Admiral Group Selects Sword Ciboodle’s CRM Platform

The Sword Ciboodle CRM solution will enhance Admiral's existing customer service agent systems, addressing the key goal of reducing the number of screens and steps required to fulfill customer requests while providing agents with correct information for customers, in a timely fashion, the vendor says.

U.K.-based personal lines insurer Admiral Group (Cardiff; £800 in annual revenue) has signed a contract with Sword Group, which has handled several projects successfully.

The Sword Ciboodle solution will enhance Admiral's existing customer service agent systems, addressing the key goal of reducing the number of screens and steps required to fulfill customer requests while providing agents with correct information for customers, in a timely fashion, according to Sword Ciboodle.

Admiral sought the solution in the wake of a study undertaken to improve operational efficiencies while leveraging existing systems. The carrier sought a means of boosting flexibility and agility in service of greater scalability and speed-to-market, according to the vendor source. Admiral's successful dealings with Sword Group were a factor in the insurer's choice of Sword Ciboodle, the vendor says.

"We need to ensure our business systems are optimized for changes," say Steve Webster, IT director, Admiral Group. "After going through a stringent evaluation process, including a successful proof of concept exercise, Sword Ciboodle has proven itself to be the best fit for what we are looking for, with the right mix of powerful platform capabilities and strong integration expertise."

The Sword Ciboodle solution will be rolled out across Admiral's contact centers in Swansea and Cardiff, comprising about 2,500 agents, according to Sword Ciboodle. During the first phase of the deployment Admiral will use the software to address payment updates and support more efficiently managed changes to credit card and banking details by customer services advisors.

"Another key reason we selected Sword Ciboodle was that it gives us the flexibility we are looking for in being able to incrementally apply it across the business, without being forced into an all-or-nothing approach as we would be with a traditional CRM package," added Webster. "It is an attractive proposition for us to be able to roll the software out in key areas to prove its value before applying it to new challenges."

Sword Ciboodle, whose global customers include Vodafone (Netherlands), British Telecom, Scottish Power, Allied Irish Bank and Telecom NZ (New Zealand); North American clients include Sears, JP Morgan Chase and Pacificorp. Sword Ciboodle is a subsidiary of Sword Group, which provides solutions to customers in insurance & healthcare, energy, banking and finance, telecoms, utilities, engineering and construction, and government.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio