Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - How John Hancock Revolutionized Its Mainframe Insurance Admin on AWS (BIZ220)

Summary

John Hancock, a subsidiary of Manulife and a major US life insurer, migrated mission-critical life insurance and annuity applications from mainframe to AWS in 13 months.
Marianne Fillion, IT Director at John Hancock, discussed the partnership with DXC Technology and internal teams for the migration.
The migration aimed to enhance digital customer journeys, streamline processes, and consolidate systems post-merger with Manulife.
DXC has been a long-term partner with John Hancock since 1988, contributing to core systems transformations and digital initiatives.
Murali N. Guru, Global Director for Mainframe Modernizations at DXC, and Rao Panchamarthi, Global Solutions Architect for Mainframe Modernization at AWS, provided technical insights.
Key challenges included integration with downstream systems, compliance, disaster recovery, and ensuring seamless operations.
The migration led to significant business benefits, including improved customer and agent experiences, cost savings, and digital capabilities.
The future focus for John Hancock includes leveraging APIs for digital services and continuing to enhance customer experiences.

The successful migration demonstrates the feasibility of moving large, complex mainframe systems to the cloud within aggressive timelines.
John Hancock's focus on customer experience and operational efficiency drove the decision to modernize their mainframe systems.
DXC's long-standing relationship with John Hancock and their expertise in mainframe modernization played a crucial role in the migration's success.
AWS's support and solutions for mainframe modernization, including their managed service for assessing, transforming, developing, testing, and deploying applications, were instrumental.
The migration strategy involved re-hosting using Micro Focus technologies and leveraging AWS's cloud-native environment.
The discussion highlighted the importance of functional and performance equivalence in mainframe modernization projects.
Future mainframe modernization efforts may increasingly utilize AI and generative AI to accelerate the process, reduce costs, and manage risks.
AWS envisions a future where mainframe modernization projects are expedited through advanced tooling, including AI for decomposing applications, reverse engineering, automated testing, and security compliance validation.
The partnership between DXC and AWS is strong, with DXC being one of the first AWS partners certified for mainframe modernization competency, particularly in the insurance sector.