Allmerica Outsources Systems Maintenance So Internal IT Can Focus on Development

Looking to dedicate more internal IT staff to new development initiatives, Allmerica Financial (Boston) has signed a five-year application development and outsourcing contract with Keane, Inc.

Under the agreement Keane, a Boston-based business and IT consulting firm, will provide maintenance and support for various existing applications, says Larry Vale, vice president, external communications, Keane. "Like all insurance companies, Allmerica has many applications and those applications need to be managed and enhanced," Vale adds.

According to Greg Tranter, chief information officer at Allmerica, "This relationship allows us to dedicate internal staff for strategic development initiatives that will drive Allmerica's business, while continuing to get the performance that we need from existing systems."

The outsourcing of maintenance for existing systems is a trend that seems to be growing, says Keane's Vale. "A company can not spend all its money on maintaining older systems and expect to be able to develop new applications," he says. "In general, outsourcing sometimes results in net savings so companies can divert expenses to development."

While some of the Keane consultants will be working on site at Allmerica, a large amount of the work and development will be conducted at Keane's "near-shore" Advanced Development Center (ADC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Combining the resources of our ADC with an on-site team of professionals, we are able to provide the quality...needed by Allmerica," explains Brian Keane, president and CEO of Keane.

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