Press Releases
Annual Gathering of Guidewire Community Draws More than 200 Attendees from Around the World
Guidewire User Conference, Connections 2008, brings together Guidewire and its customer and partner communities to celebrate successes, share experiences, and best practices
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 17, 2008 – Guidewire Software®, a leading global provider of solutions to property and casualty insurers, today concluded its annual user conference, Connections 2008. The two-and-a-half day, Partnering for Success-themed event included knowledge sharing and best practice exchanges among the company’s customers and Guidewire personnel. Insurers from 10 countries attended this year’s event, including carriers from Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The event’s keynote presentation was made by Tsukasa Makino-san from Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. The keynote provided Makino-san’s perspectives on how a large, traditional Japanese company is renovating its business and systems. Guidewire’s Marcus Ryu, vice president, Strategy and New Products, shared what Guidewire has learned since its founding in 2001, the company’s perspective on the future of the P&C industry, and Guidewire’s market strategy.
Attendees selected from among 28 break out sessions, designed to appeal to the interests of business and technical audiences across each Guidewire product area (claims; billing; and policy/underwriting), including:
- overview and roadmap sessions for each product, highlighting the key features in the current version and enhancements coming in the next major releases;
- customer panel discussions that relayed invaluable experience to attendees that are currently implementing or have implemented Guidewire products, including: Agile Project Management Strategies (with Amica, GAINSCO, and Guild); Core System Testing (with The Co-operators, CNA, Kentucky Farm Bureau, and New Mexico Mutual); Implementing Guidewire Products (with Auto Club of Southern California, GAINSCO, and Montana State Fund); After Go-Live (with CNA and Great American for both claims and billing);
- case study presentation by Guidewire customer CompWest and BearingPoint;
- product deep-dive sessions enabling attendees to explore targeted product functionality at a more in-depth level; and
- customer feedback sessions providing a forum for attendees to discuss their product direction and customer support ideas directly with Guidewire product manager and support engineers.
Connections 2008 was sponsored by Guidewire alliance partners: BearingPoint, Capgemini, CastleBay Consulting, Ernst & Young, Exstream Software, and ImageRight – who were on hand to speak with event attendees about their services/solutions.
“We thank our customer and partner community for a very successful and enlightening conference,” said John Raguin, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. “By sharing our experiences and views we learn a lot from one another. Core system implementations are challenging projects, regardless of company size. It helps enormously when you have a community you can tap into for advice and support along the way.”
About Guidewire Software
Guidewire Software is a leading global provider of technology solutions to
property and casualty and workers' compensation insurers. Guidewire delivers
proven software to run core insurance operations, including billing, underwriting,
policy, and claim management. The Guidewire Insurance Suite™ consists
of Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter®, and Guidewire BillingCenter®,
which provide a modern, web-based platform for all lines of business. Guidewire
is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in London, Munich,
Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com.
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