Insurance companies are learning more about what capabilities their IT investment dollars have purchased through the use of portfolio management. Carriers are finding they must know what feats their software, systems, and staff can accomplish if IT is to help its business partners take full advantage of automation opportunities.

By Robert Regis Hyle

Looking inward may be a little too touchy-feely for some top-tier in-surance carriers, but IT departments are finding a closer examination of their systems, applications, and personnel can help IT leaders better understand their capabilities for future projects. IT portfolio management, as it is known, allows IT departments to figure out whether they are using their resources as best they can, according to Doug Lynn, vice president of META Group in the consultants executive directions division.The property/casualty unit of The Hartford has been undergoing an aggressive initiative to document the current state of the carriers IT department. Essentially, to understand our current portfolio, says John Turnbull, vice president enterprise architecture, about the purpose of the study. By that I mean a comprehensive listing of all the applications in our P&C areawhich means to us personal lines, commercial lines, and claims. For each of these applications, we hope to gain a better understanding of the business functions they support and the critical data they require or manage. Turnbull also believes it is valuable for The Hartford to understand each application and the subset of critical technology these applications requiredatabases, programming languages, computing platforms, and networks.