It's an Interconnected World...

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:28:00 GMT

I have a BlackBerry that is always attached to my hip, in and out of the office. Why? Because even while I’m grabbing yet another cup of coffee (that I don’t really need), my BlackBerry gives me immediate access to e-mail and appointments. Have you ever been in the middle of a spontaneous conversation and felt that you really should go back to your desk to check your calendar to ensure that you’re not missing a meeting or appointment? Having a BlackBerry in hand spares you this dilemma, (aside from the fact that you may put someone off by checking your calendar while you are in the middle of a conversation!) but it is more than just an inter-office convenience tool.

I classify my BlackBerry as a personal productivity tool, and it is certainly proving to be well worth the investment. No matter where I am, including those semi-annual trips to the dentist, I can always quickly and easily check e-mail and respond if need be. While it can be argued that being too connected is not a good thing, it is the convenience and efficiency that has won me over. There are times when even a laptop is too much to be carrying around, but a BlackBerry is no trouble at all – and it is quick and easy to check your messages.

In reality, the connectivity alone does not justify the monthly rate that I pay for my BlackBerry. It is the compelling benefit derived from the connectivity is what makes the investment worthwhile to me; Research In Motion (the makers of the BlackBerry) have created a device that is very usable – I must confess that I wondered how I would like typing messages on such a small keyboard, but once you get the hang of it, it isn’t that bad. Research In Motion has created a device with a specific focus that is very usable.

This is the reason that we’re keen on partnering with you as we evolve our products to meet the needs of an increasingly interconnected world. In the insurance space, there is a great deal of processing being performed in various dimensions, including policy, billing, claims, and reporting. The major question of the day is: What needs to be exposed in an interconnected world, and what can remain the same?

This is where dialog and feedback with you – our customers – is vitally important. As we move forward with exposing key processing on the Web, we will be considering more than mere connection points alone. We’re making the investment to provide you with the benefits of open, readily-available connectivity. In order to do this, we need to be connected with you.

We’d like to partner with you to solve these problems for our mutual benefit: It will help you provide benefit to your customers, and it will help us shape our software to meet your new demands and needs. We also understand that today’s world involves you with much more than just Phoenix, and we’ve have the knowledge and skills to help you meet those challenges.

While we have not always been great at tooting our own horn, here’s a quick resume: We’ve designed and built PremiumBill; we’ve designed and built Automated Out-Of-Sequence processing leveraging Phoenix Web Services; we’ve designed and built custom reporting tools; we’ve designed and built real-time, web-based access to Phoenix (ART) rating; we’ve designed and built interfaces to third-party services like ISO…

In short, we have a talented, knowledgeable group of business and development expertise on staff capable of helping you move forward in all of your initiatives. We have over a decade and a half of experience in designing, building, maintaining, and modernizing enterprise-level software, keeping abreast of the latest tools and trends, and we would be delighted to partner with you to apply what we have learned.

I encourage you to participate in the forums that we have on this web site, and to check out the blogs and articles that we are posting on a regular basis. And by all means, talk to us about your connectivity needs and challenges. We have people who are dedicated to sales, support, and product development at the following link:

http://amscarriercommunity.com/phoenix/ContactUs/tabid/137/Default.aspx

Dave Moran's Software Development Blog

It's an Interconnected World...