Cyber Security, News and Events, Product Updates, Technology Trends
SIS Partners with Expedient Data Centers to Leverage Latest Cloud Technology for Partner XE
Columbus, OH – When it comes to technology, it pays to stay ahead – and to partner wisely. In aligning with leading technology provider Expedient Data Centers, Columbus’ Strategic Insurance Software (SIS) has done both.
“We understand the importance of working with the right partner to bring the best expertise to the business solution to maximize efficiency, capability, and value,” said SIS CEO, Alex Deak. “It’s what we do for our customers and what we look for in our business partners”.
Relying on Expedient’s industry expertise and network of secure SSAE16 compliant data centers, SIS recently completed a whole-scale cloud infrastructure upgrade to their Partner XE insurance agency management system platform. Partner XE, and all associated client data, is now housed on Expedient’s highest capacity cloud computing network with the latest Storage Area Network (SAN) technology.
Not only does the new SAN technology increase capacity and eliminate potential data access bottlenecks, it also enables data replication to any of the Expedient data centers for faster disaster recovery and more redundancy for maximum availability. Expedient currently has eight data centers in five states with additional locations coming.
“We are proud that our clients often view Expedient as an extension of their internal team and we take that responsibility seriously,” said Bryan Smith Regional Vice President for Expedient. “It is our responsibility to provide clients like SIS with a platform that is always available and is designed to scale as their business needs change.”
SIS benefits from a more dynamic platform that paves the way for expansion, growth, and leading edge development. Its agency clients benefit from improved system accessibility, reliability, and security.
“Our close relationship with Expedient and their industry leading cloud experts allows us to continue improving all aspects of the Partner XE product and customer experience with the assurance that the underlying foundation remains resilient,” said Mensur Sejfovic, SIS Director of Operations. “With the redundancies Expedient has in place, their around the clock service and the 24/7/365 nature of the cloud, no natural disaster should ever prevent an agency from access to its data.”
“Technology is continually changing and so is our business,” added Deak. “Working with Expedient assures our customers of the best combination of technology capability, scalability, reliability, and security.
About SIS: Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, SIS is the team behind Partner XE insurance software – an innovative web-based insurance agency management system that helps independent agencies streamline workflow and grow their business. Built on a foundation of strong technology and exceptional service, we’re moving forward with a constant eye on innovation that will make independent agents’ lives easier.
About Expedient Data Centers: Expedient operates a network of eight nationwide data centers in six markets (Pittsburgh (2), Cleveland (2), Boston, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Columbus). Their suite of managed services include virtualization, cloud computing, remote backups, management of equipment, storage area networks, disaster recovery and more. These proven managed services combined with reliable and redundant geographically-diverse SSAE-16 SOC 2 compliant data centers enable Expedient to deliver premier colocation, network and managed services to enterprise, commercial, education and government entities. Expedient is a wholly owned by Landmark Media Enterprises of Norfolk, VA. To learn more about Expedient please log on to www.expedient.com.
Community, News and Events, Product Updates
Message from the President – April 2013
2013 has been a busy year already here at SIS, and we are accelerating the pace of work to continue to serve you better.
In late January/ early February we released Partner XE Version 1.9, incorporating a number of suggestions from members of the National Association of Partner Agents (NASPA). We really appreciate that feedback as it helps us get the enhancements into Partner XE that have the most impact for our users. Thanks to your input and our dedicated development team, the new release has been very well received.
While V1.9 was big, development doesn’t stop there. We recently completed a cloud infrastructure upgrade to increase capacity and facilitate growth, and are already working diligently on Partner XE Version 2.0 — incorporating still more of your suggestions into a version that will truly be the beginning of the next generation for Partner XE. Scheduled for release this fall, Partner XE V2.0 is improving from the ground up to help your agency adapt to the changing landscape.
In order to stay on the leading edge, we have also been increasingly active in industry events, with ACORD, ACT, and AUGIE taking a leadership position and getting involved in workgroups.
