KnowledgeCenter

KnowledgeCenter builds on London Market focus

The launch last month by KnowledgeCenter of its latest offering, KCenter 1 View, prompted Insurance Newslink to find out more about the company. Newslink met up with KnowlegeCenter's managing director, Kevin Osborn, at its London location in the midst of the market.

Osborn has a long history of involvement with London Market electronic document management and workflow and is building a formidable team around him including Alan Isaacs and Matt Snape who had both worked for august. The key to acceptability in London is to have deep market knowledge and KnowledgeCenter has signed up significant clients. These include QBE who use KCenter Intranet to manage its European operations, Ballantyne McKean and Sullivan(BKS) are using KCenter capability within its new claims system and PWS is deploying KnowledgeCenter solutions in strategic delevopments. Other clients include Benfield, Catlin, Arthur J. Gallagher and Thompson Heath and Bond.

Osborn indicated that KnowledgeCenter is keen to partner with best of breed specialists such as Trace and Web Connectivity-it recently signed a distribution agreement with global document automation, assembly and contract company, Exari, whose London Market clients include Guy Carpenter and Hiscox. KnowledgeCenter, a company totally owned by its management team and staff, which will shortly rise to 20, also partner with Watertrace who provide additional consultancy and implementation support through a 60-man operation based in Bucharest.

Osborn's objectives for 2007 include launching two business driven solutions and talking to more insurance application software houses about collaboration-he sees KnowledgeCenter as " the invisible partner." Longer term, Continental Europe and Bermuda are target markets. KCenter 1 View has been launched at a time when electronic commerce, document management and repositories are definitely stirring the once slumbering giant that was the London Market . With most people now familiar with the internet domestically, the fact that the solution operates from within Microsoft Outlook will particularly appeal as user-friendliness counts highly in getting London Market business people on board.