In his previous role as vice president at American Express, Joe Magrady had a lot of responsibility managing global IT operations. But in his new position as CIO at Vertafore, he has a seat at the table, reporting directly to the CEO, and the opportunity to have a role in the business direction of the company, which provides business management systems for a wide swath of the U.S. insurance industry.
Magrady, who joined Vertafore in August 2015, also previously held global technology roles at insurance giant Zurich. He credits American Express for its scale and innovation, but adds that, “working for a more agile firm like Vertafore fits my profile.”
Agility is much needed in the insurance business these days, which, according to PwC, “is facing once-in-a-generation disruption.” The launch in early 2015 of Google Compare for Auto Insurance is one such disruptive force, with the potential to radically change the nature of business for the insurance agencies that make up one component of Vertafore’s client base.
Other Vertafore clients include major insurance carriers, managing general agents (MGAs) and managing general underwriters (MGUs), essentially providing the company with insight – and data – from top to bottom across the entire insurance distribution channel.
“We’re one of largest technology firms with access to agency, carrier, MGA, and broker data,” says Magrady. “We are in a position to leverage the data that we already capture to the benefit of our customers, who can then use the information to remain competitive in this changing landscape.”
Insurance companies, as one industry observer noted, “are awash in data.” Players, either within or from outside the industry, are going to figure out how to utilize big data technology for disruptive advantage.
“The industry needs to think about technology as a core driver if they have competitors like Google coming in,” Magrady says. “In particular, what agencies may be focusing on today from a distribution perspective may be very different tomorrow. I also think underwriting can change to provide products that are tailored more to individuals, rather than mass-rated policies.”
For Vertafore’s Software-as-a-Service solutions, the key to success is availability, which plays to Magrady’s background with Amex and Zurich. Magrady is responsible for all SaaS operations and decisions involving cloud computing, as well as responsibility for “the full stack” of internal enterprise applications.
“My mandate coming into Vertafore is to improve and drive the highest availability possible,” Magrady notes. “If the systems are not available, they don’t do anyone any good. In order to facilitate this, we’re moving from a traditional infrastructure footprint to a hybrid infrastructure that uses more private cloud.”
As a result, he says, “The Infrastructure enabling product releases will be completely automated, which will in turn allow us to attain our continuous delivery goals.”
Joe Magrady is a Senior Vice President at Vertafore — a 1,500-person technology company with a nationwide footprint specializing in cloud, SaaS and mobile solutions for the insurance industry. In his role as Chief Information Officer, Mr. Magrady is responsible for the Enterprise Applications, SaaS Operations and Information Security teams. He is also focused on continuous improvement to service level quality for 350,000 customers and oversees Vertafore’s data center, 24/7 network operations center, code security, and IT automation and transparency.
