Let’s talk about insurance, technology and other stuff

Mike Drakulich

Going big, going cloud

The pace of technological innovation is extremely fast. It’s not good enough for tech companies to just keep pace. They have to anticipate so they can be a step ahead.  

It’s important for Applied Systems to follow this precept. As your technology partner, we must remain reliable for you so you can do the same for your customers.

This year, we have invested heavily in our technology and continue to do so through the end of the calendar year. Tim Sander, Applied Systems’ vice president of Cloud Services sheds a little light on what we’ve done to ensure customers continue to receive great service.

And since being able to store documents and files electronically is so important, this year we have also purchased 100TB worth of additional storage space. And before the end of the calendar year, we’ll have more, including:

  • 50 TB of high performance/high availability storage for management system databases.
  • 130 TB of additional file storage for non-database storage such as e-mails, documents and images.

Applied Systems’ IT staff keeps an eye out for the best technology to benefit our customers. Before the company makes an investment, though, you can be sure it has been evaluated thoroughly.

Have you had a good experience with Applied Systems? We’d love to hear about it. And what are your thoughts on the cloud? Have you made the switch? If not, what’s preventing you? Tell us in the comment section below!

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Kathie Cox

Coming soon: My Applied Idea

As announced at TENCon, Applied Systems Product Management will soon be launching the My Applied Idea Site – designed to facilitate direct conversation between our clients and members of Product Management.  This site is not a replacement for PMRs, ASCnet Communities, ASCnet PAC, Applied Systems blogs – or any other social site – but rather it is an opportunity to augment the touch points for providing feedback as it relates specifically to innovative ideas at both the product and industry level.

Goals for the site include:

  • Proposed feature review/discussion
  • Industry trends analysis and discussion
  • Innovative brainstorming

Members of Product Management will regularly monitor the site, which will focus specifically on gathering the feedback necessary to support future product direction. If proposed posts fall outside the scope of My Applied Idea, site monitors will suggest that those comments be directed to another site as appropriate so that all input is accommodated.  We encourage users to engage in all opportunities to connect.

We are excited to  introduce this new avenue of communication and interaction, and we look forward to  sharing  GREAT ideas!!  We’ll update you as soon as the site is up and running.

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If something is important to you and your business, it’s important to us at Applied Systems. We’re always trying to improve on our overall performance and customer satisfaction.

Many of our clients regularly e-mail and call to commend our Support specialists, and that’s very gratifying for all of us. We appreciate your business, and we strive to provide the support you need to keep your business successful. But we want to get even better. We’re committed to making 2012 an even better year.

Have you had a good experience with our support team? Give us a shout and let us know about it in the comment section below.

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From many insurance industry organizations, it seems all we have heard about in the past few years is decreased spending and budget cuts.   But it looks like things are turning around. A recent survey by Novarica  shows that most
insurance companies plan on increasing their IT budgets in 2012.

Among the driving factors cited in the study:  Consumers expect to be able to easily access information from service providers.

So how can agents benefit from this information? Online service is not something reserved for carriers. In fact, by providing your clients with online access to their insurance information, you give them a one-stop portal to all their policies, across all carriers. By providing online client communication, you can enhance your relationship with policyholders and keep them coming to you directly –increasing client satisfaction and customer retention.

What online services are you providing your clients? What’s the client feedback? Tell us in the comment section below.



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Kindle Fire and its images are trademarked by Amazon Inc.

Kindle Fire and its images are trademarked by Amazon Inc.

As more insurance agency principals and other professionals see the light around cloud computing, it’s no surprise that Amazon will introduce a new game-changing tablet founded on cloud-based architecture.

The device is built on a split architecture, where browser systems are located on the Kindle Fire and the Amazon Web Services™ (AWS) cloud computing platform.

The advantage of the Kindle Fire goes to the user. A small, compact device (tablet or PC) combines with massive computing power, memory and Internet bandwidth in the cloud.

Consider how the Kindle Fire is noticeably devoid of tablet features, because the true power is in the back end. This new video explains it all:

http://amazonsilk.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/introducing-amazon-silk/

You’ll have a chance to play with Fire beginning November 15. Among the tablets currently available, what is your favorite?

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Mike Drakulich

Backstage with Reid French at TENCon

After starting work as Applied Systems CEO on Sept. 13, Reid French didn’t even have time to move into his new office in University Park, Ill., before he had to pack his bags for Orlando. Awaiting him there was his first TENCon (Technology, Education, Networking Conference) hosted by ASCnet (Applied Systems Client Network). During the conference, French met about 1,000 Applied Systems customers.

Just before he addressed ASCnet  members at the opening session, French took a few minutes backstage to talk about his new position, his background and what’s in store for the Applied Systems community. Take a look.




Leave a question, comment for Reid in the comment section below!

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James P. Kellner

Life after the CEO job

This is Day Two of my newest incarnation in the world of Applied Systems. In case you missed our announcement yesterday, you should know that I’m no longer the CEO. I’m still chairman of the board and an investor in the company. But I’ve handed off the CEO responsibilities to Reid French. You’ll be seeing blog posts from him soon, I’m sure.

It feels a little strange to be changing focus. But it’s very exciting, and I’m ready to take on new challenges at the board level and leave CEO duties in Reid’s capable hands.

So during this transition, I’ve thought a lot about what I’ll appreciate most in setting my sights on new opportunities for Applied Systems and the industry’s greatest insurance agents, brokers and carriers.

Jumping into the ranks of David Letterman imitators, allow me to share my humorous Top Ten Reasons for Looking Forward to No Longer Being CEO:

#10. One less acronym in my life.

#9.  No more direct reports and the administrative tasks that come with them.

#8.  Knowing that now my kids will appreciate having to address me only as “Mr. Chairman.”

#7.  More freedom to plan my own schedule.

#6.  Fewer conflicts as I plan my own schedule.

#5.  Having time to learn new things, like how to plan my own schedule.

#4.  Two words: Rail Maze (check it out on iPhone).

#3.  More discretionary time to spend with my family (sorry, Honey).

#2.  More time to plan for cultural pursuits — fishing and golf, for instance.

And the #1 reason for looking forward to no longer being CEO:

More time for my real passion: Doing vocals in the local Rolling Stones tribute band (seriously kidding).

In all seriousness, the biggest benefit I anticipate from my new role is more actively representing Applied Systems in initiatives that benefit the insurance industry.  A great source of pride is our company history of developing products, services and programs that reach beyond the Applied Systems community into the broad insurance environment.  In fact, I feel I’m newly incarnated not just at Applied Systems, but in the insurance world at large.  I’m truly excited about the prospects.

I’ll see you around — soon.

 

 

 

*Editor’s note: If you would like to share a thought, comment or experience you’ve had in working with Jim or Applied Systems, please post in the comment section below OR join more than 2,000 insurance professional on the Applied Systems Facebook page and leave your comment there!


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That morning started off like most. My job at the time was syndicated news editor, pushing content out to more than 1,200 Internet news properties across the United States.  My shift started at 5 a.m. and was always pretty quiet up until the next editor came in at 9 a.m.

With only about an hour left on my shift, I was making my rounds of various news sources, deciding on the remainder of the stories du jour. Cable news was on the monitors, muted so I could focus. I enjoyed the quiet.

But there would be no more quiet that day – or for many days to follow.

Early reports said a plane slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Speculation said the aircraft must have veered off-course. We’re all intensely aware of the events and painful truths that followed.

Like me, you’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing.  As a nation and as individuals, we will never forget.

I will always remember being alone in the newsroom that morning. Something big was happening and it was my job to make sure people stayed informed.  Something inside of me just clicked, and the “newsman” in me took charge.

It wasn’t until late that evening, collapsed on the couch with my wife and children near me and safe, that I was finally able to wrap my head around the day’s events. Modern technology had brought us up-close and personal to an unprecedented real-life nightmare.  Heroes were born and heroes were lost before our very eyes. The images, the sounds and the emotions finally came crashing through my psyche.

