Insurance Global Operations (IGO) announced ithas rebranded as zags. In addition to the name change, zagsannounced it will move company headquarters from Paris to New Yorkto establish its identity as a U.S.-based company and target theNorth American market. 

West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. is the 50thclient to have gone into production with Accenture's Duck Creek Policyand Duck Creek Billing software. With the initial implementation ofthe software across 14 commercial lines, West Bend will be betterequipped to serve its independent insurance agents throughstreamlined operations, increased flexibility and acceleratedproduct development. 

Hyland, creator of OneBase, joined Guidewire SolutionConnect, aglobal program for third-party solution providers that work withGuidewire to provide complementary offerings that deliver enhancedvalue for insurers running their operations on GuidewireInsuranceSuite. 

OneShield Inc. revealed the releaseof an enterprise-level software solution for the lifecyclemanagement of insurance claims, completing the enterprise suite ofOneShield insurance software products. OneShield Claims iscurrently in development and is projected be available in themarketplace by the first quarter of 2015. 

Tech Development

IVANS Insurance Solutionsannounced IVANS Connect, a new insurance industry conferencefocused on connectivity and information exchange among carriers,agencies and insured customers through technology. IVANS Connect2014 will take place at the Walt Disney World Swan and DolphinResort in Orlando, Fla. from September 14-18, coinciding withApplied Net,one of the largest events for agents, brokers, carrier executivesand industry professionals.

Mergers & Acquisitions

OneShield agreed to acquire keystrategic and intellectual property assets of Clear Data Strategies LLC, aConnecticut-based company that provides subscription cloud-basedand site-installed insurance software solutions for claimsprocessing and policy administration for P&C markets.