Know-how

L’UNION CANADIENNE

Beyond Outsourcing: CGI brings L’UNION CANADIENNE the best of both worlds

Founded in 1943 by insurance brokers, L’UNION CANADIENNE is present in more than 450 brokerage agencies in Quebec. Like many insurance companies, the company made a decision to outsource the hosting and management of its electronic data processing as well as certain production and technical support activities. The move allowed L’UNION CANADIENNE to focus its entire energy on its key sector of activity: providing customers with high-quality insurance products and financial management services.

The quality of information processing can have a direct effect on an insurance company’s services. That’s why, early in the 1990s after an in-depth evaluation, L’UNION CANADIENNE chose CGI for the project. The business relationship that resulted has since proven highly beneficial for both companies.
In 1999, L’UNION CANADIENNE awarded CGI a new three-year renewable mandate involving the hosting and physical operation of its AS-400 systems, technical support for users and sophisticated printing services.

The Challenge
Insurance companies have long been recognized for their exceptional rigor and highly precise procedures. During this fourth mandate, CGI and L’UNION CANADIENNE decided to further hone the effectiveness of communications between their respective representatives in order to assure total transparency of IT resources.

CGI wanted its client to receive the best of both worlds: all of the advantages of an internal system combined with the benefits of outsourcing.

In addition, during the project, the insurer’s two AS-400 computers were to be replaced by two AS-400/720s, the new, more powerful version of the same system. It was imperative that this transition be as smooth as possible for users and that processing downtime be kept to an absolute minimum.

CGI set out to ensure that L’UNION CANADIENNE reaped the full benefits of continuous improvement in the printing and desktop publishing activities of its Document Technology department, which produces and distributes sophisticated documents generated by computer files of clients. The printing process is a critical activity for insurers, for the policies, checks and updates are the only “tangible products” clients receive. Even the smallest printing error can take on major proportions.

The Strategy
CGI already boasted exceptional expertise in all aspects of the AS-400 technological environment, from daily operations to operating systems maintenance to the physical components of the computers and peripheral equipment. CGI’s professionals were therefore able to focus fully on implementing control and communication systems of the highest quality to reassure L’UNION CANADIENNE’s users and IT managers.

When it came time to replace the AS-400 units, CGI assigned its most qualified project people, who together with the client developed a detailed transition plan.

The Technology

End-to-end technological management included:

• Equipment: 2 AS-400/720 systems and peripheral equipment
• Printing/desktop publishing: advanced CGI interfaces; production in Quebec City using files generated by Montreal Document Technology Centre
• Daily management of systems
• Technical support for users
• Tape library management
• Production monitoring

The Results
Continuous improvement of its business relationship with CGI has meant that L’UNION CANADIENNE can completely depend on the availability of its systems as well as on service as efficient and personalized as it would be if it was managed internally – all at a predictable cost. Moreover, the wide range of expertise available to the company, particularly with respect to advanced printing capabilities, has allowed it to “visibly” improve production.

“CGI provides us with impeccable service,” stated Jean Vincent, L’UNION CANADIENNE’s Vice-President, Information Technology. “We trust the team’s integrity and professionalism completely, and they are always open to new approaches. They put 100% effort into the AS-400 replacement project, which was carried out with absolute transparency and no negative impact. We never cease to be amazed by the people responsible for the Document Technology printing service. Their concern for flawless quality control has exceeded all of our expectations.”