VIPR’s Engine Room – A Candid Conversation with Software Development Manager, Clifton Walters

VIPR's Chief Marketing Officer, Caroline Hanan, sits down with Clifton Walters, the company's esteemed Software Development Manager, in his own words ‘the engine room’ of the house. Clifton leads a talented team responsible for a multitude of software development activities, including managing technology development, overseeing SQL developers, coding, and testing teams. In addition, he expertly handles the complete pipeline of work, from understanding project demands to ensuring the release process that delivers best-of-breed software solutions, ready for clients to utilise. Join us as we delve into the inner workings of Clifton's role and explore the exciting world of software development at VIPR.

Caroline: Hello Clifton, how long have you been part of the VIPR team?

Clifton: Hi Caroline, I've been with VIPR for close to 4 years now. Prior to that, I worked as a freelance Project Manager for around 20 years, contributing to various global sectors such as pharmaceuticals, transport, central government positions, and some major global brands.

Caroline: Clifton, in your experience at VIPR, have you noticed any changes or trends in the types of clients seeking support for their delegated underwriting challenges?

Clifton: Absolutely! Over the past few years, we have observed a shift in the client profiles we are attracting at VIPR, ranging from some of the smallest MGAs and Brokers, to top tier global insurers. This change is also indicative of the sophisticated product enhancements we've implemented over the past 36 months. Our presence now extends beyond the Lloyd's London market, as we have expanded to seven global territories and cater to both Lloyd's and non-Lloyd's customers. We are also engaging with a considerable portion of the broker segment, managing more data capture intake.

Caroline: What are the common challenges that you help clients address and overcome with their bordereaux data operations?

Clifton: With the increased technology reliance, this can create a landscape of varying demands, which presents us with unique challenges to meet and exceed our clients' expectations. One of our products is known to address almost 70% of the market requirement. Consequently, our focus is on closing the 30% gap to ensure we cater to the data analytical needs for underwriters - so far they love what they see in our technology. At VIPR, we have a proactive approach, continually anticipating our clients' needs. To achieve this, maintaining close collaboration with the market is essential, as it enables us to build and enhance our products based on their requirements, rather than our assumptions.

The team and I  maintain a 'Demand Pipeline’ with one significant challenge - to ensure that product enhancements benefit multiple clients, not just one. This approach enables all users of VIPR products to enjoy the improvements. Our coding team frequently identifies minor enhancements that can improve the overall customer experience, which contributes significantly to our success. We encourage this empowerment within our team to ensure we remain agile and responsive to our clients' needs.

Caroline: Could you please elaborate on how you and your team, consisting of coders, testers, and data experts, effectively adapt to and support the ongoing transformations within the delegated authority market sector?

Clifton: The simple answer is - we listen to the client’s needs!!! Our approach involves close collaboration with our sales and delivery colleagues, which allows us to fully understand the requirements within the broader context. As we cater to numerous clients in Canada, the United States and Europe, we pay special attention to subtle differences in terminology and bordereaux management approaches.

Addressing these distinctions becomes the responsibility of our coders and testers in the 'engine room'. We follow a well-documented testing strategy that encompasses a rigorous, step-by-step process, including system, integration and regression, as well as unit testing of our code. This attention to detail has resulted in positive feedback from clients on the robustness of our product suite within the VIPR ecosystem.

We align these efforts with our quarterly release schedule, ensuring that we accurately map and validate each enhancement. This process allows us to stay current and responsive to the ever-evolving needs of our clients, and provide some certainty of the roadmap.

Caroline: Can you share a glimpse into a typical day at VIPR for you and your team?

Clifton: To be completely candid, there isn't really a "typical day" for us at VIPR. I oversee the largest team within the company, and my primary responsibility is to ensure that everything runs smoothly. A significant portion of my time is dedicated to people management, as it is crucial to maintain a happy and satisfied workforce. While I don't possess an overly technical background, I trust my team to complete their tasks efficiently and on time. Much of my day involves collaborating with cross-functional teams to address our priorities. In my view, coding is a fine art, like translating Russian into Greek!

Caroline: Let's discuss a topic that has garnered significant attention recently - Low Code/No Code. What are your thoughts and insights on this development approach?

Clifton: In today's market, there's room for various approaches, but when it comes to the Delegated Program Business, achieving 100% accuracy without any code would be quite challenging. Given the niche and specialised nature of the Delegated Authority landscape, it's crucial to maintain reliability, stability, and trust - values that VIPR embodies. We constantly strive to improve our clients' capabilities, which is why we have implemented numerous seamless API integrations that have proven to be highly effective for our customers.

Caroline: Which other departments at VIPR do you and your team work closely with to maintain smooth collaboration and communication?

Clifton: My team and I work closely with all functions of the business, creating great connections and teamwork throughout, which is awesome.

Caroline: Last but certainly not least Clifton - how do you and your team stay up to date with industry trends and adapt to the ever-changing market demands?

Clifton: There are three primary avenues through which we identify new demands:

1. Suggestions from team members or the company as a whole
2. Client suggestions and requirements
3. Market trends gathered through market research, webinars, events, and ongoing training and upskilling with a little fun along the way!

If you're interested in learning more about VIPR's developers, testers, and coders, please feel free to reach out to one of our experts at info@viprsolutions.com