Analyst Firm Profiles 34 Insurance IT Service Providers

In its first report profiling IT service vendors for the insurance industry, Boston-based insurance consultancy Celent concludes that the most successful partnerships insurers have with IT service vendors those that are not just about replacing staff or lowering costs. Though a cost-minded insurer may find significantly lower expense from a good relationship with an IT service vendor, many find these engagements save costs in one area while requiring unexpected expenditures in others. The best partnerships, Celent says, are those that are long-term, strategic engagements in which a vendor is leveraged to bring in new expertise, add both technology and domain knowledge to the business, and is relied on as a true partner.

The report, “IT Services Vendors Solutions Spectrum,” features profiles of 34 vendors—around the globe with a focus on North American presence—that provide expertise to insurers in areas such as writing, modifying, testing, and supporting software to meet an insurer’s needs; planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software (often legacy systems and new software products), and communication technologies; on-site management and operation of clients’ computer systems and/or data processing facilities; outsourcing of key processes; and other professional and technical computer-related advice and services. The vendors profiled in the report provide one or more of these services to insurers in North America.

Easy access to the global marketplace has increased competition among insurance technology vendors and pushed prices lower, making service partnerships an appealing option for cost-sensitive businesses, according to the report. Even more important than price has been the growing sophistication of IT service relationships, with goals such as flexible capacity, access to new skill sets, and strategic IT advice, allowing insurers to tackle long-term projects that would have otherwise been out of reach, Celent says.

While a significant amount of the business goes to large consultancies and software vendors because of their experience and depth of client base, many of the businesses that have been formed to meet demand are small or niche players able to focus on different strengths and offer different kinds of business relationships, the report indicate.

Vendors profiled in the report include:

  • • 3i Infotech
  • • Accenture
  • • Aegis BPO Services
  • • Agile Technologies
  • • Blue Cod
  • • CastleBay Consulting
  • • Centric Consulting
  • • Cognizant
  • • CSC
  • • CTS Consulting
  • • Datamatics
  • • Diamond
  • • EXL Services
  • • HCL Technologies
  • • Hexaware
  • • HP Enterprise Services
  • • IBM
  • • Infosys
  • • Intelenet Global Services
  • • Keane
  • • L&T Infotech
  • • MajescoMastek
  • • Mindtree
  • • NIIT
  • • Patni
  • • Polaris
  • • PWC
  • • Softtek
  • • SunGard
  • • Syntel
  • • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
  • • UST Global
  • • Wipro
  • • WNS
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