BACK OFFICE
Strategies and technologies to boost
behind-the-scenes efficiencies
A Global View of SOA-based
Policy Admin Systems
Long-established in the states, service-oriented architectures are
now taking root in emerging markets. By Maria Korolov Trombly
WITH A PREFERENCE FOR service-oriented architec- tures (SOA), the U.S. mar- ket is the furthest ahead in
deployments of SOA-based policy administration systems, but companies in other parts of
the world are starting to catch up—and even
leapfrog over traditional approaches.
Defined by its open communication
standards, SOA promises to dramatically
reduce integration and development costs
in the long term, though there may be a
short-term cost associated with the initial
conversion.
Due to the economic slowdown, these
short-term costs were a factor in 2009,
resulting in a reduced interest in converting
legacy policy administration systems to
SOA, according to Kimberly Harris-Ferrante an analyst with Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner. Insurance companies,
depending on investment income, were
particularly hard hit, she says, and their
interest in big technology projects was subdued as a result. “As we go into 2010, we’re
starting to see a lot of these companies start
back with these projects,” she says.
NEWFOUND AGILITY
The largest U.S. firms have already to migrate
away from legacy systems to modern stan-
dards, and are now building on the progress
they’ve already made.
