Joe McKendrick

When paired, cloud computing and BPM permit insurers to identify, model and automate ailing mission-critical business processes.

Any organization connected to health care is going to need lots of expertise in data management and architecture sooner than later.

Insurers can create a hybrid cloud that keeps certain tasks within the enterprise on a private cloud, but leverages the public cloud for other tasks.

The reality is self service is one of the key value drivers in insurance systems these days, and can have a significant and rapid impact on the business.

A new IBM study finds CFOs have gained power as a result of the financial crisis, but lack tools needed to make good decisions.

The average large insurance company has 13 Twitter accounts, according to the study.

While the space insurance market is currently small, one expert says it's vital for sustainable commercial space activities.

New studies find consumers are still slowly recovering from the economic maelstrom that hit between 2007 and 2009.

The end-goal for many insurers is to bring self service to all aspects of customer and agent interfaces. And everybody wants it.

By opening channels for customer interaction, USAA shows that it's keeping customer care front and center.

A couple months back, we reported on a study that showed younger people (under 30) were more likely to be receptive to electronic communications from carriers about new products and offers, which opens new possibilities for the way insurers can and should engage with this digital generation.

Master Data Management, MDM, is one of those great ideas that everyone agrees on, like maintaining a good diet and getting exercise. But then everyone resists actually doing it. Small wonder my friend Dave Linthicum once said the biggest job in MDM was “Managing Dumb Meatheads.”

Open source offers rapid turnaround and quicker time to market, which appeals to many insurers.

Experts believe companies should gradually immerse themselves in social networking strategies—not dash in an all-at-once fashion.

Critic contends that all this cloud terminology is sort of silly, and suggest that it may even be setting the industry back.

The green concept is catching on with insurers as well, as Allstate opened a data center last year based upon best practices and technology aimed at saving energy and employing renewable resources.

Wouldn't you love to have even a piece of that magic when you're pitching ideas for a new underwriting system or agency portal? Learn how.

The focus of lean IT is to put forth “a set of principles that says you are going to slow down in order to speed up.”

MetLife's new teleconferencing setup may have cost about $1 million, but it expects a double-digit ROI in travel savings.

For an industry built on trust and relationships, technology is beneficial, but there are still times when face-to-face contact is still important.