Guidewire Software's ‘Connections 2011’ Conference Draws 475 Customer and Partner Attendees

Seventh Annual User Conference celebrated customer successes and offered opportunities for sharing, learning, and networking among Guidewire customers, partners and employees

SAN MATEO, Calif.,October 20, 2011:Guidewire Software, a provider of core system software to Property/Casualty (P/C) insurers, recently hosted its seventh annual user conference, Connections 2011 in San Francisco, California. Four hundred seventy-five people attended from Guidewire’s customer and partner community. Centering on a recurring theme of “Knowledge. Community. Success.”, Connections 2011 provided opportunities for attendees to learn, establish and renew friendships, and share ideas with one another.

This year’s guest keynote presenter was adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person to climb the tallest peaks on all seven continents. In his presentation, The Adversity Advantage, Erik shared his experiences in overcoming adversity and how to tackle huge challenges. His message focused on harnessing the energy of those challenges and setbacks to find a way to win – not despite adversity, but because of it.  

Guidewire co-founder and director, Product Strategy, Ken Branson outlined some of the key enhancements available with Guidewire InsuranceSuite 7, which was announced during the event. He introduced the three new modules available with the system (Guidewire Client Data Management™, Guidewire Reinsurance Management™ and Guidewire Rating Management™) and highlighted the themes that drive the choices Guidewire makes in planning its products.

Day two’s keynote speaker was Guidewire’s chief executive officer, Marcus Ryu, who captured the audience’s attention with his presentation on the Macro Trends in P/C Insurance and how insurers should be preparing to leverage them. The discussion focused on the idea that entire industries have been turned upside down due to disruptive new technologies. Ryu concluded with advice to insurers on how to be better positioned to take advantage of future change.

Day three was kicked off by Deniz Cultu, principal, McKinsey & Company, who spoke about the firm’s latest research, The Next Frontier in Property Casualty Insurance: The Challenge of Profitable Growth; a topic of considerable interest to all in attendance.

The Connections program was designed to address a variety of attendee business and technical interests, foster discussion on a wide range of topics, and provide a forum for Guidewire customers to share their experiences, lessons learned, and best practices. Additionally, Chad Hersh, partner, Insurance Practice, Novarica spoke to the crowd of global insurers on Insurance Industry Trends – Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow. A series of hands-on workshops and product feedback discussions also proved popular.

Customer sessions included:

• Preparing for Change (with The Wawanesa Mutual)
• Unlocking the Value of Claims Transformation (with Liberty Mutual Agency Markets);
• Vendor Management: Improving Service and Reducing Costs (with Suncorp Group);
• Building a Winning Business Case – it’s Faster and Easier than you Think (with Groupe Promutuel and AAA NCNU);

• Implementing the Guidewire InsuranceSuite using a Globally Distributed Team” (with Royal Auto Club of Queensland Insurance);

• BillingCenter Customer Panel – Got Questions? (with Elephant Insurance and Great American Insurance); and
• Lessons Learned During Upgrade – (with New Mexico Mutual and Amica Mutual).

Connections 2011 was sponsored by Guidewire PartnerConnect and technology alliance partners: Capgemini, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cognizant, HP Exstream, HCL, IBM, and Thunderhead – who were on hand to discuss their services/solutions with attendees, to give presentations and/or moderate roundtable discussions.

“Connections 2011 was very much a celebration of the culmination of a decade of customer successes which Guidewire is very proud to have played a role in,” said Marcus Ryu, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. “We thank all of our sponsoring partners and most importantly, we thank our customers for helping to make Connections 2011 a successful event and for contributing to Guidewire’s success over the years.”

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software is a provider of core system software to the global Property/Casualty (general) insurance industry. Designed to be flexible and scalable, Guidewire solutions give insurers the capability to deliver excellent service, increase market share and lower operating costs. Guidewire InsuranceSuite™, consisting of Guidewire PolicyCenter®, Guidewire ClaimCenter® and Guidewire BillingCenter® spans the key functional areas in insurance – underwriting and policy administration, claims management, and billing. Guidewire is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in Beijing, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, please visit http://www.guidewire.com/.