A data center with high availability in order to guarantee business continuity
A success story from ARAG
The challenge
ARAG needed to ensure the availability of its services as part of its business continuity strategy, to guarantee travel assistance to its policyholders and to be able to have the flexibility that allowed them to deploy teleworking measures for 600 employees quickly and efficiently.
The solution
For the last 15 years we have provided ARAG with data center services with a solid infrastructure and 100% compliance with SLAs, and zero incidents in the service. We have also made it easier to obtain certifications such as ISO 27001 and comply with regulations such as Solvency II or VAIT.
ARAG is one of the leaders in legal defence insurance, travel assistance and roadside assistance, and pecuniary losses. Founded in Germany in 1935, it is family-owned and one of the top three providers of legal protection in the world.
It has 4,100 employees and offers coverage in 19 countries, mainly in Europe, but also in the United States, Canada and Australia. In Spain they are present throughout the territory, with offices in Barcelona and Madrid.
Availability as a critical business need
ARAG is a family-owned German insurer. It offers insurance for legal defence, travel assistance and pecuniary losses. It also reinsures clients of other companies.
Some years ago, the company began a digital transformation process that reached a new milestone at the beginning of 2020. The crisis caused by COVID-19 affected the business continuity of many companies and forced teleworking measures to be imposed hastily. However, ARAG had created contingency plans in advance which greatly facilitated adaptation to this new way of working.
ARAG’s digital transformation process focused on providing the company with greater flexibility and agility, to be able to react better and more quickly to market needs. For example, with automation of business processes, the inclusion of technologies such as artificial intelligence and employee training.
The digitalization of business processes and the nature of some of ARAG’s products, such as travel coverage, which includes 24-hour support, means that a failure in the system, at any time of the day, could affect an insured person’s travel assistance. That is why the availability of IT services is a critical aspect for ARAG’s business continuity. The early implementation and testing of these processes allowed ARAG, for example, to deploy teleworking for all of its 600 employees on the same day that the state of emergency was declared in Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“A failure in the system, at any time of the day, can affect an insured person’s travel assistance. That is why the availability of IT services is a critical aspect for ARAG’s business continuity.”
Guillermo Herrera, Director of IT and Administration
A data center with high availability and contrasted solvency
Adam began providing data center services to ARAG 15 years ago. Their objective was to guarantee the availability of services to both direct clients and the insurance and reinsurance companies with which they work.
According to Guillermo Herrera, Director of IT and Administration of ARAG in Spain, then “we began to rely on Adam in everything with regard to policy, and contingency plan and business continuity, which allows us to guarantee this 99.999% high availability of all our services.”
When choosing a supplier, ARAG not only considers whether it can solve its immediate needs. Furthermore, according to Enric Gelabert, Head of the Systems Technical Area at ARAG Spain, that supplier must have “coherence, a roadmap for the future, solvency in the service, certifications and all of this needs to be verified.”
A long-lasting relationship of trust without incidents
During these 15 years, a relationship of trust has been built between Adam and ARAG, in which Adam has continued to solve ARAG’s needs through a solid and secure infrastructure and with full compliance with SLAs, with zero incidents in the service.
Another aspect that an insurance company like ARAG values highly is regulatory compliance. Insurance companies are heavily regulated, and being able to comply with ISO 27001 regulations without the need for additional investment is an important advantage. In addition, ARAG’s own data center is redundant with that of Adam. This allows them to comply with the Solvency II directive, a European regulatory framework that regulates the risk management of insurance companies, as well as the VAIT regulation of the BAFIN, the German insurance regulator.
For Guillermo Herrera, Director of IT and Administration of ARAG in Spain, the relationship between ARAG and Adam in these 15 years has been “one of trust, of closeness, it is a relationship in which we have solved all the needs we had by relying on Adam. And this has ended up having an impact on our service and the quality of our service to all our customers.”
“Adam has been a differentiating factor in the face of any critical situation we have had, avoiding the loss of service to our clients.”
Guillermo Herrera, Director of IT and Administration
Why a data center ensures business continuity
For ARAG’s IT management team, availability and business continuity are critical to ensuring 24/7 service to customers. Among the main benefits that stand out:
- Greater flexibility and agility to respond to market needs.
- Regulatory compliance with Solvency II, VAIT and ISO 27001.
- Service without incidents with SLAs of 99.999%.
- A 15-year relationship of closeness and trust.
- Commitment to the environment.
“ARAG is committed to the environment. That is why we look for suppliers who have the same profile, who apply energy efficiency measures.”
Enric Gelabert, Head of the System Technical Area.