The decision to initiate a Guidewire cloud migration should not be made lightly. Like any key decision in life, it is best to find experts, so not to incur potentially large expenditures in the future to fix a poor implementation. Between the financial investment, the large and potentially unknown risks, and the career implications determined by its success or failure, the stakes are very high. We inform and provide supportive leadership to C-suite decision-makers and stakeholders alike to what considerations and critical success factors should be top of mind when migrating to the Guidewire cloud platform (GWCP).

Highlights by migrating to a modern cloud-based architecture like Guidewire, P&C insurers can increase lowered IT management costs and operational efficiency, dramatically improve customer experiences, position brand ahead of competitors, and deliver financial and strategic goals.

When Guidewire is not effectively implemented, there can be a high total cost of ownership (TCO) due to implementation missteps, incorrect utilization of Guidewire –which everyone wants to avoid. Experienced SI partners know P&C carriers have specific LOB (Line-of-Business) needs and understand the relationship between how to effectively implement Guidewire for varying LOBs that drive their organizational key metrics (DWP, Combined Ratio, Loss Ratio, etc.).

The ultimate guide to a successful Guidewire migration covers:

• Benefits of Guidewire in the cloud

As with any cloud-based software, it’s much easier and faster to implement updates instead of using a manual upgrade process that take additional limited organizational resources and and additional time to manage. Guidewire cloud updates are seamless and immediate, while self-managed Guidewire software has features that may cause disparate compatibility issues. Instead of timely and tedious upgrades, GWCP allows Guidewire customers to start using these ongoing updates and features more quickly and more efficiently. Guidewire also offers additional customer support for GWCP to help maintain and improve software performance over time.

When preparing for a Guidewire cloud migration, it’s important to understand and determine best practices for a successful transition. Guidewire support can expedite a smooth migration by utilizing automated tools to review software code and ensure it’s prepared for the cloud. To avoid backend rebuilds, a system integrator (SI) partner can provide deep upgrade and migration experience to help facilitate the integrations and make sure your software is successfully integration, and optimized for cloud. Guidewire’s cloud implementation process also includes test coverage that can run the code and have it working before it gets deployed. Future technical updates can then be managed by your SI partner, who will also provide additional expertise catered to your business needs.

Experienced SI partners know P&C carriers have specific needs and understand the relationships they’ve built to migrate to the cloud. They’ll also have extensive experience with Guidewire upgrades, Guidewire Cloud implementations, and the necessary certifications for cloud expertise. Without this skill and experience, P&C carriers may feel overwhelmed by or uncertain about Guidewire, so it’s crucial to work with team members that know the ins and outs of the cloud migration process. Also, when not implemented effectively, there’s a high total cost of ownership, increased maintenance, and ultimately doesn’t provide consistent user experience.

To prepare for a Guidewire cloud migration, choose an SI partner who can help you through the process and determine success based on your business needs. They can also help you document your business roadmap for Guidewire’s applications. Your partner will resolve as many production defects as possible and ensure your integrations are ready for the cloud migration. As you move forward with utilizing Guidewire in the cloud, your SI partner can help bring your business to the next level and ultimately boost your bottom line.

In a rapidly changing and highly competitive landscape, it is critical for insurance carriers to adapt quickly—and utilizing technology that accelerates at the same rate is equally important. Delivering innovative solutions means successfully managing a robust, insurance platform via professionals with technical expertise. You might be concerned about the upfront investment or the ongoing cost of Guidewire software for your carrier’s business. So, let’s breakdown the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Guidewire and cover how Guidewire’s commitment to innovation, customer engagement, and optimization of business operations affects your insurance company’s bottom line. Guidewire post-implementation benefits Understanding the benefits of Guidewire after the implementation process is crucial for all P&C carriers—they need to understand the impact on their business. For instance, if you have a Guidewire implementation, you can adapt to the market and utilize new insurance products quicker, helping with your total cost of ownership (TCO). This also allows P&C carriers to quickly adjust to a variety of market conditions, such as combating policy ratings and pricing or retaining customers while being flexible with offerings. Along with post-implementation benefits, ongoing maintenance plays an important role when using Guidewire. Their engineering team is dedicated to continuously enhancing the software by growing and developing new features and functionality. With every new update or release, they adopt new features and frequently update the software to improve their customers’ experience. Rigorous checks are also incorporated to review the software code and design it for volume increases, which combats any performance issues along the way. Guidewire’s impact on business operations Investing in Guidewire provides a multitude of solutions for P&C carriers, including saving time and business costs. With each update, Guidewire offers tools and resources to help carriers manage their own environments either on-premises or in the cloud. Particularly, migrating Guidewire to the cloud allows for more flexibility and brings efficiency when updating. Also, their advanced product designers (APD) can quickly design and deploy new products and features, leading to improved effectiveness. Guidewire compared to other technology When P&C carriers decide to invest in Guidewire, they also gain access to the many perks Guidewire has to offer. From licensing, maintenance, and coding, to developing, customization, and defect management, Guidewire is the premier technology solution for P&C carriers. Because of Guidewire’s offerings, partnering with an SI can help maximize the value of what you have and take advantage of their expertise. With Guidewire, customers can adapt their lines of business to the platform while aligning with Guidewire’s recommended customizations. P&C carriers rely on Guidewire to help process policies and claims, set deductibles, and pay for maintenance and claims—all while taking advantage of business sales and opportunities. Avoid post-implementation performance issues Implementing a new core insurance system can be overwhelming for property and casualty carriers, especially while having to maintain business as usual. Unexpected performance issues that arise during—or after—a digital transformation can have a serious impact on an insurer’s bottom line. Luckily, organizations with a proactive implementation team can avoid common performance issues from the onset by identifying and understanding the standards for success. When you work with a Guidewire implementation partner, you will get the added benefit of built-in performance optimization from day one—inclusive of solutions that will scale and perform as your core systems’ data grows. Understanding common causes of post-implementation performance issues Even after you’ve implemented a major change and onboarded everyone into your new Guidewire system, your users may be confronted with additional challenges over time. As your transactional data grows, it is possible that your end users start to experience longer response times for routine actions. These longer response times eventually start to eat into the promised efficiency gains you intended to get from the initial transformation. Fortunately, a proactive implementation partner will be able to address the cause of these performance issues before they occur, relieving your organization of a frustrating experience and added user support costs later on. If your organization is looking to improve your Guidewire system’s performance, or if you’re preparing to embark on a core system transformation, it’s vital that your team understands and recognizes the common causes of many post-implementation performance challenges: Database queries:Inefficient queries are often a major cause of performance degradation. To avoid delays and optimize the core system,…