A Global SaaS provider for the insurance industry Replaces legacy with a responsive, tailored core system in just two years
One of the largest healthcare benefits management companies operating in their region, serving hundreds of insurance companies and health insurance schemes, is connected to more than one hundred thousand healthcare providers.
200 apps, comprising 300 modules and +700 screens in 1st year
Company’s core system rolled out in under 2 years
Early Business buy-in guarantees tailored, responsive apps
Adapts faster to dynamic market and regulatory changes
CHALLENGE
Replacing a Legacy CORE system with over 20 years built on Oracle forms
Being a SaaS provider for the healthcare insurance industry, they have been providing their services for over 20 years on top of a comprehensive and complex system built using Oracle Forms and databases comprising over 1k forms and 1k tables.
“The systems were outdated, did not perform well, and didn’t scale,” recalls their Chief Software Architect. “For instance, for each new update to the insurance policy coverages, we would take nearly two weeks to reflect those changes in the system. Imagine this happening for the hundreds of companies that trust us with their policy management processes. Plus, we were finding it difficult to keep delivering the excellent customer-experience we have been known for since we first started operating.“
Consequently, the company decided to modernize their legacy systems. “We had to keep our business agile. The insurance world is a fast-moving one, and our systems could not be the bottleneck,” added their CIO.
After considering several options, they decided that adopting a low-code platform was the best solution because of the promise of reduced time-to-market times and effortless change, upgrade, and maintenance of the system overall. Adopting OutSystems was a natural decision, being the leader in the field.
SOLUTION
A Responsive, tailored Core System in just two years
This global healthcare benefits management company decided to start out carefully with a dry-run of the OutSystems Platform and a small internal team, developing non-critical apps. They quickly realized that adopting a low-code platform translated into more efficient development processes, reducing both the time and cost of development. Furthermore, being a SaaS provider for the insurance industry, with the OutSystems platform multi-tenancy feature, their core solution could now house multiple instances of their applications customized for their various customers. But still guaranteeing that customer-specific data and processes are isolated from one another.
At the beginning of 2020, they decided to bring OSQuay onboard with three chief purposes: support and accelerate their Digital Transformation Initiative, put in place robust governance processes, and ramp up an internal Low-Code Digital Factory.
Having a complex legacy system built on Oracle Forms to modernize, the team focused initially on developing a common framework with functionalities serving all applications. This framework included foundational modules like themes, a directory, multi-time zone, and multi-language functionalities, and business-specific modules like providers’ networks management and Member Administration.
These earlier projects also served the purpose of training their internal team of developers, architects, business analysts, and quality assurance on the OutSystems Platform. By the time the apps were up and running, the company had an experienced team of seven developers, one business analyst, two architects, and two quality control experts.
“We never thought that we could reduce the deployment of the hundreds of modules and apps that make up our whole company‘s core systems in just under two years,” adds the CIO. “The simplicity of changing the apps is definitively a plus. We skipped the step of building dedicated proofs-of-concept and involved our business users early in the development process to gather their feedback. Resulting in apps that actively respond to the needs of our business teams.”
The close collaboration with three OSQuay foundation teams brought the development of their crucial system to full speed. So far, they’ve successfully replaced nearly half of the functionality of their legacy system. They implemented core business modules including Insurance Company, Policy, Premium Management, and Insurers Administration, to name just a few.
“The simplicity of changing the apps is definitively a plus. We skipped the step of building dedicated proofs-of-concept and involved our business users early in the development process to gather their feedback. Resulting in apps that actively respond to the needs of our business teams.”
RESULTS
Over 200 applications built in the first year alone
With a total of four development teams and nearly twenty-five people working full-time on the system, the company has built 200 applications comprising more than 300 modules and over 700 screens in just under one year. Counting four environments so far, development, quality, staging, and production, they plan to have their core system completely modernized and up and running on the OutSystems Platform in the coming year. Operational teams within the company’s worldwide offices actively test the system, regularly giving their feedback to the development team.
“The continuous collaboration between the business teams throughout the company and the development teams guarantees that the system is adapted to the business needs even before being launched,” says the CIO. “Business buy-in is crucial to the success of our core platform. After all, once we launch it, it will serve the hundreds of insurance companies and the thousands of worldwide providers working with us today. Thus, translating into millions of users regularly using our core system.”
The development of its core system continues at a fast pace. The teams are currently working on business-critical apps like Claim Management, Fraud Detection, and CRM.
If you’re eager to accelerate your Digital Transformation Initiative, schedule a demo to see how low-code can give you the support you need for a successful transition.