RMIS/TECHNOLOGY

Risk & Insurance, August, 2001 by David P. Duden

Reface not Replace

The new sales slogan to "reface not replace" is beginning to be heard in many sectors of the insurance and risk management technology arena. Not to be confused with the screen scraping we heard about during the mainframe to client/server transition, refacing a system now is much more than a facelift. The potential improvements go deep and could now extend the life of your legacy systems for several years.

Many clients who have been forced off of their reliable hardware due to software compatibility issues often are unable to achieve that degree of comfort and reliability in the newer technology. The drive toward new technology resulted in a disgruntled user base.

Why should an organization look at a reface? The reasons that have been reported to me include:

* Ease of use: Even if green is your favorite color, the use of monochrome monitors is not practical today.

* Business rules and edits: What was not possible in the older technology can now be achieved in the facelift.

* Optional data input sources: Acceptance of data from outside sources and data exchange might be easier to develop in a front-end tool.

* Input from wireless devices: This will soon become a standard for most of our data collection systems.

Web front-ends are important to insurance operations as well. Replacing legacy systems within an insurance operation is often impossible due to the intra-connectivity of the core system. According to Charles Cronin, president of Infinity Web Systems, "The needs of a self-service model for an insurance company can be met through a Web front-end." He adds that 24 x 7 uptime is required for true customer service. Whether it is on the claims or policy side of the operation, legacy systems have had so much development in the area of interfaces; it is impossible to pull them out.

A new front-end can enhance the ability to reach additional databases. A new front-end can pull data together from other systems and allow you to view it from a different and perhaps more productive perspective.

Internal support capability should also be considered. If a legacy system uses proprietary software where support is no longer available and internal resources are no adequate, then an external solution should be considered.

A hybrid approach is often a possibility as well. A highly detailed needs analysis and study of gaps in the current system as compared with best practices will help determine the possibility of a facelift versus a transplant.

David P. Duden is national RMIS practice leader for Deloitte & Touche in Hartford, Conn.