11 November 2005

Specialist IT consultancy Detica has helped esure implement and launch Sheilas' Wheels, the latest online and phone insurance offering aimed specifically at female drivers. Detica rose to the challenge in working closely with esure to deliver the entire online insurance application set - comprising a ratings engine, call centre integration and web site - within a tight six-month timeframe.

The pressure was on Detica to complete on time to coincide with a multi-million pound advertising and marketing campaign which was launching on 8th October. A key reason for the punctual completion of the project was that Detica used rapid application development techniques based on Agile programming methods. This allowed development, design and testing to take place in parallel. As a result, the essential applications were produced at a faster rate without the bugs associated with more traditional, slower development methods such as 'waterfall'.

Another contributing factor to the fast turnaround was the fact Detica had previously built a Service-Orientated Architecture (SOA) at esure. This made it much easier to add the Sheilas' Wheels application to the existing system architecture at the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS)-owned insurer.

Detica's involvement was three-fold. Firstly, the consultancy configured the existing TIA call centre application to support Sheilas' Wheels. The Insurance Application (TIA) is an Oracle-based technology used by esure's contact centre staff to administer policies from First Alternative, HBOS and products sold on behalf of third parties trading under their own label, such as major supermarket brand Sainsbury's.

Secondly, Detica built a BEA WebLogic-based ratings system which enables Sheilas' Wheels to automatically calculate its insurance policies based on factors such as age, demographics and geographic location. This dynamic system allows the company to react quickly to market changes by allowing them to change rate sets overnight.

Finally, Detica managed esure's web team's efforts in getting the web site up and running. This involved cloning the original esure website and defining the look and feel of the new brand.

Mark Foulsham, IT Director at esure commented: "We set Detica a very tight timeline and the company responded very well indeed. The SOA infrastructure they built earlier this year has proved invaluable in getting Sheilas' Wheels operational very quickly. Since it works in a modular fashion, it enables us to re-use existing technology within esure, saving the group both time and money. This combined with Detica's rigorous testing processes and technical expertise enabled us to launch smoothly and to schedule."

Matthew Samme, Senior Manager at Detica concluded: "A service-orientated architecture can be likened to a pre-fabricated house - you are able to alter and customise different elements of it without having to dig up the foundations. These foundations were put in place earlier this year at esure and made it much easier to extend the necessary applications to support Sheilas' Wheels."

Sally Clift or Rachel Ringstead Porter NovelliTel: +44 (0)207 853 2222email: or