Unisys & Post & Co. (P&I) B.V.
Breakthrough: Post & Co. Sails Forward to an Agile Future.
Imagine it.

Finding a low-risk path to a high-tech future.

Done.

Post & Co. (P&I) B.V. migrated its custom-developed core business applications to the powerful Unisys Agile Business Suite (AB Suite) development environment and a Unisys ClearPath® Plus Libra 300 server in May 2007. The company was able to preserve all existing program functionality while modernizing its development capabilities and IT infrastructure.

Results: Positioned for Business Agility and IT Efficiency

Post & Co. B.V. relies on innovative AB Suite development tools and a secure, reliable ClearPath Plus Libra server to power its business operations. The solution helps the insurer quickly respond to new market opportunities and regulatory mandates while promoting greater efficiency and low total cost of ownership. 

 

Metrics

Business Challenge: Enabling Business Agility Through Technology  

As one of the few independent protection and indemnity (P&I) specialists in the world, Post & Co. (P&I) B.V. advises and assists insurance brokers, ship owners, charterers, and port and terminal operators in insurance term negotiations and placements. P&I is a particular category of insurance that protects a vessel and its owners and operators against liability for bodily injury and third-party property damage.

 

Post & Co. operates in a very dynamic global market and needs the ability to quickly change its applications and infrastructure to enable new business processes, respond to regulatory demands, and embrace new partnership opportunities. “Because our business requirements change frequently, we prefer to develop our own applications rather than using a software package,” explains Jan Piet Slot, IT manager.

 

Post & Co. has relied upon Unisys Enterprise Application Environment (EAE) development tools and Unisys servers for more than 20 years – and remains at the forefront of organizations that turn technology into competitive advantage.

 

It was for this reason that the company was the first to migrate from EAE to AB Suite targeting the ClearPath MCP operating environment. “Being a long-time user of first LINC and then EAE, it was a logical step to adopt AB Suite when it became available,” says Slot. “AB Suite has advanced capabilities that allow Post & Co. to build more sophisticated applications and continue to respond quickly to business demands.”

 

Solution: Innovative Agile Business Suite Development Technology

As part of the decision-making process, Post & Co. conducted a thorough evaluation of AB Suite, including comprehensive testing using its existing EAE applications and a trip to the Australian Centre for Unisys Software (ACUS). Slot saw that “safe passage” from EAE to AB Suite would reduce the effort and risk involved in migration. What’s more, AB Suite’s object-oriented (OO) capabilities offered many new, modern options to address future business requirements.

 

The migration was purposely timed to coincide with Post & Co.’s purchase of a new ClearPath Plus Libra 300 server, including a five-year software license, so that the old and new environments could run in parallel during migration planning and testing activities. The company considered a move to the Microsoft® Windows® operating environment, using either AB Suite or a competitive development toolset. But, it determined that AB Suite targeting the MCP environment on a ClearPath Libra 300 platform was a more cost-effective, secure, reliable, and open solution for the long term.

 

“Our analysis showed that Post & Co. would get twice the performance from the ClearPath Libra platform for less money than our older server,” recalls Slot. “We trust the stability and reliability of the ClearPath MCP environment and plan to leverage its many open connectivity options.”

 

Post & Co. went live with AB Suite in May 2007 – and never looked back. “The migration to AB Suite was very smooth,” says Slot. “We did all the work ourselves and our local Unisys office was on call to support us around the clock.” All core business applications, including policy administration, debtors, creditors, invoicing, and claims handling, are in production using AB Suite.

 

Interestingly, Slot opted to completely shut down the EAE development environment immediately after migration as a means of forcing developers to quickly learn AB Suite. “We initially experienced a sharp learning curve,” he recalls. “Now that we have been using AB Suite for the better part of a year, we are completely up to speed and are learning daily how to better use the tool. We are confident our new environment is as reliable as before and the new open connectivity capabilities are much improved.”

 

Results: A Sound Foundation for an Agile Future

Post & Co. is realizing solid benefits from its migration to AB Suite and a ClearPath Plus Libra 300 server, including:

AB Suite Developer has a number of new features which make coding new functionality much easier. I have no hard figures, but productivity will increase significantly as programmers grow more comfortable with the new environment
Jan Piet Slot
IT Manager
Post & Co.

“We are currently discovering exciting new possibilities with AB Suite,” notes Slot. “We have started a project to add a link from our core application screens to retrieve documents from an electronic archive application. AB Suite Developer has a number of new features which make coding new functionality much easier. I have no hard figures, but productivity will increase significantly as programmers grow more comfortable with the new environment.”

 

Prior to the AB Suite migration, Post & Co. modernized end-user graphical user interfaces (GUIs) using Component Enabler and the ASP .NET Client Generator – but in a rather simple manner. “We are now enhancing our GUIs to use more sophisticated screens using the extras available with AB Suite,” says Slot.

 

Its migration complete, Post & Co. is more than ready for whatever opportunities the future holds. “Post & Co. is continuing to use Unisys ClearPath servers and Agile Business Suite because they help our business quickly respond to change and keep up with new demands while controlling costs,” concludes Slot.

 

The Relationship: Partners in Innovation

Unisys and Post & Co. have worked together for more than 20 years to build a mutually beneficial relationship based on trust and openness. “Unisys understands Post & Co.’s business and is never short on ideas to help us overcome obstacles and improve business and IT operations,” says Slot.

 

Profile: Post & Co. (P&I) B.V.

Solution at a Glance

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