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Progress Software Launches Insurance Information Model Solution AcceleratorMay 27, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Progress Software Corp., a software provider that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive, announced the availability of the Progress Insurance Information Model (IIM) solution accelerator. This new solution, according to the Company, enables insurance companies to significantly improve their customer experience in compliance with Acord standards. The Progress Insurance Information Model solution accelerator consistently and accurately consolidates customer, policy, claims and other insurance data, which often comes from multiple, different departments. This helps drive down costs for insurance providers and frees up resources for revenue generating activities. Worldwide adoption rates of the Acord Framework are increasing as insurance companies recognize the benefits they can accrue from data and interoperability standards. The Progress IIM solution accelerator helps insurance companies accelerate the adoption of the Acord Information Model by providing the Acord design and run-time integration components along with connectivity to disparate legacy systems. Cindy Maike, industry VP for insurance, Progress Software, said, "There are many challenges faced by insurance companies including fluctuations in market conditions, the need for precision pricing, increase in fraudulent claims activity, rising regulatory scrutiny and an aging workforce. To overcome these challenges, insurance companies need systems that can respond to both real-time and historical customer needs, events and patterns. Equally, they need to ensure they can provide a positive, end-to-end experience across the insurance ecosystem. The Progress Insurance Information Model solution accelerator delivers a common view of data across an enterprise enabling insurance providers to respond to both threats and opportunities before they become a problem." The Progress IIM solution accelerator facilitates the import of the Acord Information Model and future mappings of Acord XML standards, along with capabilities that integrate both distributed and mainframe legacy systems. The solution accelerator also provides data mapping and integration with external third-party applications and services. Shane McCullough, chief enterprise architect, Acord, said, "We are excited to see companies like Progress developing solutions based on the Acord Information Model. These types of capabilities will help the global insurance industry ecosystem to more quickly adopt the Acord Framework and position the industry for better interoperability." Deb Smallwood, founder, Strategy Meets Action, said, "Data integration and interoperability sit at the very heart of critical success factors for the insurance industry. Acord, with the Standards Framework, provides a workable foundation for full integration of all data and interoperability among systems. The Progress IIM solution accelerator plays a significant role in eliminating data and process inefficiencies while allowing insurance providers to dynamically respond to customer needs and demands." By gaining the ability to manage how data is exchanged between services and applications, insurance providers can take steps to automate and improve data quality and consistency. Additionally, the Progress IIM solution accelerator helps to consolidate customer, policy and claims data to more accurately assess and price risks, increase conversion ratio and reduce integration time and cost. The Progress IIM solution accelerator is built on the Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM) suite, which provides operational and line of business users with boundless visibility into vast, disparate data silos as well as the ability to correlate, analyze, and anticipate events that could impact their business. It also enables users to make continuous business process improvements without disrupting their IT infrastructure, or requiring the replacement of existing systems. More Information: www.progress.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |