About Us

In the mid-1980's Paul Virtue, then CIO of a large multi-national life insurance company, was
faced with replacing aging mainframe policy administration systems. That company was at the same time introducing their universal life insurance products to the market. Software packages from third party developers/vendors seemed to be the answer for replacing these systems. However, these packages proved to be either architecturally obsolete or limited in their functionality. The only alternative was for the company to embark upon a development project with its huge cost and risks.

It was evident that the market was poorly served by aging or inadequate application software packages and that there was room for new competitors provided the technology could be kept current and that the applications were well designed and competitively priced. In 1988, recognizing this opportunity, Virtue and two colleagues from the insurance industry, Gary Lee-Sin and Courtland Soares, launched Advanced Digital Services Ltd. Their mission was to develop a new breed of insurance software using modern technologies that could match the competition on functionality, beat them on price, and provide a competitive advantage to customers through shorter product implementation times.

Modern development technologies were still in their infancy in the late 1980's so the sale of their entry-level general insurance packages, COVER and BROKER, and the bespoke development of financial services software, including a bancassurance system that was to have profound impact later, were the mainstay of the Company. Design of the original CIS-LIFE application commenced in 1991, and in late 1992 when appropriate development tools emerged, programming started. After a few years and some initial licence sales, this design evolved into the CIS Family of software packages which has become the Company's flagship application. The CIS design reflects a combination of the experiences of prior software development, the accepted industry trend towards investment-linked products, and the unique background of the developers who possess practical knowledge of insurance administration combined with solid IT expertise.

After years of development covering several hundred man-hours of effort, the Company's CIS application has earned recognition in the marketplace as a credible software solution. The CIS software has been licensed, installed, and customized at customer sites ranging from startup operations to successful bancassurance ventures to large agency-based companies located in a number of countries around the world. The portfolios of these customers include a wide range of traditional product lines, fixed and variable annuity products, universal life products, and variable life products. Starting with a staff complement of 8, ADS has grown to 30 employees and boasts customer sites in the Caribbean, the USA, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific Region.

Lee-Sin left ADS in the mid-1990s, selling off his shares in the Company to his remaining partners. In 1998 the National Investment Bank acquired an equity position in ADS through a deal that saw an expansion of the Company's capital base. This capital injection proved vital in allowing the Company to retire debt that had been accumulated whilst it concentrated on development of the CIS software. The additional capital also facilitated the necessary establishment of a physical presence in the USA market through the incorporation of Amerillium Systems Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, ASI opened for business in 1999 and presently operates with a staff complement of 5. As distributor for the CIS software packages developed by ADS, the primary mission of ASI is to build market share in North America and establish international dealerships for the CIS product line.


Designed and Maintained by