Overview

Global Insurance Corporation (GIC), a major player in the financial services sector in Vietnam, successfully transformed its legacy financial platform by migrating to the cloud to streamline processes and reduce operational risk within a complex global insurance landscape.

GIC faced a critical technology challenge as its legacy financial management solutions reached end-of-life. This status resulted in a lack of technical support, software incompatibility, and security vulnerabilities. To ensure security, scalability, and sustainability, GIC partnered with TRG International to upgrade and migrate to the Infor SunSystems Cloud, integrated with Infor Q&A 12 and Infor OS.

The project also marks an important milestone: it celebrates 7 years of successful collaboration between GIC and TRG International, thus once again affirming the company’s continued trust in TRG and our solutions.

Industry: Insurance

Website: https://gic.vn

Solutions implemented:

Infor SunSystems Cloud (Multi-Tenant SaaS)
Infor Q&A 12
Integration: Infor OS (ION and IDM)

Goals

✓ Ensure long-term system stability and compliance
✓ No technical or security disruption to the daily operations
✓ More powerful reporting capabilities
✓ Streamline multi-branch accounting operations with intercompany transaction automation
✓ Reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs through a cloud-hosted model

At a glance

Founded in 2006, Global Insurance Corporation (GIC) has been providing comprehensive non-life insurance services for nearly two decades. The company has a strong focus on four core business sectors: Health Insurance, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Property Insurance, and Cargo Insurance.

GIC’s commitment is encapsulated in its service slogan: “Comprehensive Product, Dedicated Service, Full Dedication.” Over the past 20 years, this dedication has acted as the source of motivation for GIC to successfully serve more than 3.5 million individual and business customers.

However, GIC faced a significant challenge regarding its technology infrastructure. The company was relying on older versions of its financial management solutions: Infor SunSystems 6.2 and Infor Q&A 10. The 6.2 version of Infor SunSystems was initially released in 2014, making it over 10 years old.

Crucially, both of these solutions have reached their end-of-life status:

Infor has discontinued Extended Maintenance for Infor SunSystems 6.2
Microsoft has announced the end-of-support for Infor Q&A 10

This end-of-life status leaves GIC with:

No technical support
No essential functions, security patches, or updates
Incompatibility with newer software versions

To ensure system security, scalability, and long-term sustainability, GIC came to the conclusion to migrate and upgrade to Infor SunSystems Cloud (Multi-Tenant SaaS) with Infor Q&A 12 and Infor OS integration.

Behind the scenes of GIC’s financial technology stack

About Infor SunSystems

Infor SunSystems is a comprehensive financial management solution, trusted by many organisations worldwide. Originally named SunAccounts, the software was developed in 1980 by Systems Union in the UK. The solution is used to manage all aspects of financial accounting, reporting, asset management, and more through a flexible and scalable unified ledger, designed to provide real-time visibility for users.

Systems Union and SunAccounts/ SunSystems were acquired by Infor, a global leader in cloud-based, industry-specific enterprise software, in 2006. Today, the latest version of this fan-favourite financial management solution, Infor SunSystems Cloud, continues to play a vital role in over 9,000 organisations across 190+ countries globally.

About Infor Q&A

Infor Query & Analysis (Q&A), previously known as Vision, is a dynamic, multi-language, multi-currency set of business intelligence tools that is powerful, flexible, secure, and easy to use. It is a core reporting module for Infor SunSystems, providing finance professionals with the ability to build, run, and distribute reports directly to SunSystems.

A definite advantage of Infor Q&A is that the module operates entirely within Excel, allowing users to extract data from Infor SunSystems Cloud into multiple worksheets in Excel and drill down on it from there. That gives users immediate access to relevant, role-based information to make informed recommendations and strategic decisions.

The image above shows how Infor Q&A operates in Excel.

Issue 1: Legacy infrastructure

GIC was using SunSystems version 6.2, along with the reporting and data query tool Q&A version 10.1.8. The implementation and deployment of these software tools were carried out in 2017.

SunSystems 6.2 version has reached its end of extended support from the vendor, Infor. This means that the system no longer receives bug fixes, security updates, or in-depth technical support for this version.

Furthermore, the Q&A 10.1.8 tool also had significant technical limitations. It was only compatible and functional within a Microsoft Excel 32-bit environment. This poses a challenge in fully leveraging the performance of modern computers, which typically use 64-bit operating systems and Microsoft Excel 64-bit versions. The inability to run on Excel 64-bit restricts the capacity to process large datasets and can negatively impact the speed and efficiency when executing complex reports.

Further compounding the issue, both SunSystems 6.2 and Q&A 10 were dependent on outdated Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 environments.

This paints the complete picture of GIC’s financial system: outdated and vulnerable. The misaligned software also hindered the finance team’s performance, preventing them from accessing modern business intelligence and cloud-based tools.

Issue 2: Security & maintenance risks

The lack of ongoing vendor assistance immediately exposed GIC to not just operational but also security risk. Bugs, security vulnerabilities, configuration errors, and integration challenges can render applications, and eventually, entire workflows, unusable until patches are deployed, rollbacks are executed, or complex debugging procedures are completed, a situation which will not happen as the vendors have already ceased support for GIC’s previous platforms.

