Ventiv Technology

You've got to go in knowing what will work and what will be best for your organization. And, we only knew it because we can trust the data and the system. How did the system evolve over the years? Originally we were using ARIS on DOS computers. This was 1992, when we had started to hang PCs off the main frame network, which meant you can do a bit of network stuff and then switch to do a bit of Windows 3.11 for workgroups. So we came to Aon for a Windows replacement for ARIS, which transpired to be the Omega system. By the end of the nineties, the Internet was becoming mainstream and so we again came to Aon for a replacement, from which emerged the current RiskConsole system. Our industry has also changed. Insurance premium tax, for example, was suddenly introduced. With the older ARIS system, we'd have had to have gone back to the code and made some major changes. With the latest solution that change can be done instantly, the flexibility is there. And so the migration and evolution of the product was inevitable and quite welcome. As the solution evolved did you look at alternative providers or was it a natural progression? We've always kept our eyes and ears open the whole time we've been with Aon. In fact we've had meetings with several alternative providers. And what was the deciding factor in staying with Aon? With some of the vendors we investigated it was obvious they weren't insurance people. They were computer people and they didn't understand our language. I'm sure the product was very good, but if you talked to them about a policy, or endorsement, or a collective, or some of the terms you have to talk about and have to manipulate within your risk management information system, then they didn't know the language. What counted with the Aon relationship was we were dealing with people who understood our business, understood technology and were part of a world–class broker. Plus the product worked and the guys involved were without exception superb. So we stayed with Aon and we're glad we did. Before I retired, my team and I were talking about doing more with it through the other modules. How has Aon eSolutions business changed over your time working with them? Truth is it wasn't visible to us. You got bigger and you kept pace with the developments – in fact you were always one step ahead. We did have a period developing the replacement for Omega (a solution called Risk Monitor), that wasn't the best. It's probably to your credit, but at one stage you were racing ahead. Before we were ready. Before the Internet was ready. And, before people's connectivity was ready. We came out of this period and we solved the problem in partnership and as a team. We never felt it was us and them. However, even throughout this period, the relationship and people carried us through. We could always shake hands after a meeting and go and enjoy a beer together. And, the RiskConsole solution we've had since 2005 has been tremendously successful, and we've got a solution that works very well indeed. finally, if you were speaking to an organization still using spreadsheets, or without a professional risk technology system, why would advise they switch to riskConsole? I think they want to put themselves in a position to understand their data, manipulate their data, analyze their data, every bit as well as the insurance market can. So that they are one step ahead and can go into discussions on an equal footing – with confidence in their own information. You can't do that moving pieces of paper around. 360º | Aon eSolutions 1 1 Photo courtesy of aMec alan sWalloW

• Cover