MphasiS to Acquire Policy Admin Provider Wyde

IT services provider MphasiS announces it has entered into an agreement to acquire Wyde Corp., an international software vendor and creator of Wynsure, an insurance policy administration solution.

This investment is the second acquisition by MphasiS in the insurance industry vertical, after acquiring AIG Software Systems in 2009. Under the terms of the agreement, MphasiS will hold a 100 percent equity stake in Wyde. The closure of the deal is subject to completion of customary conditions.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, with a research and development center in Paris, Wyde has developed and deployed Wynsure at many of the leading insurance carriers in North America and Europe. Wynsure is a multi-language, multi-currency, customizable software that offers policy administration, claims, and billing solutions across life and Annuities, disability, health, and property & casualty. Wynsure platform can be deployed at an insurance carrier either one business line at a time, or as a complete end-to-end solution.

“This acquisition gives MphasiS a strong core systems asset with a growing market position in both life & annuity and property & casualty in North America,” says Matt Josefowicz, partner and managing director of Novarica. “It gives Wyde deeper pockets and access to additional R&D and implementation talent.” Wyde has over 200 employees. The company was founded in 1997 by Pierre Barberis, chairman, and Jean-Rene Lyon, CEO.

Wyde caters to a customer base that include tier one as well as mid-market insurers across the U.S., France, and Canada.

The Wynsure platform complements MphasiS' current insurance practice by offering customers a range of software, business consulting, and professional services. The acquisition of Wyde will extend MphasiS' insurance footprint in the life and annuities segment and strengthen its existing capability in the p&c segment. MphasiS' offering will encompass a range of IT, platform-based BPO, and integrated services in areas such as policy administration, claims, and billing while branding Wynsure as a market leader in the insurance industry.

“This acquisition demonstrates our focus on strategy execution,” says Ganesh Ayyar, CEO of MphasiS. “Enhancing our value proposition to insurance companies was central to our thinking in this case. I am thrilled to find such a partner for this acquisition. Wyde brings with it world class IP, world class people, and a marquee customer base. This IP holds tremendous potential across both mature and emerging markets.”  

“We are excited about the prospects of growing our global footprint. MphasiS' strategic focus on the insurance vertical combined with Wynsure a powerful, full functional, scalable, and easily customizable insurance policy administration system will enable us to elevate Wynsure as a game changer for many more clients,” says Barberis. “MphasiS will provide Wyde with access to new markets and scale to provide implementation and integration services to our clients.”

This acquisition is in line with MphasiS' strategy to concentrate on a few chosen verticals. This will further accelerate MphasiS' value proposition to customers, leveraging Wyde's Wynsure platform. The deal brings with it new partnerships and strategic accounts in the insurance vertical and will complement its existing strengths in terms of skill-sets and customer base.

Wyde comes with an attractive operating profile, comprising of a platform that is successful and well-accepted in the marketplace. It has over 200 senior domain professionals with a proven track record that spans more than 170 man years with a success integration record and over 25 customers. The company's R&D operations will enable MphasiS now to deliver end-to-end solutions and services to insurance customers.

Wyde has gained positive ratings in the marketplace by leading industry research groups on many parameters such as range and coverage of its product.

“We are witnessing an increased demand for single solution providers who can span multiple product lines and geographic regions,” says Steven Leigh, principal research analyst for Gartner's insurance advisory services. “Wyde's offering is one of the more flexible solutions in the market at a time when flexibility and configurability are increasingly becoming important. Vendors who have a broad, functional and geographic range are in a strong position to compete. There is opportunity for such vendors to ride high on the hype cycle to become the market leader with the right market positioning and road map.”

Wyde will operate as a product business within MphasiS Insurance vertical. The current Wyde management team, led by Lyon will continue to drive and grow the business after the acquisition. MphasiS intends to continue with Wyde's R&D facility in France. MphasiS will establish a Wysnure center of excellence in India, which will complement and support Wyde's onsite teams France and North America.