We continue to make investments in training and education, with monthly webinars, updates to PartnerNet, tips and tricks email messages and our new Partner Learning Center, which will kick off with a New User Conference in Columbus next month. And look for announcements about regional meetings and next year’s User Conference coming soon.
On a philanthropic note, SIS team members, along with our counterparts at parent company, NuGrowth Solutions, recently took part in a light-hearted competition that resulted in almost 7,000 meals for the hungry in Central Ohio.
All in all, the year is off to a great start. We have great agency partners and great visions for what the future holds.
Thank you for your continued support. I encourage all of you to get involved with NASPA and make your voice heard throughout the Partner XE community.
News and Events, Technology Trends
Only one day left until Real Time Day 2013! Don’t miss out on the many events and activities put together to help independent agents increase productivity through the use of Real Time tools. For more information read the the following release put out by RealTime.org:
Real Time Day 2013 Packed with Content For More-Efficient Workflows
April 9 Event Gives Carriers, Agents, Vendors Chance to ‘Spring Forward’
PEARL RIVER, N.Y. (April 4, 2013)—More than 20 webinars, panel discussions, and video interviews featuring independent agents, carriers, vendors and technology user groups are scheduled for the second Real Time Day on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. All the sessions explore opportunities for faster and more profitable agent-carrier connectivity using Real Time tools.
Developed by the Real Time/Download Campaign, the Real Time Day event showcases ways for independent agents, general agents, property/casualty insurance carriers, and service providers to work together more effectively to save time and be more efficient with insurance workflows.
Real Time Day is a virtual event supported by social networking using the hashtag #RTEddie.
Each session will be delivered either via 1) a webinar (hosted by an insurance carrier, vendor, or user group) or 2) web broadcast originating from the video studio of ACORD in Pearl River, N.Y.
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Product Updates
The SIS team is excited to announce the release of Partner XE Version 1.9. The upgrade is packed with improvements – many of which came as a result of suggestions from our user group (NASPA) and other agency input.
“The SIS team believes the best ideas come from the people that use Partner XE every day,” said CEO Alex Deak. “Because we are committed to continuous improvement, we appreciate the feedback and input we get from NASPA. It helps us consolidate and prioritize member requests so we get the enhancements into Partner XE that have the most impact for our users.”
Highlights include:
- Enhanced download and carrier communication
- Enhanced Search capabilities
- Enhanced security
- Improved commission tracking
- Improved applications/forms usability
- Increased ability to easily communicate with the insured
- Increased the information at your fingertips in the summary screens.
- Enhanced Commercial Policy capabilities
- Added better functionality for copying and renewing policies
- Improved Outlook integration
Looking ahead, plans are already well under way for a mid to late summer release of Version 2.0 – a whole new generation of Partner XE.
Marketing
Go Where Your Prospects Gather
Sometimes you read something and get an “ a ha” moment. For me, reading insurance tech guru Steve Anderson’s recent post Create A Balanced Approach to Marketing was one of those times. It is not that what he said was really anything new. It is how he said it that really made an impression.
In marketing there is always a new trend, and of course those selling the services that parallel the trend always tell us their way is better. Social media experts tell you to ignore social media at your own peril. Internet marketers talk about SEO and paid search. Direct mail specialists talk about how there is no better way to get your message in front of a client. Those selling billboards on the side of the road tell you the same thing. So which is it? It depends on who your clients are and where they spend their time.
As Steve says, if you are marketing primarily to seniors, traditional methods like direct mail and print ads are more likely to hit their target than paid search. If you are marketing primarily to the younger set, the reverse might be true.
Steve’s tips:
- “Get to know their habits, get to know their likes and dislikes, get to know the most critical problems they want to solve and the driving goals they want to achieve. Once you do that, it’s reasonably easy to figure out where they “gather” and use the appropriate marketing methods to reach out to them.
- Remember to “check” what any expert tells you (including me) against your common sense …if your gut is telling you something is off, 99% of the time, you’re going to be right.”
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