Modernization of Ntuc Income Essays

Modernization of Ntuc Income Essays Modernization of Ntuc Income Essay Modernization of Ntuc Income Essay Maryanne D. Exiomo June 9, 2011 Case Study – Modernization of NTUC Income Prof. Ray Ganotice 1. What were the problems faced by Income in this case? How were the problems resolved by the new digital system? -Income had problems with how they process their insurance because it is very tedious and paper-based. The way they do business costs them time, because it takes them more days to finish a certain request for insurance; money, because they need to upgrade HP3000 mainframe that frequently breaks; space, because it is paper-based, all forms were put into cartons and resulted to occupying 3 warehouses. Income’s problems were resolved in June 2003 when they switched to Java based eBao LifeSystem from eBao Technology. Because of eBao’s hi-tech features, it covered Policy Administration, Sales Management, and Supplementary Resources. 2. What types of information systems and business processes were used by Income before migrating to the fully digital system? -Income used HP3000 mainframe that hosted the core insurance applications as well as the accounting and management information systems. They also used COBOL programs that were developed in the early 1980s. With regards to their business processes, Income does all the work manually. From the agent submitting the forms to branches, office services would sort them for underwriting; storage is done by sorting all documents and is put in cartons, where all documents are stored in 3 warehouses. Policy writing is in batch process and information was not available to agents and advisors as a result they loss the opportunity to cross-sell. . Describe the Information systems and IT infrastructure at Income after migrating to the fully digital system? -In June 2003, when Income migrated their documents to eBao LifeSystems, everything was in order. According to James Kang, CIO of Income it has everything that they were looking for. a. )A customer-centric design b. )Seamless integration with imaging and barcode technology c. )A product definition module that supports new products, new channels, and changes in business processes. In addition to that, Income replaced their IT infrastructure with more powerful architecture. They also refurbished the business continuity and disaster-recovery plans. 4. What benefits did Income reap from the new system? -Staff enjoyed a faster access to information, the process workflow were reduced from weeks to days, they were able to save 50% of the time and cost they needed to make new policies, they have the opportunity of cross-selling because of the ease of access of all information plus the faster performance of their computers. . How well is Income prepared for the future? Are the problems described in the case likely to be repeated? -Income already is somewhat prepared for the future with all the changes they have done and the new system that they have adopted. It will be almost impossible for them to experience the same problems they had if they continue with the upgrades and continually improve their system as technology continues to develop more.