CBP drives success using optimized, scalable IT infrastructure

To read a French version of this case study, click here.

Founded in 1990 and based in Nantes, France, CBP is an independent consultant and service provider. The company provides creditor insurance and loans for individuals and businesses. For example, in partnership with France’s leading lettings agency, CBP has recently launched insurance against loss of income for people taking out new tenancy agreements. Its services include consulting, actuarial analysis, and processing and administration. Also operating in Barcelona, Madrid (Spain) and Milan (Italy), CBP employed more than 500 people and achieved EUR 108.8 million sales in 2010. CBP handles some 3 million correspondence items annually and 1 million calls, paying out daily more than EUR 2.5 millions in claims’ compensations.

Preparing for international expansion
CBP decided to replicate its successful business model in international markets. Its strategic objective is to further business development in Europe, building on the achievements that have led to its reputation and growth in France.

The company’s business model places IT as a major piece of the backbone for performance and growth, enabling the company to sell more products and services through more channels at a lower cost than the distributor it serves. Negotiations with new distributor customers are under non-disclosure agreements, and when successful, growth can be explosive. The IT department has very little advance notice of new workload, which requires flexible, scalable IT.

Data from each distributor’s customers must be totally isolated and secured. Winning a new customer requires that new services and IT solutions must be put in place rapidly and with the least possible disruption.

Selecting IBM
CBP engaged IBM Global Technology Services – Integrated Technology Services to provide implementation, maintenance and consulting services for a new IT infrastructure that would embed scalability into the design and handle very large processing volumes.

The IBM team created a solution based on two IBM Power 570 servers and six IBM BladeCenter H systems, containing 68 JS12 Express blade servers, all running the IBM i operating system and VMware software. For information storage, CBP selected IBM System Storage DS8800 with IBM 400/800GB LTO-3 tape drives, IBM Ultrium® Generation 4 (LTO-4) drives and IBM LTO-5 drives.

CBP runs a suite of IBM software for system and information management, including IBM DB2, IBM WebSphere® MQ, and IBM FileNet Content Manager.

The Power 570 servers provide the core IT infrastructure for data processing and back-office business administration. IBM BladeCenter JS12 Express blade servers run the company’s critical web applications, including authorization exchange processes that enable approval for loans.

The IBM team configured the DB2 data server solution to store all the CBP customer data. WebSphere MQ software provides integration between CBP’s administrative and financial processes and its customers. FileNet Content Manager provides centralized document management for CBP customer requests and incidents.

Enjoying the benefits
CBP has consolidated all its customer data to the IBM System Storage DS8800 system, and analyzes huge databases to derive precious financial and operational data, such as revenue, margin and insight into customer trends.

The IBM System Storage DS8800 offers massive capacity and scalability, packing in almost 90 percent more drives than typical storage devices in the same frame footprint. CBP has reduced its storage floor space requirements by 40 percent and cut energy requirements by more than 35 percent. Additionally, the solution has achieved a reduction in data backup times from over six hours to around two.

When CBP launches new operations, for example in Spain, the core business model can be replicated while the IT infrastructure scales smoothly and invisibly. For new products, such as a property rental (rather than property ownership) insurance product, CBP is unable to forecast the market size and how quickly it will grow. With the impressive scalability and flexibility provided by the IBM System Storage DS8800, Power servers and BladeCenter combination, CBP can handle enormous growth with no need to re-engineer its back-end systems.

Internally, CBP has optimized its workflows by enabling a paperless office environment. The automated document handling service provided by FileNet Content Manager has improved the quality of underwriting and claims handling, and automated information integration has increased reliability and reduced the costs of data exchange with customers and partners.

Based on open systems standards, the IBM solution meets CBP’s needs for easy integration with external clients’ infrastructure. The IBM System i platform provides exceptional stability, particularly when supported by the IBM BladeCenter server extension.

Importantly, the solution provides availability, integrity, and privacy, including a full disaster recovery solution.

As Christophe de Maupeou, IT Manager at CBP concludes, “The IBM team approached the project with a true sense of focus that gave us complete trust in the work that was being done. Our partnership with IBM will allow our teams to further fuel the growth of the CBP Group in France and the rest of the world.”

Designed for Data: CBP is now ideally placed to leverage the high-performance planning capabilities of IBM DB2® and IBM FileNet® to store, manage and analyze large volumes of data, and develop forecasts to gain insight into foreign markets. This software has the potential to help CBP create new service and product offerings to win additional business.

Tuned to the Task: High-value business data is stored on the IBM System Storage DS8800 system, processed by IBM Power servers. Interactive web and online insurance agent tasks are processed on IBM BladeCenter, offering rapid scale-out capabilities in cases of massive growth.

Managed with Cloud Technologies: CBP is positioned to take advantage of private cloud technologies to design a training platform for employees, which would assist business growth without concern for the underlying IT infrastructure. IBM software automates data integration, exchange and execution services.

Driving Innovation: By creating a scalable, optimized IT infrastructure shared by all its business units, CBP is able to meet its objective of replicating and expanding its successful business model in new markets and new countries.