Forte Software Secures Major Insurance Win with RAC Insurance

Strategic Insights -

RAC Insurance, a leading West Australian insurer and a division of the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, has selected the Forte Application Environment as its strategic development platform for deploying component-based applications over its wide-area network. The contract, worth approximately A$350,000 (US$2M) to Forte Software, marks a significant win for the company in the Australian market.

The decision to choose Forte Software's technology was driven by RAC Insurance's need for a solution that could meet the present and future needs of its customers. The company's general manager, Tony Carter, emphasized the importance of addressing customer needs in the selection process. The Forte environment was chosen for its ability to deliver GUI-based applications over a wide-area network quickly, with stability, flexibility, and scalability.

RAC Insurance plans to leverage the Forte architecture to build and buy application components, minimizing costs through re-use of common functionality and upgrading the quality of its applications. The company is currently undergoing a major IT systems upgrade, with a standardized back-end on Hewlett-Packard K-series servers and front-end running Windows NT 4.0 on both the desktop and Compaq branch/departmental servers.

This win represents Forte Software's third major insurance win in Australia in the past nine months, demonstrating the company's strong growth in the Western Australian market.

Key Takeaways:

  • RAC Insurance, a division of the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, has selected the Forte Application Environment as its strategic development platform for deploying component-based applications over its wide-area network.
  • The contract is worth approximately A$350,000 (US$2M) to Forte Software, marking a significant win for the company in the Australian market.
  • RAC Insurance plans to leverage the Forte architecture to build and buy application components, minimizing costs through re-use of common functionality.
  • The company is currently undergoing a major IT systems upgrade, with a standardized back-end on Hewlett-Packard K-series servers and front-end running Windows NT 4.0 on both the desktop and Compaq branch/departmental servers.
  • Tony Carter, RAC Insurance's general manager, emphasized the importance of addressing customer needs in the selection process.
  • Forte Software's technology was chosen for its ability to deliver GUI-based applications over a wide-area network quickly, with stability, flexibility, and scalability.

Statistics:

  • The contract with RAC Insurance is worth approximately A$350,000 (US$2M).
  • RAC Insurance has 16 branch offices and hundreds of users to support.
  • Forte Software's technology will be used to build and buy application components, minimizing costs through re-use of common functionality.

Sources:

  • PR Newswire, "Forte Software Secures Major Insurance Win with RAC Insurance", August 10, 1998.
  • Forte Software, Inc. press release, "Forte Software Announces Major Insurance Win with RAC Insurance".