Wiener osiguranje, a leading Croatian insurance provider, needed to simplify its growing application programming interface (API) environment to maintain security and reduce management effort. By adopting Red Hat 3scale API Management, running in a flexible container-based environment on Red Hat OpenShift, the company has improved visibility into its hundreds of APIs. As a result, Wiener can enhance features, bring new services to market faster, and integrate with new partners while protecting its data and IT systems.
Benefits:
- Improved security with better API environment visibility and control
- Reduced partner integration time from hours to minutes
- Enhanced API features with open API approach
Managing a complex, growing API environment
Wiener osiguranje is Croatia’s fourth largest insurance company, with more than 80 retail offices and around 700 employees. It offers services to consumers, small and medium businesses (SMB), and enterprise organizations, with an increasing focus on providing its services through digital channels.
“We are transforming traditional financial tools into more flexible, modern products,” said Josip Miličić, Director of IT, Wiener osiguranje. “An important part of that journey is ensuring that our IT systems can interconnect with third parties, sales divisions, and external partners. We need to confidently provide secure access to data and product calculations.”
Wiener had developed application programming interfaces (APIs) to support its auto insurance business and other services, but as the company grew, its API environment became increasingly complex.
“The more options to connect that we offered to external companies, the more difficult our API infrastructure became to maintain. We had no consistency, and it was hard to follow security standards or introduce and enforce restrictions,” said Miličić. “We wanted to find a solution that would provide better transparency, governance, and business logic so we could connect to partners while maintaining API security and system performance.”
Adopting an enterprise API management solution from Red Hat
Working with local IT consultants Combis d.o.o., Wiener evaluated several solutions and completed a pilot project before deciding to adopt Red Hat 3scale API Management, deployed on Red Hat OpenShift.
“Red Hat 3scale API Management provided the agility, simplicity, and functionality we needed at a competitive price,” said Miličić. “Red Hat offered an environment that we could customize to meet customers’ and partners’ requirements with dedicated resources. And with their focus on security first, our APIs—and core system—are less exposed.”
Red Hat 3scale API Management is an infrastructure platform that helps Wiener share, secure, distribute, control, and monetize its APIs to better support innovative, collaborative work. Integrated with this solution, Red Hat OpenShift provides an enterprise Kubernetes container environment to orchestrate and manage these services.
“In the first phase of this project, we focused on getting the documentation right, developing new APIs, and introducing enhanced functionality,” said Miličić. “That ensures we can offer our third-party partners—and their end customers—a faster, richer experience.”
Enhancing API management and features for more effective partnerships
Improved security with better environment visibility and control
Previously, a lack of visibility into all of its API systems and clients made it difficult for Wiener to enforce the security policies needed to protect its IT infrastructure and data. With 3scale API Management, running on Red Hat OpenShift, the company can track and monitor activity in real time, through a single access point. The API traffic control feature helps Wiener enforce security and access policies.
“Real-time monitoring within the Red Hat environment gives us and our partners peace of mind that we can provide what they need, with fewer resources and less risk,” said Miličić. “We now have hundreds of APIs. Without the transparency and security features provided by 3scale API Management, we wouldn’t be able to comply with the rigorous data protection standards required by our partners, such as banks and other financial institutions.”
Reduced partner integration time
With 3scale API Management and Red Hat OpenShift, Wiener has now established a responsive, agile framework to onboard customers and partners in minutes, rather than hours. Efficient integration creates opportunities to take advantage of new revenue streams faster, improving Wiener’s competitiveness in a crowded market.
“Better collaboration and connectivity through 3scale API Management helps us deliver new services and features in a timely manner to meet consumer and partner expectations,” said Miličić. “For example, we can quickly provide new APIs to auto insurance price comparison websites that resell our services.”
Enhanced API feature development with open API approach
The open API approach provided by 3scale API Management lets Wiener’s developers use routines, protocols, and tools to innovate with original components—without requiring them to create replicas of these components.
Using a container environment on Red Hat OpenShift has also helped developers create and deploy new services faster.
“Our developers can focus on making APIs more effective by adding new features that let partners calculate and sell policies, verify the status of claims, and other compelling capabilities,” said Miličić.
Scaling a platform for continued growth
After its successful initial deployment, Wiener plans to continue using its Red Hat environment to support its growing API portfolio. The company plans to add more partners and features, with APIs at the core of its overall digital business strategy.
“We are tremendously satisfied with our Red Hat deployment. Whatever we asked for was delivered when we needed it,” said Miličić. “Red Hat 3scale API Management gives us a robust platform on which we can build for future, ongoing growth.”
About Wiener osiguranje
Wiener osiguranje was established in 1999 and is now the fourth largest insurance company in the Croatian market. Through more than 80 retail offices located across the country, around 700 employees are available to their clients to provide them with advice and complete insurance coverage for themselves, their families and property and to make claims handling faster and more effective.
