Decerto’s Marcin Nowak Says Legacy Systems Can’t Keep Pace with the World

Financial and insurance companies are at a developmental crossroads. On one hand, they have powerful, stable, but aging legacy systems. On the other, a vision of flexible, open banking and insurance, driven by data and AI. We spoke with Marcin Nowak, Co-Founder & Head of Growth at Decerto, about why delaying modernization is risky and unprofitable, and how to manage this change successfully.

IT’S OFTEN SAID THAT THE BIGGEST COMPETITOR FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ISN’T ANOTHER COMPANY, BUT THEIR OWN OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?

Absolutely. Legacy systems, often monolithic and written in technologies from several decades ago, were designed for stability, not agility. Today, the market demands something completely different: speed in implementing new products, hence the great popularity of solutions like Higson; the ability to integrate with external partners within open API ecosystems; and above all, the skill to leverage real-time data. A legacy system is secure, but cumbersome. Depriving a company of the ability to connect new technologies creates the risk of missed market opportunities and declining customer satisfaction.

HOWEVER, MANY COMPANIES FEAR A REVOLUTION. THE MODERNIZATION PROCESS IS SEEN AS COSTLY, RISKY, AND LENGTHY. IS THIS JUSTIFIED?

I understand these concerns, as we often encounter them in meetings with clients. In my opinion, they frequently stem from thinking about transformation in terms of a “big bang” – a massive explosion meant to replace the old system with a new one overnight. This pushes us out of our comfort zone. Importantly, this approach is not only risky but also outdated.

At Decerto, we believe in evolution, not revolution. A modern strategy involves gradually “wrapping” the legacy core with modern services and microservices. We create a flexible, agile layer that communicates with the old system while opening the company up to new possibilities – like rapid product creation, for instance, by using the Higson product configurator, integrations with fintechs, or implementing simple AI solutions.

This approach allows the investment to be spread out over time, minimizes operational risk, and delivers tangible business benefits at each stage of the project, not just after its completion in five years.

YOU MENTIONED AI. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR, AND WHY IS SYSTEM MODERNIZATION CRUCIAL FOR LEVERAGING IT?

A while ago, I thought AI was a temporary fascination, another tool to play with. However, having worked with this technology longer, I’ve become fascinated by it. The potential is enormous and touches every aspect of the business – from the hyper-personalization of offers and dynamic pricing in insurance, through intelligent automation of claims processing and credit risk assessment, to advanced anti-fraud systems. However, for AI to work well, it needs large amounts of high-quality, real-time, and structured data. Legacy systems are closedoff silos that hinder access to data and its free flow. Without modernization, without creating an open, agile architecture, AI projects will remain merely interesting experiments in a company “lab,” with no chance of scaling or having a real impact on the business.

WHAT SETS YOUR APPROACH TO TRANSFORMATION APART? WHY SHOULD A CLIENT FROM THE FINANCIAL SECTOR CHOOSE YOU?

Three key elements set us apart. First, deep industry specialization (know-how). We don’t just provide technology; we understand the insurance and banking business inside and out – we have people on our team who built their experience in banks and insurance companies. This allows us to be a partner who discusses business goals, not just lines of code. Second, the evolutionary development methodology I mentioned. Our goal is the rapid delivery of business value (timeto-market). Clients don’t have to wait years for results. After just a few months, they see real improvements, new products on the market, and better customer service. Third, an extensive client portfolio, which includes companies like Allianz, Nationale-Nederlanden, Sompo International, Everest, BNP Paribas Group, Unum, Vienna Insurance Group, Gulf Insurance Group, and Generali.

BOARDS LIKE TO THINK IN TERMS OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT. BEYOND THE GENERAL SLOGAN OF “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION,” WHAT CONCRETE, MEASURABLE BENEFITS DO THE PROJECTS YOU CARRY OUT DELIVER?

I have two favorite examples. The first comes from a system we built for Warta (part of the HDI / Talanx Group). Thanks to modernization, the system is able to prepare over 600 quotes per minute and more than 300,000 per day for insurance agents. Agents also make over 5,000 data requests per minute with an average response time of 15-20 ms (for searching customer/policy data and fetching it). The automation and real-world acceleration of their work not only increased agent efficiency but also contributed to faster customer acquisition. The second example I like to cite is our Higson – a product configurator tool. Instead of taking months to bring a new product to market, it can be done in a few minutes, without involving the IT department.

FINALLY, WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A CEO OR CTO WHO IS READING THIS INTERVIEW AND WONDERING IF THEIR LEGACY SYSTEM IS STILL ‘UP TO THE TASK’?

Ask yourself one question: is my technology an accelerator or a brake for the business? If launching a new product takes you 9 months instead of 9 days, if integrating with a new, promising partner is a project that takes years, not weeks, if you can’t fully leverage the customer data you possess – then you have your answer. Don’t ask “if” you should modernize, but “how” to start doing it wisely and where to begin to see the fastest return on investment. The future won’t wait, and the market leaders will be those organizations that are building technological agility today.

Marcin Nowak is the Co-Founder & Head of Growth at Decerto, a company specializing in providing software solutions for automating the work of insurance agents. A graduate of computer engineering and postgraduate MBA studies. Creator of the Higson software – a business rules engine. He has been associated with the insurance industry for over 20 years, specializing in automation, the impact of technology on the insurance sector, underwriting, and management. A proponent of the smart insurance technology concept.