The insurance industry has relied on the stability and reliability of Cobol for decades. But in the age of digitalization and new technologies, the question arises: Will Cobol remain a rock in the surf or become a barrier to innovation?
Best Practices for Cobol in the Insurance World
Although IT system modernization is on everyone's lips, many insurers continue to rely on Cobol - and for good reason. With the right strategies, Cobol can still be operated efficiently and securely today:
Skills Retention & Development: Create incentives for experienced Cobol developers to pass on their knowledge and train the next generation of programmers.
Documentation & Quality Assurance: Carefully document existing code and implement automated testing to ensure code quality.
Gradual Modernization: Instead of aiming for a complete replacement of Cobol systems, gradual modernizations can be achieved by integrating APIs and microservices.
Case Studies
Successful Integration: One example shows how an insurance group successfully connected its Cobol-based policy administration system to a modern cloud platform. By using APIs, customer data could be exchanged with other systems in real time.
Increased Efficiency: Another insurer was able to significantly reduce processing time and increase customer satisfaction by modernizing its Cobol-based claims processing.
The Future of Cobol in the Insurance Industry
Although new technologies are entering the insurance industry, Cobol will continue to play an important role for the foreseeable future due to its robust architecture and high transaction security.
The key to success lies in combining best practices for operating existing systems with the integration of modern technologies to meet the demands of digital transformation.
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