Large information systems are in a demand for heavy testing

LähiTapiola’s large information systems are constantly being updated and developed, placing heavy demands on testing.

LähiTapiola offers everything from insurance and investment services, and car financing services for private customers to workspaces for businesses. The finance group’s non-life insurance premium revenue in the first half of 2019 was approximately 812 million euros and the operating result was 256 million euros. The company has 3,400 employees and 1.6 million customer-owners.

Information systems play a key role in securing the business of such a company. In the event of a power outage at the company’s headquarters in Tapiola, Espoo, powerful generators power the information systems to guarantee uninterrupted operation “The entire lifecycle of information systems, right from the bidding process and procurement to maintenance services have to be covered to ensure they function smoothly,” says Teemu Laukkanen, Service Director of IT services at LähiTapiola.

There is a constant need for quality assurance, continuity management, and application testing in the 250-plus applications in use. With every new release, you have to ensure that critical applications run smoothly despite the changes.

In a complex and ever-changing world, it is not possible to achieve 100 percent results in testing. “Our goal is to produce adequate quality, and we have succeeded in that.” When total perfection cannot be achieved, it is important to identify risks and know how to deal with problems when such a situation arises.

“For instance during service development, if we detect a potential security threat in the online service, we will conduct even more extensive security testing.”

For LähiTapiola, working with Gofore is like having a partnership that provides test automation expert service that is scalable with its changing needs.

“Gofore helps us improve the quality of our business model and services by bringing in outside expertise. One essential reason we zeroed in on Gofore was that we knew that they have the expertise to provide the right solutions for our needs.”

At LähiTapiola there has always been a need for a partner who has the ability to take overall responsibility for everything from test automation and practical testing to test management services and development of testing activities. Gofore’s experts are a part of the LähiTapiola team.

“From the beginning, we wanted Gofore’s experts to be one of us and follow our values, methods, and models. Their relationship has only grown stronger with trust. When a Gofore Test Manager recognizes the need for additional resources for testing, it is immediately organized.

“Gofore experts are keen to highlight how our operations can be developed to our advantage. They know our business and its needs and know how to push things forward accordingly,” Laukkanen says.