Specialist enterprise software developer nVisionIT has delivered a new version of an existing system to Castellum, a company that administers death benefits in the South African market.
Using existing processes as a template, nVisionIT has leveraged advances in technology to provide a system that irons out bottlenecks, significantly increases productivity and streamlines business processes for improved organisational performance.
According to Adele Jansen, IT manager at Castellum, its business model is somewhat different from that of most insurance companies - it delivers services to the lower end of the market, and therefore does not rely on a debit-order collections system, but rather collects cash from its clients.
"We`re essentially a company focused on administering burial benefits. We had a system that was specifically developed for our business way back in 1996, which monitors and co-ordinates the collection of premiums from a cash base," she says.
This process presents unique challenges over the more easily managed process of debit order collections, she says, noting that a lot of paper-based information has to be converted into searchable format in a database.
"Essentially, the solution - called Kganya System - allowed us to handle financials, stock control and claims management, enabling statements to be created within the system," she says.
However, severe limitations were beginning to have a negative impact on the business. Jansen explains that, for example, the system could only allow a single interface to run at any given time within the legacy application.
"Most people are accustomed to working with Windows, and need to use more than one application interface simultaneously to work efficiently. With Kganya System only one form could be opened at a time, requiring the constant opening and re-opening of forms to enter data," she says.
Since 1996, a lot of development has taken place in the fast-paced world of technology - Jansen notes that Kganya System was based on DOS3.1, Visual Basic 3 and an archaic version of the SQL database, technologies that have been significantly superseded in the intervening nine years.
An off-the-shelf solution was never an option, she adds: "Our business model is fairly unique, with very specific processes, so anything off the shelf would have been a very poor fit and would have required extensive customisation."
A big advantage for nVisionIT`s developers was the existence of the Kganya System, so when they set about creating New Kganya, using the C# programming language, the Microsoft .NET platform and the SQL Server database as the back-end, they essentially had a template with well-established business processes in place to work with, says Werner van der Merwe, Enterprise Management Solutions manager at nVisionIT.
"Working closely with Castellum, we were able to effectively identify what was working and what wasn`t," he notes.
Van der Merwe adds that a modular approach to developing the application was followed, which nevertheless results in an integrated solution that allows for future expansion to cater for the company`s changing needs.
In the process of developing the new version of application, Jansen says a lot was learned particularly on the claims side of the business, leading to significant expansion of the New Kganya system.
A previous issue of application sprawl has also been resolved, she continues, as a result of the modular design and the Microsoft Solutions Framework used by nVisionIT.
Van der Merwe notes that Castellum is a prime example of a business case for a bespoke software solution over an off-the-shelf offering. "Custom software can be the answer for companies that have unusual business processes or business models; while the risks may be higher, with an appropriate methodology and detailed project management, the benefits are also much higher to the company. Kganya System is of strategic value to Castellum, and the New Kganya system will allow the business to better align tactics and strategies to ensure its success as it moves forward."
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