IONA to Build Claims System for Winterthur

IONA Technologies says it has signed a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract with Winterthur Versicherungen, a Swiss-based insurance company, to build a web-to-host claims reporting and processing system. The product is based on IONA's iPortal Suite.

"We have many legacy systems which are very reliable and fast but are not yet accessible via CORBA to the new media," said Rudolf Walther, project leader for e-commerce at Winterthur. "The iPortal Application Server and the iPortal OS/390 Server will allow us to resolve this issue and integrate front-end web applications with the old PL/I systems developed in the 80s."

The initial applications built with iPortalSuite components will be in the areas of claims reporting, damage correspondence and damage payments. The application server will be key to allowing Winterthur to create new application systems to, as the company says, "make their customers' lives easier."

The new applications make it possible to efficiently involve the customer at an earlier time into the respective business process, using the Internet. This helps to improve the relationship with clients by helping to initialize cross-selling into such contacts, the company notes.

"The new B2B platform enables the reuse of previously developed components, and facilitates the integration of core business applications into new applications," said Dr. Chris Horn, chairman and CEO of IONA. "The iPortal Suite will provide Winterthur with a reliable platform to quickly execute on new business opportunities as they arise."

Founded in 1991, IONA Technologies is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company employs more than 625 people in 25 offices worldwide.

Edited by Dave Willis