Supporting a platform transformation to move £1.5bn of customer assets safely

Scottish Friendly is a leading mutual financial services organisation offering savings, pensions, life insurance and investment products to a growing customer base. Its entire operation runs on Sonata, a core wealth management platform that underpins everything from finance and actuarial services to marketing, compliance and customer service.

As Scottish Friendly entered a period of significant growth, it faced increasing regulatory requirements and a portfolio of high-impact change programmes. These included a major upgrade of the Sonata platform following five years without an update, alongside large-scale initiatives such as fund rationalisation and Consumer Duty compliance.

At the same time, quality assurance capability had evolved organically. Testing was largely manual, spreadsheet-driven and staffed by team members without formal testing backgrounds. The scale and risk of the upcoming changes meant that quality and assurance were no longer just technical concerns, but business-critical enablers of future growth.

Answer Digital embedded within Scottish Friendly’s teams to provide hands-on quality assurance leadership, development support and delivery assurance across multiple programmes.

We worked closely with business, technology and third-party partners to design a structured testing and assurance approach that aligned with the organisation’s regulatory and operational needs. This included introducing clear strategies, improving test management and supporting automation and performance testing for critical customer journeys.

Alongside programme delivery, we focused on raising internal capability. We introduced new tools, governance practices and coaching to help teams adopt more structured ways of working. Our consultants acted as delivery leads where needed, while mentoring and supporting Scottish Friendly staff to build confidence and long-term sustainability.

Scottish Friendly successfully upgraded to Sonata version 12 with minimal disruption, providing a stable and secure platform for future innovation. A major fund rationalisation programme transferred over £1.5 billion of customer assets without impacting service, with further phases planned.

Quality assurance capability has been significantly strengthened. Testing has moved from unstructured spreadsheets to a managed, transparent function with improved reporting, automation and governance. Defects are now identified earlier in delivery, reducing reliance on costly third-party support and avoiding the significantly higher cost of production fixes.

Teams are better equipped to manage complex change. Clear frameworks, improved tooling and embedded coaching have increased delivery confidence and reduced operational risk. While the organisation is not fully agile, there has been a clear shift towards more structured, change-ready ways of working.