It was then that I broke down and wept.

What about your own personal experience that day? Your memories might relate to insurance. How could they not, considering 9/11′s colossal impact?  Or what’s changed for you since then? Please share your thoughts, memories or tributes in the comment section below.

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Mike Drakulich

How do you cope with complaining customers?

Perhaps most agents and brokers wouldn’t want to hire ELoyalty of Lake Forest, Ill., to examine how they deal with customer complaints. But it doesn’t cost anything to learn from research done by the company, which delivers behavior analytics and integrated contact solutions.

ELoyalty spent six years developing software that decodes the personality of a complaining customer who phones a call center. The company has analyzed hundreds of millions of phone conversations and narrowed that data down to 2 million speech patterns, which determine one of six possible personality types:

  • Emotion-driven. These folks try to develop a relationship with a CSR before launching into their problem.
  • Thought-driven. Want hard data and numbers. They waste no time  on idle chit-chat.
  • Reaction-driven. They love something or hate it. Nothing in-between.
  • Opinion-driven. Not afraid to give their take on any given subject. They stand firm on their opinions.
  • Reflection-driven. They live in their own worlds, keeping rather quiet as they ponder the universe.
  • Action-driven. Must see continual progress.

You know that being able to increase success rates in dealing with customer complaints means high customer retention. Also, positive customer service feedback generates the word-of-mouth chatter that attracts new customers.

Based on ELoyalty’s analysis, the company routes calls to customer service reps best equipped to handle specific problems and the callers’ personalities. The company’s analysis shows that when a caller is serviced by a rep with a similar personality type, a satisfactory resolution is reached more than 90 percent of the time. If the rep has a different personality type, success percentage dips below 50 percent and average call length doubles.

If you have a handle on the personalities of some of your established customers, have you tried entrusting their service calls to CSRs with similar personalities? Does it help resolve the issues quicker? If you haven’t tried this approach, are you willing to experiment? Document how long calls take and how often a resolution is reached, then compare to previous results.

Do you have any successful, unconventional approaches to resolving customer issues? Please share them in the comment section below.

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Having the right app can make all the difference.

During a recent concert, at the moment the lighters came out to punctuate the crowd-favorite power ballad, this non-smoker was glad I had plunked down $1 for the lighter app on my cell phone. With  a fingertip touch, I bonded with fellow concert-goers, and the Kings of Leon received their due homage.

Pop culture aside, what about the role of smartphone apps in business productivity? Are there many apps beyond e-mail that can make smartphone users legitimately more productive in their work? Are business apps available to capitalize on the flexible and mobile tendencies of cloud computing?

Looks like help is on the way. A 2010 Juniper Research study indicated the market for cloud-based mobile apps would grow 88 percent from 2009 to 2014. About 75 percent of that growing market should be enterprise users, study says. Salesforce.com already offers toolkits to help businesses build apps and Web sites through Force.com.

In a June 2011 survey, Evans Data Corporation reported that 74 percent of the 400 application developers who participated would extend enterprise applications to mobile clients in the upcoming year. Survey respondents also reported that cloud computing, or software as a service (SaaS), was among the four application types developers want most.

That’s good news for the insurance industry. Mobility and flexibility are issues producers and principals have been looking at to help grow their businesses. This stat came out of the Agents Council for Technology meeting last February: 60 percent of mobile phone use is spent on activity other than phone calls, texting and e-mail.

Mobile insurers  now ask for phone apps that are specific to the insurance industry. With appetites whet by the proliferation of mobile apps, insurance pros want industry-specific apps that allow them to carry their offices in their pockets. They also want Web sites that are well-suited for mobile access so their phone-dependent insureds can  easily find them.

What business productivity apps have you discovered? Any good ones that are insurance-specific?

Have you found any great apps to enhance business productivity? Share in the comments below.

 
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