrics for Insurer CIOs…3
Data and Predictive Analytics…5
Improving Speed-to-Market…6
Trends and Issues in the Software Market…7
Eight IT Trends Enabling Agility…8
SOA and Personal Lines Rating…10
Key Challenges at a Large Life Insurer…12
Application Portfolio Management…13
IT Staffing Strategies…14
Enterprise SOA…14
Conclusions…15
About Novarica…16