CGI SEALS DEAL WITH MILLBROOK

Seeking to lower its insurance customers' loss ratios through the use of analytical tools, business process outsourcing services provider CGI Group Inc., has struck a partnership agreement with information management solutions provider, Millbrook Inc. As a result of the deal, Millbrook's information management solutions will be embedded in CGI's suite of outsourced insurance applications and be added as a component of its licensed insurance software applications.

Millbrook (Bethlehem, Pa.) president Jack Plunkett explains that the information management suite is an insurance-specific tool that addresses carriers' enterprise needs. "It embeds industry-specific models that feed datamarts that interact with an online analytic processing engine," he says. "Millbrook specializes in storing huge amounts of data in a way that makes sense."

Although it initially grappled with questions of whether to purchase such functionality or build it in house, Andover, Mass.-based CGI is confident in its decision, relates Dic Marxen, a senior vice president at the firm. "CGI has been very interested in providing this type of offering and 'buy-or-build?' was the natural question that came up," says Marxen. "After working with Millbrook it was a pretty straightforward conclusion that we ought to partner. Our offering will be enhanced through use of Millbrook's suite, which creates a set of graphable reports for business intelligence."

With the assistance of Millbrook, CGI will play the primary role in the deployment and marketing of the combined offering. "From our standpoint CGI has a significant toehold in the market," contends Plunkett. "The landscape of the market will change because they have a significant customer base and each will gain the value of analytics and reporting. Our goal is to get our solution out to industry members so that they don't have to suffer high loss and expense ratios."