Furthermore, the inability to guarantee up-to-date security protocols and meet evolving regulatory standards due to the unsupported status puts the organisation at direct risk of fines, data breaches, and reputational damage.

Issue 3: Manual intercompany process

The existing process for managing accounting transactions across multiple branches was heavily manual (reconcile, verify, input cross-branch data, etc.), thus creating a significant operational bottleneck. The manual handling processes led to a substantial increase in the workload for the finance function, diverting valuable resources from more strategic tasks. More importantly, the bottleneck also led to increased human errors, which ultimately compromised the firm’s financial accuracy and integrity.

The TRG’s approach

GIC chose to migrate their financial management system, specifically Infor SunSystems and Infor Q&A, from the current on-premise environment to the cloud. TRG collaborated with GIC to conduct thorough assessments of the company’s database and environments and to prepare the company for transition.

Revamping infrastructure

GIC’s strategic shift to the cloud has unlocked significant benefits across multiple operational dimensions:

1. Always up-to-date platform:

Remove fixed costs on hardware (servers), Windows/SQL licences, and other periodic server maintenance fees
Environment setup, service, and patch updates will be managed and maintained on a frequent basis
Customer data and backups are always secure, adhering to AWS standards, ensuring data ownership
Scheduled monthly or quarterly maintenance sessions for optimal system performance post-go-live

2. Reduced IT dependency: The operational burden of system maintenance, hardware failure recovery, and complex system tuning is offloaded to the service provider (TRG and Infor).

3. Anywhere access: The solution features a modern web-based interface for ease of access.

4. Predictable cost and scalability:

The transition to a subscription-based model (SaaS) transforms a volatile capital expenditure (CapEx) into a predictable, manageable operating expenditure (OpEx), thus simplifying budgeting and financial forecasting.
The cloud infrastructure provides unmatched future expansion capability. GIC can instantly scale computing power, storage, and user licences up or down based on growth, seasonal demands, or changes in business volume.

5. Infor OS integration:

A key advantage of transitioning to the cloud for GIC is the ability to leverage the broader Infor ecosystem through Infor Operating Service (Infor OS).

Infor OS is a next-generation operating platform that includes several key components, allowing GIC to gain access to powerful capabilities such as Infor ION (Intelligent Open Network for integration) and IDM (Infor Document Management, a centralised document repository). Infor ION also serves as a digital bridge, connecting Infor SunSystems with other existing platforms currently in use at GIC.

Staying secure

The cloud platform is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), leveraging a globally recognised infrastructure known for its resilience and scale. GIC benefits from a commitment to more than 99.5% uptime, ensuring maximum business continuity and system availability. Additionally, AWS provides world-class, robust cybersecurity standards. Data is protected by multi-layered security protocols, adhering to stringent industry best practices.

Solving the intercompany issues

To address the persistent intercompany challenge, GIC decided to split its monolithic operational framework into various distinct and independent business units (BUs). Multiple BUs enable the company to easily determine the true profit and loss, revenue, and cost centres at each branch while also generating more accurate finance reports.

GIC can leverage automated workflows, real-time communication, and enhanced efficiency through 64-bit Q&A reporting to automate intercompany processes.

Training end users

TRG successfully implemented several targeted training sessions for GIC users to ensure maximum adoption and proficiency with the new systems. The training initiative was structured, focusing on different aspects of the integrated solution:

Infor OS overview: A foundational session designed to introduce users to the Infor OS platform.
Infor OS Administration and User Guide training: Empowering designated power users and IT staff with the knowledge to manage the Infor OS environment, while the User Guide segment provided all end-users with in-depth instruction on day-to-day operations.
SunSystems ION API training: A dedicated technical session targeting the integration team and advanced users.
SunSystems user training: To upskill users and minimise disruption, TRG set up a dedicated one-day training session about the core SunSystems application for users in each major region.

This structured, regional approach allowed TRG to address real users’ concerns and queries in person through focused, hands-on instruction.

Final words

Through the partnership with TRG International, Global Insurance Corporation successfully transformed its financial management ecosystem by adopting Infor SunSystems Cloud and Infor Q&A 12. The migration delivered improved efficiency, flexibility, and data transparency while eliminating infrastructure risks and manual workload.

With the new SaaS platform, GIC is now equipped with a secure, scalable, and future-ready financial management environment, empowering its growth and operational resilience in the digital era.

Key project highlights:

Seamless migration from legacy on-premise system to Infor SaaS Cloud with minimal downtime
Enhanced efficiency through 64-bit Q&A reporting and automated intercompany transactions
Improved collaboration via Infor OS integration and centralised document management
Future-proof infrastructure with reduced operational costs and guaranteed long-term vendor support

For more information about our solutions, visit: trginternational.com/solutions

Discover more case studies in other industries here: trginternational.com/stories/case-studies

Further resources

Whitepaper | IFRS 17: Embracing the Challenges & Mastering the Strategies

Whitepaper | Financial Management in the Era of Change

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7-in-1 Resource Kit | All you need to know about the core modules of Infor SunSystems Cloud

From Legacy to Cloud: How Global Insurance Corporation Mitigates End-of-Life Systems Challenge

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