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Capgemini (Paris) has emerged as an important consulting partner and systems integrator for insurers’ core system transformation initiatives, and it has taken a particular bet on Duck Creek Technologies’(Columbia, S.C.) continued success by joining that vendor’s global alliance program as a Platinum Delivery Partner. The alliance partnership builds on Capgemini’s February 2017 acquisition of TCube Solutions, Inc. (Columbia, S.C.), an IT services company specializing in Duck Creek implementations.

“By forming an alliance with Duck Creek and capitalizing on our experience with more than 50 Duck Creek implementations, we are offering our clients a full complement of innovative and exciting insurance applications and services,” comments Jack Dugan, Executive VP and Global Head of Insurance in Capgemini’s Financial Services Business Unit. “Our Duck Creek alliance partnership and our recent acquisition of TCube Solutions enhances Capgemini’s position as a trusted and innovative end-to-end business transformation leader in the insurance industry.”

The alliance builds on an existing relationship and multiple current engagements between Duck Creek and Capgemini, according to Eddie Jones, VP, Strategy and Alliances, Duck Creek Technologies. “We do certainly measure these things and have high expectations, and there is a level of consistency that’s required in our programs with regard to depth of programs,” he says. “Our commitment in this alliance is in terms of resources, focus and joint marketing efforts.”

Duck Creek sees the alliance both as a more formal relationship with a very visible and high-quality partner, but also as an opportunity to expand its geographical reach. Duck Creek currently has what Jones calls a “pretty significant customer base” in the U.K. and Ireland, as well as Australia, but the alliance with Capgemini serves to accelerate the Duck Creek’s thinking and timetable for those and other overseas markets.

“It aids our ability to expand in the U.K., Australia and Ireland right away, and then to jointly target other geographies in the European Union as a near term opportunity,” Jones adds. “It is that global footprint that enhances the opportunity for both of us.”

Meeting the Market’s Demand for Duck Creek’s Offerings

Capgemini undertook the expansion of its Duck Creek capabilities in response to demand from its clients and the success of the systems vendor, according to Seth Rachlin, Executive VP and head of Capgemini’s North America and U.K. property/casualty insurance practice. “We believed the Duck Creek had achieved position and prominence such that Capgemini needed the capability to serve the marketplace,” he comments. “Beyond that, we see Duck Creek as offering the capabilities that the insurance market needs.”

“We don’t enter into partnerships lightly or accumulate them in hope that something would happen, so for us partnership implies a commitment to significantly scale the breadth and depth of what our teams are able to deliver,” Rachlin adds. “We’re making a strong commitment to invest both in people and activity.”

Strongest Duck Creek-Qualified Team Globally

“The combined experience of Capgemini and TCube has created the strongest team of mastery-level certified Duck Creek professionals in the world,” comments Sam McGuckin, former TCube Solutions President and CEO and now Capgemini Executive Vice President. “Our current 300-plus member team will continue to grow to meet the systems integration and customer experience needs of insurance clients in North America and the UK, along with leading the market in delivery excellence and operational ROI on core insurance platforms across all major business processes.”

The TCube acquisition has its roots in Capgemini’s working beside the firm during a client engagement, Capgemini’s Rachlin relates. “The basic chemistry between the two firms was strong: we sensed a partner with great reputation and people, and which had good cultural fit with us and our teams,” he says. “We made the acquisition in order to accelerate our entry into the DC services marketplace and intend to use the TCube organization as the foundation for growing and scaling the capability significantly in the years ahead.”

Betting on Duck Creek’s Success

“We have come to the conclusion that Duck Creek is a leading insurance solutions platform, and we are absolutely betting on its success,” Rachlin adds. “We see more and more customers moving in its direction, we think its on-demand offerings are very compelling—we like the strategy of bringing in digital and data in acquisitions of recent months. All in all, we see Duck Creek as offering a powerful insurance suite that fits very nicely with the kinds of insurers we target as our own customers.”

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