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Deloitte Insurance Vet Porrello Cites Tech Prioritization Challenge

Picking the right technology investments that will deliver ROI is one of the biggest challenges facing insurers today, according to Deloitte Consulting's Ken Porrello, national director for insurance consulting, who recently took on the added responsibility of managing director of the firm's Chicago office.

Picking the right technology investments that will deliver ROI is one of the biggest challenges facing insurers today, according to Deloitte Consulting's Ken Porrello, national director for insurance consulting, who recently took on the added responsibility of managing director of the New York-based firm's Chicago office.

Along with managing the Chicago office, says Porrello, he will continue to play an active role in the financial services practice of Deloitte Consulting, retain responsibilities as lead for the North American insurance practice, and will continue to serve on Deloitte Consulting's North American Management Committee for Financial Services.

"I will be concerned with activity in other large accounts in the Chicago area, such as Bank One," Porrello reports. "As managing director, the accounts may not always be in financial services, but I will be keep my ear to the ground and relay leads and concerns to my counterparts that head up other practices. I haven't gained any new responsibilities in terms of financial services," he adds.

When it comes to insurance, Porrello-who works closely with Deloitte's director of global insurance operations, Mike LaPorta-says he is "an operational guy who penetrates specific accounts to support the delivery of products and resources."

Specifically, Porrello sees insurance companies struggling with the broad range of IT challenges that are facing the industry. "In the late '90s, companies were focused on Y2K and e-business," he says. "Those were two fairly specific goals. Now insurance companies are looking at many different core systems that need revamping.

"I have one account that wants its claims system, policy management system and performance measurement system overhauled," Porrello adds. "Each of those projects is a multi-year, full-plate initiative that involves big, hairy technology in the core systems. Companies are trying to prioritize many projects that all need to be done today."

And contributing to the difficult prioritization challenges that IT leaders face is a change in IT spending habits. "I am seeing a more careful approach when it comes to making investments in technology," Porrello says. "The investments are occurring, but executives are taking a long, hard look at the business value of each investment," resulting in a longer decision-making process for IT expenditures.

Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio

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