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Fostering Collaboration between the London & Derry/Londonderry Teams

It’s been a year since Alchemy Technology Services, a leading provider of technology to the insurance sector headquartered in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, acquired r10 Consulting, now named Alchemy London Market (ALM). By operating a key office in the heart of the Lloyd’s market through ALM, the company can better address client needs and expand and grow its operations.

The expanded company now runs on the promise of driving growth by offering enhanced services to our clients while creating better opportunities for our people and connecting London and Derry/Londonderry. In this blog, we want to celebrate how these commitments are embodied and realised through our teams’ experiences and dive deeper into the synergies and combined strengths that brought us together in the first place.

Reaffirming the connection between London and Derry/Londonderry

Alchemy recognises the rich history and vibrant culture of London, including its very close ties with Derry/Londonderry through the historic guilds as far back as the early 17th century, who have significantly contributed to the economic and social development of the area.

With our presence in both locations, we want to reaffirm the Lord Mayor of the City of London’s commitment to exploring opportunities to establish strong economic links between the two cities, advancing trade, investment, and cultural connections.

With operations in two locations, the company can establish strong financial, technological and cultural links and strengthen ties between the two economies. We can play a significant role in bridging these two regions and facilitating further socioeconomic growth.

By being awarded the esteemed King’s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade, we see our efforts being recognised. This is one of the most prestigious business awards in the UK, celebrating outstanding achievements in international trade, innovation, sustainable development, and promoting opportunity through social mobility.

“Our efforts reaffirm our commitment to not only advancing our industry but also contributing positively to the communities where we operate. “Over the past year, we have facilitated easier travel for Alchemy’s staff between the two regions, promoting collaboration and allowing teams from both locations to work closely with clients and each other. This enhances productivity, fosters innovation and strengthens relationships, ultimately contributing to the growth and prosperity of both regions.”

says Alchemy’s CEO, John Harkin.

The Power of a Full End-to-End Project Delivery Capability

By aligning ALM’s expertise with Alchemy’s technical proficiency, our teams can now offer our clients an end-to-end solution ensuring a seamless digital transformation journey. We see this coming into reality through collaborative projects between the two teams, enabling Alchemy’s developers and technical teams to work alongside ALM’s business analysts, project managers, and subject matter experts (SMEs), ensuring an end-to-end solution project delivery.

Deep Industry Knowledge and Technical Expertise

The combination of ALM’s industry knowledge and Alchemy’s technical proficiency empowers clients to navigate the complexities of the insurance value chain. The collaborative efforts between the two regional teams enable us to offer insights into business and technical aspects by delivering solutions that address evolving industry needs.

Cat Scrivens, ALM’s Business Analyst Manager, said, “Including developers in the initial workshops helps us shape the resulting product better by advising what would work from a technical perspective. This greatly adds value and reduces the required time as the technical and business teams can work seamlessly together.”

Anthony Bevington, Alchemy’s Scrum Master, who recently collaborated with Cat on a software implementation project, added, “Working with industry experts is a huge benefit for us in the technical team. It enhances communication, allowing us to understand the processes further and deliver more value to our clients. We are closer to the requirements and can configure software more efficiently.”

Access to Diverse Skills and Talent

Our clients have access to a wider talent pool enriched by the diverse skill sets of our combined teams. From certified professionals to specialised SMEs, our collaboration ensures that clients benefit promptly from a breadth of expertise across various areas of the insurance industry – from conceptualisation to implementation.

Lauren O’Donoghue, ALM’s Head of Talent Operations, adds, “Our Talent Services have expanded to better address our clients’ needs. We have a wider range of SMEs with market expertise to place on projects, further enhancing our clients’ capabilities.”

Expanding Network of Partners

Our expanded network of partners enhances our ability to select and integrate technology solutions that address various challenges across the insurance value chain. From entry-level to advanced software solutions, we can offer one or more technologies to better address our clients’ needs and budgets.

Also, we strive to train our staff on our partners’ software so that they fully understand the ins and outs of their technologies. Therefore, a wider range of partners gives our people a broader learning exposure so that we cannot only offer “out-of-the-box” solutions but also configure them to our clients’ needs.

For example, Insureflow, one of Alchemy’s London Market partners, a distribution, underwriting, and policy administration system can now be configured by Alchemy’s technical team. This is an expanded capability and combined strength we can offer between the two regions.

Adam Foot, Insureflow’s CEO, adds, “We have been long-standing partners with Alchemy London Market. Our partnership and collaboration have expanded by having Alchemy train SMEs on our technology software to be implemented and configured more efficiently for clients.”

Opportunities for Knowledge sharing and Skills Development

The complementary expertise between the two regions brings opportunities for learning and development through collaboration and training.

Alchemy’s Senior Technical Analyst, Liam Bradley, adds, “We had the exposure to expand our skills by training on the software of ALM’s partner, Insureflow. By becoming an SME on their technology, we can now configure areas like underwriting and claims with the Insureflow system. With this learning, we have passed this knowledge onto other developers through technical demos and walkthrough sessions”.

Exposure to London market-related projects has allowed Alchemy’s technical team to develop new skills. The ways of working and intricacies of the London Market are unique; thus, working on such projects gives the developers enhanced insights. For example, they have developed a deeper understanding of the meaning of the data fields they have been working on, and a higher understanding of the processes, such as the pricing, policy and claims sides.

Anthony adds, Alchemy’s development team is eager to expand their horizons and bring their skills to London, where they will soon be certified in LM1 and LM2 by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).”

Mentoring has been key to transferring knowledge. Daniel Rowe, ALM’s Senior Business Analyst, has been mentoring individuals interested in Business Analysis. He recently mentored technical analysts interested in becoming business analysts by guiding them through practical exercises, including requirements capturing, workshop facilitations, mapping processes and more.

Daniel adds, “I’m proud to see Alchemy’s junior business analysts confidently adding value to client projects by using methodologies and approaches they learnt in our mentoring.”

On the other hand, the London team is now closer to Alchemy’s technical team, which means the ALM’s Business Analysis team can gain a deeper understanding of the technical feasibility of the systems and technologies being used. This leads to enhanced requirements definition, reduced rework, and misinterpretation. By streamlining communication and optimising solution design, we can deliver more value to our clients.

The collaborative power between the London and Derry/Londonderry teams amplifies the drive for innovation and value to our clients. We continue to shape the insurance industry’s future through our combined strengths of end-to-end project delivery capability, deep industry knowledge, access to diverse skills, and an expanding network of partners. The now expanded company is committed to fostering collaborative excellence that breaks borders and works towards greater success.

Get in touch to further comprehend your digital transformation journey, including defining and implementing your strategic priorities.

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