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April 17, 2007
Pitney Bowes Acquires MapInfo
Tech Web
In a move to expand its presence outside its core mail-management business, Pitney Bowes ($5.7 billion in revenue) announced plans to acquire MapInfo Corp. (Troy, N.Y.) for about $408 million in cash. The deal significantly strengthens the Stamford, Conn.-based company's position in the geographic information system (GIS) technology space.
Pitney Bowes first established a foothold in business geographics as part of its acquisition of Group 1 in 2004. Its GIS capabilities in the insurance vertical are presently focused almost entirely on underwriting, with offerings such as address verification in policy management systems. "Historically, we've been focused on the operational side of business geographics," says Steve Walden, VP, business geographics, for Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software.
MapInfo has a broader reach within the insurance vertical with its predictive analytics and modeling capabilities. From a marketing standpoint, insurers can use MapInfo products to target a given area for a certain new product or promotion, Walden notes. On the actuarial side, carriers can plot out where historical losses have occurred to help build rating territories, he adds.
Growth potential within the insurance vertical was a motivating factor in the acquisition, according to Walden. "We think it's an industry where, from a timing perspective, it couldn't be any better," he says, specifically pointing to the multichannel distribution trend. As more companies abandon the captive agent-only model, technology is needed to supplement -- but not replace -- the local agent's understanding of local geography, Walden adds.
"There could be some really good things that they could do in terms of sharing information," says Steve Wallace, senior strategic planner at Florida Farm Bureau Insurance (Gainesville, Fla.), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. (Ridgeland, Miss.; net written premiums of more than $1.3 billion annually), which currently uses products from both MapInfo and Group 1. "GIS is simply the hot, critical piece of technology for ... insurance companies. Maybe [a carrier] has 60 days to assign codes defined by territory and then implement discounts that go with certain codes. [With GIS], you can geocode your book of business, compare points to the polygons, apply data and you are done."
"The combinations of technologies from both sides are going to create much more compelling solutions for the various carriers," Pitney Bowes' Walden says, noting that most organizations are trending toward dealing with a single vendor for many capabilities. "It allows us to deliver a much broader solution set for our customers, which they're telling us they really want."
MapInfo will function as an independent company, with its existing management in place, under the Pitney Bowes umbrella.
Pitney Bowes Acquires MapInfo
Tech Web
In a move to expand its presence outside its core mail-management business, Pitney Bowes ($5.7 billion in revenue) announced plans to acquire MapInfo Corp. (Troy, N.Y.) for about $408 million in cash. The deal significantly strengthens the Stamford, Conn.-based company's position in the geographic information system (GIS) technology space.
Pitney Bowes first established a foothold in business geographics as part of its acquisition of Group 1 in 2004. Its GIS capabilities in the insurance vertical are presently focused almost entirely on underwriting, with offerings such as address verification in policy management systems. "Historically, we've been focused on the operational side of business geographics," says Steve Walden, VP, business geographics, for Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software.
MapInfo has a broader reach within the insurance vertical with its predictive analytics and modeling capabilities. From a marketing standpoint, insurers can use MapInfo products to target a given area for a certain new product or promotion, Walden notes. On the actuarial side, carriers can plot out where historical losses have occurred to help build rating territories, he adds.
Growth potential within the insurance vertical was a motivating factor in the acquisition, according to Walden. "We think it's an industry where, from a timing perspective, it couldn't be any better," he says, specifically pointing to the multichannel distribution trend. As more companies abandon the captive agent-only model, technology is needed to supplement -- but not replace -- the local agent's understanding of local geography, Walden adds.
"There could be some really good things that they could do in terms of sharing information," says Steve Wallace, senior strategic planner at Florida Farm Bureau Insurance (Gainesville, Fla.), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. (Ridgeland, Miss.; net written premiums of more than $1.3 billion annually), which currently uses products from both MapInfo and Group 1. "GIS is simply the hot, critical piece of technology for ... insurance companies. Maybe [a carrier] has 60 days to assign codes defined by territory and then implement discounts that go with certain codes. [With GIS], you can geocode your book of business, compare points to the polygons, apply data and you are done."
"The combinations of technologies from both sides are going to create much more compelling solutions for the various carriers," Pitney Bowes' Walden says, noting that most organizations are trending toward dealing with a single vendor for many capabilities. "It allows us to deliver a much broader solution set for our customers, which they're telling us they really want."
MapInfo will function as an independent company, with its existing management in place, under the Pitney Bowes umbrella.
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