PCMS

About MAP
Managing Agency Partners Ltd is an independent, and largely employee owned agency underwriting in the Lloyd's of London insurance market through its Syndicate 2791 increasing its underwriting capacity from £140 million in its first year of underwriting to £460 million for the current year of account.

Solution(s) Overview

• 2005 designed & implemented IT infrastructure
  • Desktop environment
  • Service delivery management
  • Server hosting and management
  • Network provision and management
  • Remote service desk
  • 3rd party management
• Replicated systems in London and Coventry
• Virtualisation and shared services
• Systems bound by strict FSA regulations
  • Calling for advanced email and archiving

Testimonial(s)
"At the end of this process, PCMS emerged as the clear favourite amongst the partners. Whilst neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive, the company was by quite some distance the one that best understood our requirements and looked to have the flexibility to work and grow with our business."

"Although within our business we are heavily reliant on computers, we are much more adept at using them than we are at maintaining them. What we were looking for was a company that would not only manage the system but also provide us with guidance and advice on potential solutions for our requirements. In effect, what we needed was a partner who could give a more consultative service, over and above the scope of a standard maintenance contract. That was where PCMS was so different from the rest of the companies on the shortlist."

"Our relationship commenced in 2005, the system went live in May 2006 and has worked extremely well from the outset. There was a smooth transition and we experienced no problems with the migration from one system to the other. In fact, from a user's perspective, people did not notice any material difference whatsoever."

"Where we have seen a real change is in the improved performance of the system as a whole and shorter response times in terms of correcting problems with our IT as and when they occur. The platform we operate is now extremely stable, so that problems are less likely to occur in the first place. When they do, we have our own system, managed by highly-trained IT professionals so resolution is much speedier."

"Previously we had access to on-site technicians, which sounds intuitively as if it would lead to a quick response. However, the reality was that it could be hours before one was actually available to attend the office where the specific problem might be. Now, when there are technical issues the technicians in the call centre can log on to our network remotely to address the problem immediately. We experience much less downtime due to equipment problems as a result, and staff are able to devote their time to their work, rather than grappling with their computers."

"Overall, the relationship between the two companies is a very strong one. PCMS listens to our needs and adapts to them. On occasions when refinements have been identified with the processes that are in place to make them even more efficient, PCMS has been able to take action with the flexibility and responsiveness that we have come to expect from them."

"This versatility was the main reason we chose to partner with PCMS in the first place. As an organisation we are ourselves expanding and needed a provider that would be able to grow with us. We have recently undertaken a large project to archive all of our files, which will improve our backup and restore capability and PCMS's assistance will be indispensable in this respect."

"IT is critical to a successful underwriting business - systems must be both secure and robust. If there is a fundamental IT failure, the business stops; it's as simple as that."

"The business had outgrown its original IT infrastructure and we brought PCMS in to build us a platform for the future. The Coventry-based team has performed extremely well, working proactively with our own people to bring an added-value solution to match our needs. We have no IT personnel at MAP, so we needed an organisation that could bring us answers and since PCMS's involvement, we have had a trouble-free run with our IT systems."

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PCMS and MAP Case Study