Guidewire Software Stock

Guidewire Software, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Guidewire) deliver a platform that property and casualty (‘P&C’) insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. Guidewire’s platform combines core operations, digital engagement, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (‘AI’) applications delivered as a cloud service or self-managed software.

The company’s core operational services and products are InsuranceSuite Cloud, InsuranceNow, and InsuranceSuite for self-managed installations. These services and products are transactional systems of record that support the entire insurance lifecycle, including insurance product definition, distribution, underwriting, policyholder services, and claims management. The company’s digital engagement applications enable digital sales, omni-channel service, and enhanced claims experiences for policyholders, agents, vendor partners, and field personnel. The company’s analytics offerings enable insurers to manage data more effectively, gain insights into their business, drive operational efficiencies, and underwrite new and evolving risks. To support P&C insurers globally, the company has localized, and will continue to localize, the company’s platform for use in a variety of international regulatory, language, and currency environments.

The company’s customers range from some of the largest global insurance companies or their subsidiaries to predominantly national or local insurers that serve specific states and/or regions. The company’s customer engagement is led by its direct sales team and supported by the company’s system integrator (‘SI’) partners. The company maintains and continues to grow its sales and marketing efforts globally, and maintains regional sales centers throughout the world.

The company sells its cloud-delivered offerings through subscription services and the company’s self-managed products through term licenses. The company also offers professional services, both directly and through SI partners, to help the company’s customers deploy, migrate, and utilize its platform, services, and products.

Products

The company is investing in research and development to accelerate improvements in the company’s cloud platform services, products, and marketplace to better serve the company’s customers.

Core Operational Services and Products

The company offers the following core operational services and products: Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, Guidewire InsuranceNow, and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.

Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud

Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud is consisted of three primary applications (PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud) delivered via GWCP. InsuranceSuite Cloud applications can be licensed separately or together and are designed to support multiple releases each year to ensure that cloud customers remain on the latest version and gain fast access to the company’s innovation efforts. InsuranceSuite Cloud is hosted on Amazon Web Services (‘AWS’) and managed by the company’s internal cloud operations team.

Guidewire PolicyCenter Cloud is the company’s flexible underwriting and policy administration application that serves as a comprehensive system-of-record supporting the entire policy lifecycle, including product definition, underwriting, quoting, binding, issuance, endorsements, audits, cancellations, and renewals. Guidewire BillingCenter Cloud automates the billing lifecycle, enables the design of a wide variety of billing and payment plans, manages agent commissions, and integrates with external payment systems. Guidewire ClaimCenter Cloud is a complete end-to-end claims management solution that offers core claims functionality. These primary applications also include predictive analytics that drive smart decisions, digital engagement, and an ecosystem of partners and insurtechs.

GWCP is a Guidewire-developed infrastructure layer built on top of AWS that provides specialized cloud services, including multi-tenant cloud-native services that support the core operational services and integration of digital experiences and analytics. The Guidewire Data Platform is a P&C insurance-specific data repository, built on GWCP, which collects data from InsuranceSuite Cloud and InsuranceNow, as well as other internal and external sources, to provide analytical insights across the insurance lifecycle for the company’s customers. The Guidewire Data Platform powers all analytical applications. Additionally, the company provides tools for automation and self-service of routine implementation and deployment tasks to increase the company’s customers’ agility while providing performance, availability, privacy, and security. Given the specialized needs of the P&C insurance industry, the company has developed a scalable cloud architecture that combines these multi-tenant cloud services and tools with the ability to isolate each customer’s system of record and database instances. This approach provides the company’s customers with the benefits of cloud-native infrastructure and services and the flexibility to provide differentiated services to their customers.

Guidewire InsuranceNow

Guidewire InsuranceNow is a complete, cloud-based core system for P&C insurers in the United States, delivered via GWCP, offering policy, billing, and claims management functionality, plus pre-integrated document production, analytics, and other capabilities, that increases agility without adding complexity. InsuranceNow is hosted on AWS and managed by the company’s internal cloud operations team.

Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed

Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed is consisted of three primary applications (PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, and ClaimCenter) that can be licensed separately or together and can be deployed and updated by the company’s customers and their implementation partners on their premises or in a third-party cloud infrastructure.

