Saving CIO Ryan: Selecting Modern Core Systems in a Time Crunch
Utilize VendorMatch Select on a time crunch. Imagine, you’re an insurance architect living in the UK…
Some mornings it is better to remain lying in bed! At least that's what I said to myself. One glance towards the window and I jumped out of bed: “Gosh, it’s snowing in London…”. “Snow” and “London” it’s like Boris Johnson’s hair and a comb: they don’t make a good pair! The problem was simple: how to arrive on time for my monthly innovation program steering group meeting at 8.30 am with two centimeters of snow blocking the roads and public transports? No way, this was a lost cause. Anyway, I am just a simple insurance architect, and Ryan – our CIO but also my boss – would certainly manage this meeting well without me.
When I eventually arrived at my office, the meeting was almost over; not worth showing up just for the last ten minutes. As I sat down at my desk, I consoled myself by thinking it would be another meeting with lots of talk but little action. I understood the meeting had been different this time when I saw Ryan’s face as he entered my office.
“Mark, we missed you at this morning’s steering group meeting. We could have used your insight” he shared.
“I’m sorry Ryan but I did not anticipate the snow this morning and as I arrived just ten minutes before the end of the meeting, I chose not to make it so late. Anything I can do to support the next step actions?”
Ryan nodded, the snow this morning had caused issues for him too. “Mark, we’ve got a problem. We’ve received a mission to implement a system to support a new greenfield operation for a brand-new product – cyber insurance – within three months.” He carried on: “Needless to say, I was hesitant when I explained that our 30-year-old homegrown system was not flexible enough to achieve this objective.” He asked: “What do you think we should do?”
I thought for a moment and then responded: “With this project, we have no portfolio migration constraint. In addition, finding a new modern core system could be the trigger for a most-needed legacy replacement.”
He nodded and shared “I think our major problem would be the three months deadline: how can we find relevant core systems within this short time frame?”
“This is not really a problem, Ryan!” I claimed. “When I was working for my former insurance employer, we used a short-listing tool to identify relevant core systems. It leverages a few criteria including the system type, geography where systems are already in production, insurance products supported and size or type of insurers using them. Defining a short list of core system will take about half an hour.”
Hearing this, I could see some relief on Ryan’s face.
“This is a tool called VendorMatch Select by Celent and we have already a research subscription with them so what I can do is get in touch with them and involve the procurement department to speed up the process,” I carried on. “I’ll send you an email with more on this.”
“It sounds good, Mark. I look forward to receiving your email! Good job!” Ryan replied then left my office.
To: Ryan Damon (CIO)
From: Mark Muster
Subject: Identifying relevant core insurance systems for our new cyber security greenfield business in the UK
Hi Ryan,
Following our conversation this morning, I have connected with our account manager at Celent and our procurement department. They have issued a purchase order for VendorMatch Select (Celent short-listing engine).
Here is a short video explaining how the tool works: https://vimeo.com/745486920
As a reminder, by using VendorMatch Select, we can find the right platform and meet our deadline. I look forward to working on this new greenfield project!
Kind regards,
Mark
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Today, VendorMatch Select not only saved CIO Ryan, but showed how resourceful you were. Why waste hours, days, and months of researching the optimal partner when you can use VendorMatch Select and get to an answer in 30 minutes? Get in touch with us today for a demo.