I read with immense interest the interview that Jonathan Russell had with Phillip Bell of Misys (12 August, Insurance Times). There are a number of times when I wish I was a fly on the wall, and this interview would have been one of them. We have been clients of Misys since 1987 and I cannot possibly think that Mr Bell is working for the same Misys that I have to deal with on a regular basis. Having said that of course, intermediaries and brokers who have to deal with other software houses no doubt suffer the same as we do.We pay Misys every month a sum of £1,095.20p (some £13,142.40p per year) for various licences, maintenance, software support and numerous other items. The so-called perceived benefits we receive seem hard to establish when we get a fairly poor service from our so called computer partners. This comes as a bitter pill to swallow, all the more because the hardware and software we are using is ten years behind the times, yet we are expected to pay bleeding edge prices for it.
Response timesI know that whenever we have problems with our system, my staff grumble like mad at how long we usually have to wait for a response from our so called computer partnersAs our company has progressed from 1987, I can remember Misys people saying that they would not be using PCs in their computer solution to insurance brokers, that we had to stay with dumb terminals and the TRIPOS solution. We have several schemes, and Misys has on several occasions been asked to help us out, but my word at what cost. In my experience it is the broking fraternity that has driven Misys forward as it seems insistent that we comply with its systems and not any other software that is on the market.Only at the beginning of this year I, together with my computer manager and sales and marketing manager went up to Misys to go through and organise a complete system that would help with our schemes. The response we got was one of total 'did not care' and an air of arrogance. I thought these people were meant to be our computer partners. It seemed not. I knew within two seconds of leaving the meeting, the only reason I stayed was because of the sandwiches and I would not have to pay for lunch for my staff.Perhaps Mr Bell ought to get out on the road and hear really what both brokers and insurers think of Misys. Come on Misys, move with the times. It should be ahead of the broking and insurance fraternity. Perhaps, maybe just perhaps, Mr Bell has got his "perception " and "reality", confused. Perception means intuitive understanding and insight, the ability to see hear or become aware of something through the sense, or interpret something. I do not think Misys is intuitive. Reality means the state of things as they actually exist or a thing that is actually experienced, in my view relying on the past. That is the Misys of today.William Tuke,DirectorPark Home Insurance Services
