Aiming to be a much different organization, The Hartford has completed 20 months of a four-year IT transformation plan. According to John Chu, senior vice president of e-business and technology, property/casualty, the carrier will better manufacture IT, leverage a more streamlined architecture, and employ the best people. From Chus perspective, one measure of success is if other companies come shopping for that talent: Im not advertising for people to come, but that gives some satisfaction weve been able to cultivate a way of doing business thats the best in the industry.

This view was one of many Chu shared with me at the ACORD LOMA forum in May. The transformation he spoke of has a broad agenda, targeting how best to manufacture IT. The carrier has a plan that involves, as Chu termed them, demand management and governance, a global delivery model, an application rationalization strategy, a technology infrastructure strategy, and an alternative sourcing strategy.

But back to the people and managing themnot an easy task. The transformation is changing the way people work, Chu said. The company created a competency model and also has incorporated a change management plan. However, the key to successful transformation is the communication, Chu asserted. At the heart of [the transformation] is making sure our people know exactly what were trying to do.