A note from Optimation Group’s Managing Director, Warrick Flower on plans for Optimation Group in 2023
It has been a difficult start to the year for many with the recent floods and cyclone hitting our home shores. Our thoughts are with those impacted in their homes, places of work or communities. With many of our staff in the North Island some of our team members were impacted directly, but thankfully they are all safe and well. It is these times where the importance of community shines, and it is inspiring to see how people have given everything they can to support each other.
As we look to the year ahead, we have significant and exciting milestones for our customers and our business. In March we will be shipping the first release of a new digital insurance platform serving an established and innovative customer in the local industry. This is the first release in what is a comprehensive digital transformation, covering everything from sales and member portals through to policy financials and claims. Replacing multiple legacy and traditional packages, it will be the most advanced OutSystems implementation in New Zealand, and will enable better customer outcomes through simplified processes and expanded digital capability.
This will be followed closely by our remote case management solution being rolled out across the state of Queensland, providing users with an integrated digital experience via modern web portals, mobile applications, and high spec kiosks custom-designed with advanced biometrics. The team have done a brilliant job designing the core workflows that span the solution to maximise the total outcome, whilst leveraging the unique aspects of the devices and form factors for the end users. The product was built with the justice and corrections sector in mind, but there are many adjacent use cases for the workflow and digital capabilities of the apps and kiosks that we will be working with customers on.
It has been a busy time with these product launches adding to our core service offerings, so we are investing heavily in the team and our IP to underpin our sustainable growth. Although there has been plenty of news recently about global players cutting and retracting, we are taking the opposite approach confident in our sustainable and steady growth.
As a start for the year, I am thrilled to have had Ginu Raju join us as Head of Technology to help guide our use of technology and provision of services. Ginu brings a wealth of experience across technology and delivery through roles at Microsoft, Xero and local technology consultancies. His focus here is entirely on how we can maximise outcomes for our customers through the use of technology, and he is ready to assist with planning and advisory discussions for any of our current or prospective customers.
Our talented and growing offshore team continues to delight our customers and we are working on being able to offer them to more Australasian clients through hybrid delivery models. Our specialist IT Recruiting division (Presto Resourcing) has operated as quite a separate business unit, but in 2023 we are bringing Optimation and Presto closer to offer a collaborative approach to provide the best talent and solutions for our clients. It’s going to be a game changer for client outcomes mixing dedicated hybrid delivery with total flexibility. Cherrie Wheeler has been appointed GM for Presto, with a mandate to ensure we offer the best specialist services that are fast, clever and targeted for maximum impact.
I am super excited about what’s coming next for our team and customers this year. If there’s anything you’d like to discuss from the above or get our opinion on feel free to get in touch.
- Warrick Flower