Insurance Solutions Centre to address distinct needs of a rapidly changing industry
MARKHAM, ON, Feb. 11 – IBM Canada Ltd. today announced it
will create an International Insurance Solutions Centre (ISC) that will be centred at the
University of Waterloo with operations in Toronto, in order to meet the increasingly
complex and sophisticated technology needs of the industry in Canada and around the world.
The ISC will be home to a collection of some of the best minds and international
resources, committed to developing, deploying and managing cost-effective solutions that
will help insurance companies succeed in the rapidly changing marketplace.
“The insurance industry is faced with deregulation,
mergers and acquisitions, and increased competition,” said Bill Pieroni, General
Manager, Global Insurance Industry, IBM Corp. “Insurance companies want to decrease
their time to market, and increase their ability to react to the changing needs of the
market. IBM and our partners can help them do this, and reduce costs, through the
Insurance Solutions Centre, strategically located here at the University of Waterloo, and
part of a global network of centres of excellence.”
In related news, IBM also announced today that Manulife
Financial Corporation, a leading provider of financial protection and wealth management
products in Canada, the United States and Asia, has agreed to be the premiere participant
of the ISC. This agreement is concurrent with the recent signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding for management by IBM of Manulife’s North American information technology
(IT) infrastructure.
“Manulife Financial is very pleased to strengthen our
commitment to innovation and customer service through technology in the Insurance and
Wealth Management sectors with this new participatory arrangement with IBM,” said
Bruce Gordon, Executive Vice President of Manulife’s Canadian Operations, headquartered in
Waterloo. “The IBM Insurance Solutions Centre will help us strengthen our commitment
to the Kitchener/Waterloo area as well as enhance our relationship with the University of Waterloo.”
IBM’s plans for the ISC include working closely with IBM
Research, consisting of 3,000 researchers, in eight labs around the world. IBM is also
announcing an enhanced research and technology relationship with the University of
Waterloo. IBM has long been a supporter of the University of Waterloo cooperative
education program and currently has several joint research projects in place with the IBM
Toronto Lab in Markham. With the establishment of the ISC, IBM and the University of
Waterloo are augmenting their relationship to add research and projects specifically
focused on early adoption of innovative insurance software solutions on IBM software
platforms in partnership with leading software vendors and insurers.
The ISC will bring together “communities of
interest”, including IBM’s insurance industry partners and customers, to support the
delivery of clients’ application functions. This approach is receiving positive industry
support and is a crucial element in delivering exceptional service and value that IBM’s
Canadian and international customers and partners have come to expect.
IBM has the industry’s most extensive relationships with
leading providers of business solutions in the insurance and financial services
industries, and the ISC will leverage those partnerships to meet the specific needs of all
customers. Several firms are already planning to participate with IBM’s ISC, including
Castek, DSPA, DWL Inc., Peoplesoft, The Innovation Group and RPM Technologies Corp.
About IBM Global Services
Recognized as a world leader in business solutions for the financial and banking industry,
IBM Global Services is the world’s largest information technology services provider, with
approximately 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries and annual revenue
of approximately $35 billion (2001). IBM Global Services integrates IBM’s broad range of
capabilities — services, hardware, software and research — to help companies of all
sizes realize the full value of information technology. For more information, visit:
www.ibm.com/services.
About the University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is one of North America’s leading universities, ranked No. 1 in
reputation in Maclean’s magazine’s annual universities survey. UW is known for its
innovative approach to education and its leading-edge research. UW operates the world’s
largest cooperative education program, and is home to the largest mathematics faculty in
the world which includes one of the top-ranked programs in insurance and actuarial science in North America.
