IBM > Case Studies > VKB Group: Driving consistent standardization and increasing testing efficiency

VKB Group: Driving consistent standardization and increasing testing efficiency

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Company Size
1,000+
Region
  • Europe
Country
  • Germany
Product
  • IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management
  • IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy
  • IBM DB2 for z/OS
  • IBM DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • IBM z Systems
Tech Stack
  • IBM z/OS
  • IBM DB2
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Cost Savings
  • Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
Applicable Functions
  • Product Research & Development
  • Quality Assurance
Use Cases
  • Predictive Quality Analytics
  • Regulatory Compliance Monitoring
Services
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
  • System Integration
About The Customer
Versicherungskammer Bayern is part of the VKB Group, Germany’s largest public insurer. The company is among the nation’s top ten primary insurers, and collected EUR7.6 billion (USD8.9 billion) in premiums in 2015 (provisional data). Its regional subsidiaries operate in Bavaria, Palatinate, Saarland, Berlin and Brandenburg. In conjunction with other public insurers, the firm offers health insurance nationwide. VKB Group has earned recognition as a family-friendly company, and employs around 6,800 people including more than 350 apprentices.
The Challenge
VKB Group, Germany’s largest public insurer, was facing challenges in optimizing its software testing. The company's software development teams were experiencing slow test runs when evaluating new features for their mission-critical core insurance applications. The large volumes of data used for testing often resulted in incomplete test runs that had to be restarted, causing delays in productivity and potentially delaying the release of new functionalities. VKB Group aimed to streamline its internal workflows and enable software development teams to test new features and fixes with a smaller set of standardized data, helping to speed up cycle times and improve the agility of development processes.
The Solution
VKB Group deployed IBM InfoSphere Optim Test Data Management and IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy to streamline its software testing workflows. The solutions were connected to its main IBM DB2 for z/OS database running on an IBM z Systems server, to IBM DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows, and also to some other database instances. The new solution has streamlined testing at VKB Group, enabling testers to work with smaller, standardized data sets that can accelerate testing. The implementation of the test data management solution has enabled VKB Group to introduce more self-service capabilities for testers and drive more automated test data management, saving time and improving testing quality.
Operational Impact
  • Streamlined testing processes, enabling testers to work with smaller, standardized data sets that can accelerate testing.
  • Enabled a more iterative and agile way of working for test engineers.
  • Reduced storage and CPU costs significantly.
  • Accelerated the release of new functionalities.
  • Set up additional roles and permissions, independent from permissions on the production database, to ensure stricter access controls to test data.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Shrinks storage and CPU costs for the testing environment significantly
  • Decreases maintenance workload due to simplified processing and usability

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