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Press release:

Ref: OGI0297
4th October 2011

Open GI Assist Brightside to Win Coveted Award Through Growth

Brightside Group Plc has won the prestigious PwC West of England Business of the Year Award 2011 with the help from their technology partner, Open GI, to facilitate their ambitious strategic growth plans.

Brightside Group Plc is recognised to be the 29th largest insurance business and one of the fastest growing insurance broking and financial services businesses in the UK.  As a young and entrepreneurial company, Brightside Group Plc has driven rapid growth plans through innovation since its inception in 2001.  To respond flexibly and swiftly to market changes and seize new opportunities, Brightside needed a technology partner that could work with them to understand their requirements and provide them with Back-Office solutions to help expand their business and streamline their workflow processes.

By using a comprehensive range of Open GI’s technology systems including the Core Back-Office and e-commerce solutions such as eBroker for Personal Lines, Brightside has been able to position itself at the forefront of online trading across its three main businesses for Commercial Vehicle, Bike, Motor and Home insurance.

John Gannon, Commercial Director said: “In what continues to be a difficult market, we are experiencing accelerated growth which would not have been possible without the right technology partner in place to work closely with us and be responsive to our needs.

Our aim is to offer a diverse range of products at competitive prices. Throughout the entire IT planning process, it’s evident that Open GI has the scale, industry expertise and financial strength that we require to enable us to keep our running costs as low as possible whilst maximising new market opportunities.

By using Open GI’s market-leading quote engines that are integrated with the Core Back-Office, we have exposed our business to substantial new opportunities in Personal Lines. Not only are we generating month on month increases in the number of quotes, integration with the Core Back-Office system ensures that it is easy for our clients to quote and buy online, without our staff having to rekey data.”

Simon Hughes, Sales and Marketing Director Open GI, said; “We are delighted that Brightside has enjoyed huge success and won this prestigious award.  By working with them, we have been able to fully understand their technology requirements to assist them with reducing their administration costs and increasing their conversion rates.”

For More Information about Open GI:
Adele Clarkson
Marketing and PR Manager
Open GI
Tel: +44 (0)1905 754455
email: adele.clarkson@opengi.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Open GI supplies market leading IT solutions to insurance brokers across the UK & Ireland. With 20,000 users in around 2,000 firms, the company has a 40% share of the UK broker market and is committed to technological innovation. Open GI technology enables personal and commercial lines brokers trading in standard and niche markets to streamline business activity and become more profitable. With a workforce of 350 people and a 30-year heritage, the company enjoys a strong financial performance. For the year ended 31st May 2010 Open GI reported revenues of £35.0 million and an operating profit of £21.1 million.