Cloud shift helps QBE modernise tech estate

Insurer QBE is now "well into" a rationalisation and modernisation of its "technology estate", accelerating its migration to cloud while closing its Sydney data centre.

The company provided an update on the works in its half-year results on Thursday, where it indicated that shrinking profit in spite of revenue growth would keep it focused on technology savings in the year ahead.

The "rationalisation and modernisation" of its "digital estate" is designed to deliver cost efficiencies, as well as drive “sustained improvement in operating capacity and business agility”.

In February this year, the company laid out its digital vision, with CEO Andrew Horton saying QBE needed "to simplify what we do and remove complexity".

"How we do it by driving consistent processes and having clear governance," Horton said at the time.

In its half-year results, the company said its modernisation efforts are "on track", with “continued progress on reducing our exposure to end-of-life technology, and the closure of our Sydney data centre resulting in the migration of legacy applications to cloud-based or modern infrastructure in a new co-located facility.”

The modernisation is expected to deliver QBE "material" cost savings by the end of this year; a "portion" would are to be reinvested into cyber security and cloud engineering capabilities, though the company did not elaborate.

For the half-year ended June 30, the insurer recorded 26 percent growth in revenue to US$11.5 billion (A$16.2 billion), but various influences, including investment market volatility, cut its profit for the half-year to US$151 million (A$214 million), down from US$441 million (A$624 million) in the prior corresponding period.

During the half-year, QBE said it also launched a digital platform that allows micro businesses to directly purchase insurance online, and a “build your own” digital insurance product in Singapore.

It also continued to digitise "processes across the core insurance value chain."