June 2016 Employee Spotlight - Damian Murphy

Hello, my name is Damian Murphy and I am a test engineer at RDT. I joined in 2011 and after only a few days I broke my collarbone! This was not the start I expected but RDT stuck by me and, touch wood, I've not had any incidents recently.

Before RDT I spent 20 years in the Civil Service in IT, but was made redundant when the government decided to outsource its IT overseas. However I had never wanted to work in an office - at 16 I got a YTS apprenticeship in hydraulic engineering and machinery. After that I worked briefly as a builder, then started working at the Department for Education and Employment as a porter. I quickly progressed and would take on any extra responsibility and training that was offered, and eventually left to join the Radiocommunications Agency. Once there I became a super user for their IT system and finally transferred into the IT department as a tester.

Eldon Links To MyLicence Hub Through RDT's Landscape Solution

Motor claims and insurance specialist Eldon Insurance Services has become one of the first businesses to take advantage of industry initiative MyLicence, thanks to insurance software provider RDT's upgrade of its administration platform Landscape.

MyLicence was created jointly by the DVLA, the Department for Transport, the Association of British Insurers(ABI) and the Motor Insurers' Bureau(MIB). One of its main purposes was to improve the customer experience by lowering premiums and making applying for insurance quicker and easier. Insurers who are connected to the MyLicence hub are able to obtain a customer's details from the DVLA when they supply their driving licence number. This data provides the insurer with key risk information, giving early adopters a competitive advantage as they are better able to tackle fraud and can price more competitively.

The initial task for insurers was having the technology required to connect to the MyLicence hub. RDT upgraded its Landscape solution last August and all its customers now have this capability. Eldon is the second of RDT's customers to make use of the connection following motor insurer Markerstudy, which connected last year.

RDT's ceo Mark Bates comments "We are pleased that the latest version of Landscape is enabling our clients to connect swiftly and easily to MyLicence, a transformative project for our industry and one that has gained good momentum since going live."

Ashton West, chief executive at the Motor Insurers' Bureau, added "Eldon joins a growing number of insurers using MyLicence as part of the application process for their customers buying insurance. This means that through the provision of quality data at the point of quote, sale and claim, these insurers are benefiting from more accurate pricing, are providing a better customer experience and combating insurance fraud."

Alzheimer's Society Cupcake Day - an update!

We're really pleased to announce that our Alzheimer's Society Cupcake Day has raised over £170 for the charity today.  Congratulations to our receptionist Marta who won this cake by having the closest guess at the number of sprinkles on the sheet.

Alzheimer's Society Cupcake Day

RDT’s staff love cake. They really, really love cake, to the point where sometimes cake just turns up randomly in the kitchen even when it isn’t anyone’s birthday. So we’re all very happy that today is Alzheimer’s Society’s Cupcake Day, so we can eat cake and give to charity at the same time! 

Our very own star baker, Jennie Myatt, took the day off work yesterday to create a huge selection of treats for us to enjoy. Our other prolific home baker, Elmaret Peters, also found time to knock up a batch of her famous Guinness cupcakes. 

The Alzheimer’s Society is particularly close to Jennie’s heart, as her grandmother, and consequently her whole family, was affected by dementia.  We will post later to let you know how much RDT has raised for this brilliant charity.