Fairfax Information Technology Services, Inc. (FITS) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax), a Canadian company. Fairfax is a $20 billion financial services holding company whose corporate objective is to achieve a high rate of return on invested capital and build long-term shareholder value. Through its subsidiaries, Fairfax is engaged in property, casualty and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management and insurance claims management. The company has been under present management since September 1985.

FITS has proven to be a significant contributor to the bottom line profitability of Fairfax affiliates by reducing client run-rates since our establishment in October 2000. Similarly, our vision is to maintain a low cost, high quality information technology services company that capitalizes on our experience, the financial resources of Fairfax and worldwide presence to provide similar cost-effective strategic solutions to client companies outside of Fairfax. FITS specializes in the Property and Casualty insurance industry and has its home office located in Parsippany, New Jersey, along with a second location in Dallas, Texas.

FITS looks at every information technology services opportunity with an open mind and a sense of innovation. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that our services will be successful. Flexibility, service, experience and industry knowledge are key elements of our offerings. Furthermore, FITS understands that we do not have the name recognition and market presence of many of the companies against which we compete. Our services and pricing structure, therefore, must "speak for themselves" and our customers must remain satisfied throughout the term of our agreement. Senior executives are continually involved with the client account to ensure customer satisfaction.

Return to Top

The method FITS takes in its efforts to achieve its mission consists of a component-based approach that is consistent and scalable. This allows FITS to take advantage of the benefits of packaged software, including the cost benefits, and then to extend such software as needed. This methodology is repeatable across companies thus further adding to cost savings. Where necessary, Fairfax uses "smart-sourcing" to round out our information technology solutions working with partners that have had an established record of supplying the high quality, cost saving products and services that FITS is committed to providing to our clients.

The key activities that comprise this approach are as follows:

• Establish a technology framework within which all business applications will be implemented to ensure a consistent and scalable environment. The resultant ability to add capacity as volume grows, allows FITS to scale technical resources and thus costs, to changing business needs.
  
  
• Establish a business applications architecture using a component-based approach with design characteristics that support changing business opportunities. The effects of this approach will be faster, less expensive integration of support for new products and services.
  
  
• Employ a strategy of licensing and integrating packaged software and extending or making modifications as needed rather than developing "from scratch." This approach is less expensive and less time-consuming resulting in lower IT costs.
  
  
• Develop a synergy between the technical staff of our client companies and FITS IT.
  
  
• Implement a consistent repeatable methodology for software development and maintenance. It has been demonstrated that IT organizations that implement a repeatable methodology are more than three times as likely to fulfill project time and quality commitments.
  

Return to Top