James Hurley, Chief Architect of CSC's Property and Casualty Insurance Division After selecting a new software system that aligns with an evolving corporate strategy, insurers are often faced with huge change-management issues that can be solved with strong leadership and the right internal communications. The key is to build a program that fosters acceptance and understanding of the underlying imperatives for change and how the business, operational, and IT initiatives need to mesh together to support this change. Implementing a new software system isn't just a technology change; it is the enabler to much-needed business process change which drove the selection in the first place. The natural tendency for users is to expect or want a new system to behave like the old one, and they are willing to drive the project to do just that. The goal of the implementation project should be to resist this tendency and to help users accept new business processes that exploit the capabilities of the new system to realize the benefits. Strong leadership with early and frequent communication with all those affected by a new system is key to moving smoothly to the acceptance phase.

(To read how one carrier is using one of CSC's systems, click here.)