A comprehensive data migration offering

Our experts use DCA to automate the steps of a carefully defined methodology.

The Data Conversion Architect is UCT's proprietary data conversion toolset. It is a web-based collaboration tool with a number of critical features and components that automate parts of the conversion system development lifecycle. It is important to note that DCA does not perform a conversion; no customer data is loaded into DCA.

Instead, DCA's role is to aid the team as they develop a separate "conversion system", meaning programs that migrate data from one system to another system.

Services typically include project planning, project management, data analysis and cleansing, data conversion and migration, and data balancing.

Are you planning for success?

Every data migration project is different. Different systems, platforms, data storage techniques, access mechanism, data volumes, length, etc. But there remains one constant: an exhaustive and detailed plan that accurately estimates the cost, timeline and resource requirements is the starting point to any successful migration project.

Our extensive experience enables us to deliver a comprehensive project plan or to properly staff any conversion project planning team.

Whether they use UCT’s tools or not, our project managers and business analysts will work with your subject matter experts (SMEs) to understand your specific needs. They can foresee common migration issues, recommend proven techniques and steer the team away from risky plans.

Data migrations are rare events that need a strong project manager (PM) to oversee day-to-day functioning, and to coordinate the efforts of vendors, analysts, programmers, and auditors.

At UCT, we pride ourselves in having the best PMs in the industry. With an average of over 25 years of data conversion and insurance system experience, UCT experts provide leadership and guidance to both the client and the project team.

What can you expect from a UCT Project Manager?

No excuses - Our PMs are committed to delivering ahead of schedule and under budget.

No surprises – Our PMs will keep you abreast of project status at all times.

Unsurpassed quality – Our PMs are proud to have their name and UCT's name associated with a project success.

True partnership – Our PMs fully share risk/reward with customers and all other teams.

What does your data REALLY look like?

Years of data migration experience has taught us that real data often contains unexpected values and other types of data anomalies. This data is often locked inside a database with a proprietary or legacy format or no standardized query interface. Just seeing what data you have can be a challenge, and cleaning it up may be all but impossible.

Even if DCA is not used for the actual conversion, it can be used for data analysis/auditing and cleansing. The information that it produces about the legacy system data has tremendous value since it allows data to be cleansed before the conversion. It also allows data anomalies to be identified and handled correctly in the conversion source code, which saves time and money.

Using its proprietary DCA technology, UCT can assist you in identifying and repairing these data anomalies.

A typical UCT-led conversion includes data balancing, which measures the success of the conversion by comparing actuarial and metric data points against the same data points after converted data is loaded into the target system.

If your conversion effort includes balancing, then we have the right expertise and tools to help you identify appropriate fields to balance on, control the creation of balance maps, augment maps to perform specialized balancing, etc.

UCT has a proof-of-concept opportunity for those who want to try our solution on a smaller scale before committing to a full-scale engagement.

We deliver a working model or prototype conversion system, including:

- Fully documented maps, showing all the business rules for each conversion step
- A mini conversion system, including code to drive the conversion of the selected files from source system to target
- Online and (if desired) paper reports showing data analysis and clean up, as well as conversion balance and exceptions handling
- A written statement of understanding as to what constitutes a successful Proof of Concept (PoC)
- Depending on the exact nature of the test project and the scope of the PoC, there are many other options available

What's included?

- Details of the data migration PoC will vary but generally include:
- A written preliminary understanding and definition of scope including selection of the data files
- Consulting help for set-up
- On-going consulting or "touch-base" help as required and/or negotiated

Conversion system development is our specialty.

We can provide a complete solution or any part of it.

Clients can purchase a DCA license and we can provide user training to their analysts and engineers.

Also, we can augment our client’s team with additional business analysts and programmers, as required.

You can rely on our seasoned consulting staff.

UCT can augment your staff with experienced personnel who are experts in the data file conversion process and the financial services field. We also have specialists who are very knowledgeable with most of the major insurance systems, including many homegrown systems.

UCT's service offering includes all necessary support, as well as project management, planning, hands-on training, prototyping, pilot projects for fast skill transfer and full-service conversions.

Our combined experience of over 600 person-years in the financial service fields ensures that the quality of services rendered is exceptionally high. UCT consultants have participated in over 150 successful data conversions and migrations.

Did you know that around 80% of the world’s actively used code is none other than COBOL?

Many UCT insurance data migration projects involve legacy COBOL systems. We've successfully recruited a number of skilled COBOL programmers to support these efforts. Our COBOL programmers have many decades’ worth of programming experience on virtually every major compiler and platform.

No matter what your COBOL programming task is, they can help.

UCT exposes product configuration rules through data analysis.

One of the most complicated aspects of a system replacement is configuring the new system to support existing products. The information about the existing products is locked inside the old system and it needs to be exposed before it can be applied to the new application.

One common method for exposing old product configuration information is through source code analysis.

If you are engaged in source code analysis, UCT has programmers and a source code analysis tool that can help.