Insurance technology giant SSP has made a couple of changes in an effort to better serve its customers.

The firm’s software delivery teams worldwide have been combined as a single engineering department to be led by newly appointed software engineering director Matt Gatrell (pictured). SSP said the simplified structure will provide it with the agility to leverage best practices and software components across its systems.

Gatrell, chief technology officer at Neilson Financial Services prior to joining SSP, will report directly to chief operating officer Jim Sadler. The key hire brings significant experience not only in leading software teams but also in driving modern software development practices. 

In addition to having a cohesive engineering department, SSP is also accelerating its DevOps programme launched in 2017. The idea? Faster adoption of engineering practices and tools across all software products. The goal is to deliver and enhance offerings more quickly and to a higher quality.

“I have joined SSP at a great time, which is reflected in its serious intent to embrace DevOps at a much faster pace,” commented Gatrell. “I am looking forward to using my extensive industry knowledge and expertise to develop and lead the strategy for the newly-formed software engineering department, supported by the talented team at SSP.”

Sadler said Gatrell’s appointment continues what SSP has started in terms of strengthening delivery capability.

“Matt’s achievements and deep expertise in the field of software engineering make him a significant addition to our firepower, which will enable us to deliver on our service and product promises to clients, and continue to outpace our competitors,” added the COO.


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