19/8/2010
By Neil Ainger
eSure is finalising the migration of its IT platforms and hardware on to a new architecture provided by Capgemini on an outsourced basis. Following the management buy-out in February that freed the insurer from Lloyds Banking Group but left it without an internal IT department, eSure has been pursing a £26 million ‘build and run’ platform with Capgemini, who will run the new infrastructure that is now coming online for the next five years.
The new eSure infrastructure, managed by Capgemini, runs all of the insurer’s core applications, including finance solutions and its customer-facing online and call centre policy administration and acquisition systems, such as sales, marketing, website content, quotations and claims management. Capgemini is also handling eSure’s telephony systems as part of the managed services contract, including call management responsibilities, handled via a subcontractor. The helpdesk is centred in Inverness and Nairn, Scotland.
The migration involved transferring eSure’s IT and data from Lloyds Banking Group’s (HBOS’) old facilities to Capgemini’s data centres in the City of London and on London’s Southbank. The implementation of new hardware and software in the London premises has been ongoing throughout the summer. A new Sun Solaris environment is utilised, alongside Unix systems management, based upon IBM Tivoli Workload Schedulers. A new Wintel estate that has Microsoft Exchange on it, and an active directory, is also utilised, plus Blackberry and content management systems.
Commenting on the new managed services IT architecture, Peter Wood, chairman and founder of eSure, said: “We needed a managed IT solution that would match the levels of quality, reliability and security that we require for all aspects of our business, and that is what Capgemini have delivered. They have fully met our requirement to effect this major transition with virtually no disruption to our business, and we are pleased that our relationship is now set to continue for a further five years.”
