Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), provider of the industry platform general insurers rely upon, today announced it has reached a significant growth milestone with 75 customers across Europe and South Africa, and staff counts exceeding the 630 mark.
Keith Stonell, managing director EMEA, Guidewire, considers the pace of development in the general insurance industry and how Guidewire is responding. "There has been more change in general insurance technology over the last couple of years than in the previous ten, or even twenty years. In Europe, and beyond, insurance user expectation has changed, influenced by technological advances in people’s daily lives. This is driving the push for innovation and digital transformation in the industry."
"Across Europe new insurance relevant data streams and digitally native business models are emerging, sometimes from new entrants and non-insurance players, as well as new types of risk such as cyber terrorism," continued Stonell. "How should insurers respond? They need to be able to quickly and accurately bring new products to market to capitalize on new opportunities. To that end, they should consider employing a platform that brings together software, services, and an ecosystem of partners with complementary applications to power their organisation. We see it as our role to provide such an industry platform, Guidewire InsurancePlatform™, and to provide the optimal way to experience it with Guidewire Cloud™ so that our customers can rely upon us to run, grow, and differentiate their business."
"In EMEA, we continue to see impressive growth in our customer community, and we strive to meet the ambitions of this diverse insurance market, especially at this time of constant technological change," commented Will McAllister, vice president, EMEA Operations, Guidewire. "Our Regional Development Centres in Dublin, Kraków, and Madrid have expanded apace, and provide significant product development resources and professional services consultancy for customers in Europe and internationally. Both are vital to our sustained success as a company. Serving our customers across EMEA also means ongoing recruitment in our nine local offices across the region."
EMEA highlights:
Customer numbers in EMEA have grown to 75 insurers, across fourteen countries, and include: ADAC, Admiral Group plc, Allianz, Arch Insurance, Aspen Insurance, Aviva, Basler, Beazley Group plc, BPCE, ConTe.it, Direct Line Group, Ethias, FRIDAY, Hastings Direct, Hiscox, L’Olivier - assurance auto, LähiTapiola, LV=, NFU Mutual, OP, P&V Group, PZU, QBE European Operations, Rossgosstrakh, Saga Services, Saint Christophe Assurances, Santam, Sompo International, Tinkoff, Touring Assurances, TUiR Warta, UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A., and Zurich;
Growing customer numbers and product demand have meant increasing staff numbers, now exceeding 630, in Dublin, Kraków, London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, and most recently Copenhagen;
Product development teams continue to produce market-specific services and solutions across EMEA that enable insurers to deploy Guidewire products more quickly to meet their regional needs;
Customers have established user groups across EMEA countries, including Belgium, DACH, France, Italy, and the UK, to discuss insurance technology trends, Guidewire product experiences, and to share insights with their peers;
Along with strong global partnerships, local partner relationships have continued to develop (offering specific market expertise) as part of Guidewire’s global PartnerConnect™ programme, including most recently announced relationships with FRISS, IKOR, Octo Telematics, and Validus;
Named one of the best places to work in Great Place to Work Awards, Ireland, in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019; and
Industry analysts have recognised Guidewire’s position in EMEA as an insurance technology leader:
\t\t+ A Leader in the 2018 Inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Non-Life Insurance Platforms, Europe¹ read a complimentary copy of the report;
\t\t + Winner of two XCelent Awards in Celent’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa Policy Administration Systems 2018 Personal, Commercial, and Specialty ABCD Vendor View² read report.
"Guidewire’s focused approach to market entry in new regions and countries has enabled it to secure the highest number of new deals in Europe. Guidewire accounted for one-fifth of all new deals from 2016 to 31 March 2018 across the vendors profiled in this report, demonstrating its ability to successfully enter new geographies," wrote Sham Gill, senior director, analyst, Gartner, and author of the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Non-Life Insurance Platforms, Europe report.
"Guidewire is a long-time participant in the EMEA reports, but here we see more live clients and a demonstration of Guidewire’s momentum with PolicyCenter in EMEA. Guidewire continues to invest significant sums of money in their products, and PolicyCenter is no exception," said Craig Beattie, senior analyst, Celent, and author of EMEA Policy Administration Systems 2018 Personal, Commercial, and Specialty ABCD Vendor View report." In this report PolicyCenter is installed at more clients and in more countries in EMEA than in prior years and shows more deals in the territory too. Overall, Celent views PolicyCenter as a leading policy administration solution with a well-designed UI, broad functionality, and a substantial and growing EMEA and global customer base."
1 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Non-Life Insurance Platforms, Europe, Sham Gill, November 26, 2018
2 Europe, Middle East, and Africa Policy Administration Systems 2018 Personal, Commercial, and Specialty ABCD Vendor View, Craig Beattie, May 2018