Prior to this undertaking, the base outline of processes at Echo Re could be described as:

• majority manual processes;
• minimal budget for IT advancement;
• a sense of complacency and change lethargy in the employee contingent;
• and no dedicated IT function or project management resources.

On the positive side, people in the business hold excellent institutional knowledge with the potential to be great change ambassadors, and the programme had management support.

To address the reduced budgeting need for this project, Echo Re sought strategic partners to develop a tool to support small-to-medium reinsurance businesses with fit-for-purpose solutions. The key provisors for the partners were that all market standards needed to be adhered to; a reduced dependence on single providers; and allowance for future expansion of the system. This symbiotic relationship would enable the development partner to create a tool with Echo Re data, and functions and will enable them to sell the solution to other entities.

In terms of lessons learnt, these were:

• better to start early with an iterative implementation solution – rather than wait for the ideal situation;
• understanding your data flows and process structure first, then look at integration;
• be increasingly flexible and independent from single vendors by using industry-standard functionality and technical aspects;
• and proactively engage all stakeholders.