Guidewire InsuranceSuite: Complementary Capabilities and Applications

The company offers several complementary capabilities and applications, some of which are included in the core operational services and products, designed to work seamlessly with the company’s core operational services and products, including:

Guidewire Rating Management: Guidewire Rating Management enables P&C insurers to manage the pricing of their insurance services and products.

Guidewire Reinsurance Management: Guidewire Reinsurance Management enables P&C insurers to use rules-based logic to execute their reinsurance strategy through their underwriting and claims processes.

Guidewire Client Data Management: Guidewire Client Data Management helps P&C insurers capitalize on customer information more coherently, overcoming traditional siloed practices that impair efficiency and customer service.

Guidewire Advanced Product Designer: Guidewire Advanced Product Designer is a cloud-native application for insurance product design and management across the complete insurance lifecycle. It enables insurers to launch and update products quickly by providing visual product development tools, prebuilt product model templates, product management capability, and auto generated product code.

Guidewire Product Content Management: Guidewire Product Content Management provides software tools and standards-based, line-of-business templates to enable insurers to more rapidly introduce and modify services and products by reducing product configuration and maintenance efforts. Any such product introduction or modification must connect to and incorporate regulatory or industry-standard data and content, such as Insurance Services Office (‘ISO’) or National Council on Compensation Insurance (‘NCCI’) content.

Guidewire Underwriting Management: Guidewire Underwriting Management is a cloud-based, integrated business application designed for commercial and specialty line insurers to drive premium growth and profit from better underwriting. This feature-rich workstation delivers straight-through processing, exception-based underwriting, real-time collaboration, and knowledge management in one integrated solution. Guidewire Underwriting Management is typically sold alongside Guidewire PolicyCenter, although it functions with other policy administration systems as well.

Guidewire AppReader: Guidewire AppReader is a submission intake management solution that enables P&C insurers to process Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (‘ACORD’) forms faster and more accurately than with manual processes or traditional upload solutions. AppReader is available for both Guidewire Underwriting Management and Guidewire PolicyCenter.

Guidewire ClaimCenter Package for the London Market: Guidewire ClaimCenter Package for the London Market supports the claims workflow used by London Market insurers and brokers. Integration of London Market Electronic Claims File (‘ECF’) Write-Back lets insurers perform tasks and interact with the central industry market Claims Loss and Advice Settlement system directly from Guidewire ClaimCenter through message queues.

Digital Engagement

Guidewire Digital Engagement Applications

The company’s Digital Engagement Applications enable insurers to provide digital experiences to customers, agents, vendors, and field personnel through their device of choice. As consumers increasingly use self-service functions on the internet and on mobile devices, many of them prefer to interact with their insurance providers digitally and that they expect to have a consistent and efficient transactional experience through multiple channels, whether online, in-person or by phone. The company’s Digital Engagement Applications also benefit agents and brokers who are seeking to automate business processes with insurers to improve customer service and productivity. In order to provide a holistic experience, Digital Applications are unified with InsuranceSuite.

Guidewire for Salesforce

Guidewire for Salesforce integrates Guidewire core systems with Salesforce for insurance carrier agents and service representatives. It provides customer information regarding their policies and claims.

Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence

The company offers a variety of applications that allow insurers to uncover hidden opportunities and write more profitable business by enabling a seamless path from data to value.

Guidewire Predict

Guidewire Predict is a P&C-specific machine-learning platform that empowers insurers to make intelligent data-driven decisions throughout the insurance lifecycle. By building (or importing) predictive models built from multiple data sets, designing comprehensive solutions, and operationalizing the predictive insights, Predict allows insurers to rapidly turn any model into business value by delivering guidance to frontline decision makers. Predict for Claims helps customers to better manage claim indemnity and loss-adjustment expenses. Predict for Profitability improves pricing accuracy and customer satisfaction.

Guidewire HazardHub

Guidewire HazardHub allows insurers to understand, assess, price, and manage property risk quickly and intelligently. HazardHub provides a single source of geospatial risk data, and provides access to more than 950 risk variables, including perils from air, water, earth, and fire. HazardHub is a cloud-native solution delivered through an Application Programming Interface (‘API’) that provides access to this information for any personal or commercial property located in the United States, and has the ability to evaluate an entire portfolio for property risk.

