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Hazelcast IMDG & the Insurance Industry
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
USAA was looking to modernize their web infrastructure to help grow their online business. The previous generation Websphere-based infrastructure at USAA did not provide a unified, fault-tolerant, scalable foundation for their customer-facing applications. Rather, each application required its own authentication and data management, and this was seen as inefficient due to redundant information management. The new infrastructure based on Hazelcast utilizes an In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) architecture for shared access to numerous services and functions. With easy-to-scale Java infrastructure, application developers can have fast access to cached data and employ a single authentication strategy for all customer-facing applications, from banking to insurance. Another important capability of the new infrastructure at USAA is synchronization among data centers. The previous generation utilized redundant production and QA clusters at two data centers that are relatively closely located. For better data compliance and assurance, USAA is introducing a third data center that is very distant from the existing two and requires that the synchronization and data integrity be well managed. Hazelcast Enterprise includes critical support for WAN Replication for this exact scenario. Fault tolerance is critical in any large-scale solution, and USAA was using a single-copy caching architecture. A key feature of an IMDG is the automatic and seamless backup and restore capability. Hazelcast is a superior technology for data sharding, partitioning, and backup in a distributed environment, providing the IT organization the assurance that data is not lost should a single node or even a data center fail.
About The Customer
USAA is a major US-based insurance provider that offers a range of services including home, auto, and life insurance, as well as consumer banking and financial services. The company is known for its commitment to serving military members and their families. USAA has a strong focus on providing high-quality customer service and innovative solutions to meet the needs of its clients. The company has been in operation for several decades and has built a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness. USAA's customer base includes millions of members, and the company continually seeks to improve its services through technological advancements and infrastructure modernization.
The Solution
The new infrastructure at USAA is based on Hazelcast's In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) architecture, which provides shared access to numerous services and functions. This architecture allows for easy scaling and fast access to cached data, enabling application developers to employ a single authentication strategy for all customer-facing applications, from banking to insurance. Hazelcast's IMDG offers critical in-memory capabilities via standard Java and JCache APIs, and it is compatible with any JVM and OS. One of the key features of the new infrastructure is its ability to synchronize data among multiple data centers. USAA is introducing a third data center that is distant from the existing two, requiring robust synchronization and data integrity management. Hazelcast Enterprise includes support for WAN Replication, which is essential for this scenario. Additionally, the new infrastructure provides fault tolerance through automatic and seamless backup and restore capabilities. Hazelcast's technology for data sharding, partitioning, and backup ensures that data is not lost even if a single node or an entire data center fails. This level of reliability and scalability is crucial for USAA's operations, which involve managing a large volume of customer data and transactions.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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