Modernizing Insurance Application: Vaadin and Java for Smooth Transformation
https://sh.hicron.com/case-studies/team-extension-at-its-best/
Case study

Modernizing Insurance Application: Vaadin and Java for Smooth Transformation

Sharing best practices of development engineering
while fixing and renewing an insurance application
Get in touch

About the project

  • Client
    HDI Group
  • Industry
    Insurance
  • Ongoing Partnership
    since 2021
  • Methodology
    Scrum

Key Achievements:

  • Reduction of 20-year technology debt;
  • Technology modernization based on legal and business requirements;
  • Migration of a business-critical application to modern technology and future-proofing its development;
  • Faster IT response to business needs;
  • Long-term strategic partnership and team stability.

About HDI

HDI, an international insurance group established in 1903, has grown from a liability insurer for the German industry into a global insurance powerhouse. Their mission is to develop and deliver insurance solutions that active and dynamic companies require for their success.

Despite their impressive portfolio and innovative approach, HDI faced significant challenges with its Policy application leading to ineffective communication between its IT and business teams. This is where Hicron Software House stepped into the picture.

Challenges

At the heart of HDI’s operations is a Policy application, a crucial tool developed in 2009 for managing contracts, drafting policy documents, and issuing invoices. The application’s outdated complex architecture and limited functionality were slowing business operations. The IT and business teams struggled to understand each other’s needs due to their different spheres of work.

The application needed a revamp, and HDI needed a support on how to navigate the complex transformation. They needed a partner that could propose tech upgrades and solutions that would enable business continuity without starting from scratch.

A previous partnership with a vendor had failed to provide the desired results, amplifying the need for a strategic partner who could offer both technical expertise and a keen understanding of HDI’s business needs.

Choosing a New Partner

HDI chose Hicron Software House due to our tech expertise, geographical proximity, cultural fit, team stability, and proficiency in the German language. What set Hicron’s team apart was our business-focused approach and commitment to understanding HDI’s unique challenges and needs. But we had more surprises in store for them.

Our Approach: The Onboarding Process

Contrary to HDI’s assumption that the onboarding process would take several months, our team completed it in just two weeks, leading to a pleasant surprise for HDI. This demonstrated our commitment and efficiency and set the stage for a successful partnership.

Our Approach: Bridging the Communication Gap

Our role expanded beyond just development; Hicron’s team played a crucial role in fostering effective communication and mutual understanding. By carefully explaining the business and technological dependencies, we helped the teams find common ground and work towards a shared goal.

This collaborative approach was instrumental in transforming the outdated application into a dynamic, efficient, and user-friendly tool.

Our Approach: The Solution

Our Business Analyst performed an extensive business analysis, delving deep into the details. On that foundation we recommended a suitable working model for the project. We mapped and matched the legal requirements of the local market, the dynamic changes in the market itself with technology. As a consulting and implementation partner, we proposed working with Vaadin – an open-source web application development platform for Java.

Scope & Highlights

In-depth business analysis

Transformation of app views

Migration to modern technologies

2 Teams working together

1 Web application

Weekly updates

The Results

Our business-focused approach and thorough business analysis led to a successful transformation of HDI’s critical Policy application. We efficiently reduced the 20-year technology debt and replaced the legacy stack with a modern system. The new web-based application runs flawlessly. Changes can always be made. Bug fixing became faster, and the release cycle shortened from three months to just one week. The process of issuing a complex policy was also shortened, and the application became much easier to use.

Introduction of effective practices that help translate business requirements into technical terms.

No extra costs thanks to web-based application.

Much faster time-to-market and bug fixing.

Efficient automated testing.

Quick implementation of changes – 1 week instead of initial 3 months.

Thanks to the introduction of modern technologies we simplified HDI’s application – from 450,000 lines of code down to 250,000!

Technologies we used

Vaadin, Mockito, JUnit4, TestBench, RCP, Java8, Oracle DB, Eclipse RCP, SWT, JPA, IBM Websphere, Maven, H2 DB, Camunda BPM S, plunk

Testimony

After carefully evaluating suppliers, we decided to try a new approach and start working with near-shore software house. Cooperation with Hicron Software House was something different, and it turned out to be a great success that brought added value to our company.

With HICRON’s creative ideas and fresh perspective, we reached a new level of our core platform and achieved our business goals.

Many thanks for what you did so far; we are looking forward to more in the future!

Jan-Henrik Schulze, Head of Industrial Lines Development at HDI Group

Hicron Software House Team working on Business Analysis on one of the client's cases

This case study underscores the importance of a business-focused approach and thorough business analysis in solving complex business problems. Hicron Software House, acting as an IT expert, partner, and advisor, successfully navigated the challenges of digital transformation. The end result was an improved operational efficiency for HDI and a simplified, user-friendly policy creation process for its clients.

Testimonials

What our partners say about us

After carefully evaluating suppliers, we decided to try a new approach and start working with a near-shore software house. Cooperation with Hicron Software House was something different, and it turned out to be a great success that brought added value to our company.

With HICRON’s creative ideas and fresh perspective, we reached a new level of our core platform and achieved our business goals.

Many thanks for what you did so far; we are looking forward to more in future!

hdi logo
Jan-Henrik Schulze
Head of Industrial Lines Development at HDI Group

Hicron is a partner who has provided excellent software development services. Their talented software engineers have a strong focus on collaboration and quality. They have helped us in achieving our goals across our cloud platforms at a good pace, without compromising on the quality of our services. Our partnership is professional and solution-focused!

NBS logo
Phil Scott
Director of Software Delivery at NBS

The IT system supporting the work of retail outlets is the foundation of our business. The ability to optimize and adapt it to the needs of all entities in the PSA Group is of strategic importance and we consider it a step into the future. This project is a huge challenge: not only for us in terms of organization, but also for our partners – including Hicron – in terms of adapting the system to the needs and business models of PSA. Cooperation with Hicron consultants, taking into account their competences in the field of programming and processes specific to the automotive sector, gave us many reasons to be satisfied.

 

PSA Group - Wikipedia
Peter Windhöfel
IT Director At PSA Group Germany

Get in touch

Say Hi!cron

    Message sent, thank you!
    We will reply as quickly as possible.

    By submitting this form I agree with   Privacy Policy

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

    OK, I agree