Guidewire Canvas

Guidewire Canvas is a cloud-native application included with ClaimCenter Cloud. It features an interactive map that enables claims management and catastrophe response teams to geo-visualize claims to help improve customer satisfaction and reduce indemnity by proactively responding to storm events.

Guidewire Compare

Guidewire Compare is a cloud-native application included with ClaimCenter Cloud that monitors key claims measures and gives feedback on how those compare against peer insurers in the Guidewire community, or within a single insurer across regions or over time. Compare allows claims organizations to increase their processing efficiency by monitoring key claims measures, such as indemnity, expenses, cycle times, reserves, salvage, subrogation, percentage closed, catastrophe, and litigated.

Guidewire Explore

Guidewire Explore is a cloud-native application that gathers and curates InsuranceSuite data in near real-time to augment decision making inside and outside InsuranceSuite. Explore includes free-form search across the data set, along with visualizations and dashboards for common business metrics. It allows business users to examine operational claims data, underwriting management data, and operational policy data.

Guidewire Cyence

Guidewire Cyence is a cyber-risk economic modeling product that helps P&C insurers accurately measure the financial impact of cyber risk on their customers. It does this by capturing data about cyber threats from more than 400 sources, including public data, open-source data, proprietary, and third-party data. Cyence then curates and analyzes the data through AI and machine-learning statistical models to extract meaningful signals. Based on these models, Cyence produces insights delivered through reports that will predict the likelihood and economic impact of cyber attacks on a target company or individual. This can be used for underwriting, pricing, and developing cyber insurance products.

Guidewire DataHub and InfoCenter

Guidewire DataHub is an operational data store that unifies, standardizes, and stores data from the patchwork of insurer’s systems, as well as from external sources. It is available for self-managed and InsuranceSuite Cloud customers.

Guidewire InfoCenter is a business intelligence warehouse for P&C insurers that provides information in easy-to-use formats for business intelligence, analysis, and enhanced decision making. With Guidewire InfoCenter, insurers gain flexible operational insights, as well as the ability to optimize their business.

Guidewire Marketplace

The Guidewire Marketplace is where insurers find trusted applications and content that complement the Guidewire platform from the company’s PartnerConnect partners, as well as from Guidewire product and services teams. These applications and content help insurers to rapidly innovate and differentiate their businesses by allowing them to leverage capabilities provided by the Guidewire ecosystem to meet their business goals. The Guidewire Marketplace also empowers customers pursuing innovation initiatives by providing access to a curated collection of insurtech applications. As of July 31, 2023, the Guidewire Marketplace had over 210 partner-developed integrations that have been awarded Ready for Guidewire validation and hundreds of Guidewire-developed resources available for download. The company is continually expanding the breadth of functionality and depth of partnerships in the Guidewire Marketplace.

Services

The company provides implementation, cloud migration, and integration services to help the company’s customers realize the benefits of the company’s cloud-based services and software products. The company’s delivery services teams assist customers in building implementation or migration plans, integrating the company’s software with their existing systems, and defining business rules and specific requirements unique to each customer. The company also partners with leading SI consulting firms, certified on the company’s software, to achieve scalable, cost-effective implementations for the company’s customers.

The company’s investments in services and partners are designed to ensure customer success by committing additional resources to both cloud-based and self-managed implementation projects.

Customer Support

The company provides support for its subscription customers as part of the company’s subscription services and to its license customers for an annual fee based on a percentage of the license fees. Subscription services also include regular updates to Guidewire software to ensure that Guidewire Cloud customers can easily access the company’s latest innovations. New capabilities are often toggled-off so that customers can activate them at the right time for their businesses. This enables the company’s customers to deliver improvements at a steady pace, optimized for their employees and customers.

The company’s subscriptions include Guidewire Cloud Assurance Services, which provides for review of all configurations and integrations to ensure they follow published standards, best practices and required security methodologies. Furthermore, the company’s internal cloud operations team monitors application performance and the company’s customer success team works directly with customers to optimize adoption, user experience, and business requirements.

Customers

The company markets and sells its services and products to a wide variety of global P&C insurers ranging from some of the largest global insurers to national, regional, and state companies. The company focuses on developing and maintaining its customer relationships through customer service and account management. Customers are defined as entities that have placed orders for the company’s services or products. In some instances, a parent corporation can have multiple entities, or insurance brands, that place orders for the company’s services or products and, in other instances, customers are in industries adjacent to the insurance industry and do not have an insurance brand. As of July 31, 2023, the company had approximately 580 customers representing approximately 540 insurance brands in 40 countries.

Strategic Relationships

The company has extensive relationships with SI, consulting, technology, and industry partners. The company’s network of partners has expanded as interest in and adoption of the company’s platform has grown. The company encourages its partners to co-market, pursue joint sales initiatives, and drive broader adoption of the company’s technology, helping the company grow its business more efficiently and enabling the company to focus its resources on continued innovation and further enhancement of the company’s solutions.

The company works with its network of third-party SI partners to facilitate new sales and implementations of both the company’s subscription services and self-managed products. The company’s partnerships with leading SI partners allow the company to increase efficiency and scale. The company continues to invest time and resources to increase the number of qualified consultants employed by the company’s SI partners, develop relationships with new partners in existing and new markets, and ensure that all SI partners are qualified to assist with implementing the company’s services and products. This model will continue to serve the company well, and the company intends to continue to expand its network of partners and the number of certified consultants with whom the company works so the company can leverage its SI partners more effectively, especially for future subscription implementations.

As part of the company’s PartnerConnect alliance program, the company has a community of solution partners developing integrations that enable software and insurance business solutions to interoperate with the company’s services and products, many of which are in the Guidewire Marketplace. These integrations help customers reduce implementation risk and effort, and lower the total cost of implementation and operation.

Sales and Marketing

Consistent with the company’s industry focus and the mission-critical needs the company’s services and products address, the company’s sales and marketing efforts are tailored to communicate effectively to senior executives within the P&C insurance industry. The company’s sales, marketing, customer success, and executive teams work together to cultivate long-term relationships with customers in each of the geographies in which the company is active.

The company’s direct sales team serves as both its exclusive sales channel and the company’s account management function and is organized by geographic region across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The company augments its sales professionals with a pre-sales team possessing insurance domain and technical expertise, who engage customers to understand their specific business needs and then represent the company’s services and products through demonstrations tailored to address those needs.

The company’s strong relationships with leading system integrators enhance the company’s direct sales through co-marketing efforts and by providing additional market validation of the distinctiveness and quality of the company’s offerings.

Intellectual Property

The company owns or has pending patents and patent applications, which generally apply to the company’s software. The company’s owned patents have expiration dates starting in 2025. The company also relies on several registered and unregistered trademarks, as well as pending applications for such registrations, in order to protect the company’s brand both in the United States and internationally.

Seasonality

The company has experienced seasonal variations in its license revenue and, to a lesser extent, in the company’s subscription revenue as a result of increased customer orders in the company’s fourth fiscal quarter (year ended July 2023). The company generally sees significantly increased orders in the company’s fourth fiscal quarter, which is the quarter ending July 31, due to efforts by the company’s sales team to achieve annual incentives.

The company’s services revenue is also subject to seasonal fluctuations, though to a lesser degree than the company’s license revenue and subscription revenue. The company’s services revenue is impacted by the number of billable days in a given fiscal quarter. The fiscal quarter ending January 31 usually has fewer billable days due to the impact of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays. The fiscal quarter ending July 31 usually has fewer billable days due to the impact of vacations taken by the company’s services professionals. Because the company pays its services professionals the same amount throughout the year, the company’s gross margins on its services revenue are usually lower in these quarters.

Technology

All of the company’s cloud services and products comply with standards set by ISO, AICPA, and PCI SSC.

Competition

The company’s competitors include, but are not limited to, P&C insurance software vendors, such as Duck Creek, EIS Group, Insurity, Majesco, Origami Risk, and Sapiens; and horizontal software vendors, such as SAP SE and Salesforce.

History

Guidewire Software, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was founded in 2001. The company was incorporated in 2001.