The Chronicle: Issue 2011-06, February 8, 2011
eBusiness and Technology
IBM Launches $42 Million Cloud Computing Centre in Canada.
TORONTO, ON and MONTREAL, QC, January 31, 2011 - IBM today unveiled one of the most advanced computing facilities in Canada, the IBM Compute Cloud Centre, the company?s first cloud delivery centre in Canada in order to address the growing demand from enterprises to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and access new technologies such as analytics and mobile computing.
IDC Forecasting Cloud Systems Management Software will Gain Momentum with Revenues Reaching $2.5 Billion in 2015.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., January 31, 2011 -- The worldwide cloud systems management software market will experience strong growth over the next several years, reaching $2.5 billion by 2015. According to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), many IT customers can expect to manage a hybrid mix of public cloud, private cloud, and non-cloud IT resources for some time.
IBM Brings Social Business to the Cloud, Mobile Devices.
ARMONK, N.Y., - 31 Jan 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new initiative to help organizations become social businesses with the broadest support for smart phones and cloud delivery models.With today's news, IBM is introducing new software, services and programs that will help organizations integrate social networking concepts into business processes to accelerate collaboration, deepen customer relationships, generate new ideas faster, and enable a more effective workforce.
Novarica: New ACE Ranking Reports on 31 Insurer Software and IT Services Providers Publised - Based Directly on Ratings by Insurer Executives.
February 2, 2010 (New York): Novarica, a research and advisory firm focused on markets, operations, and technology for insurers and financial institutions, today announced the publication of 31 new Novarica ACE Ranking™ reports, which document the Average Customer Experience of insurers with their technology solution vendors.
Gartner Highlights 10 Critical Myths and Realities of Master Data Management.
Egham, UK, January 24, 2011 - The adoption of master data management (MDM) promises many benefits ranging from business agility and improved business performance to increased revenue and lower IT and business costs. However, according to Gartner, Inc., achieving these benefits often entails overcoming formidable technical, organizational and political hurdles.
Compuware Gomez Publishes New White Paper, "5 Common Mobile Web Mistakes....and How to Fix Them".
DETROIT January 25, 2011 - Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ:CPWR), the technology performance company, has published a new white paper that addresses the top five mobile web experience mistakes organizations may face and provides a "One Web" model for ensuring mobile website and application performance.
Claims
IBC: Ontario auto insurers pool injury data.
TORONTO, Feb. 3 2011 - Some 4,700 clinics and lone practitioners have been ready and waiting to treat injuries caused by vehicle collisions in Ontario, at an ever-increasing cost. Yet no one has had a way to sum up the millions of pieces of paper they would send to 127 different insurers. No one could even say how more than 60,000 persons a year were injured, how they were treated or how soon they recovered.
Policy and Product Management
SMA Survey Invitation: Location Based Data: Don't Risk Being Left Behind.
February 2011 - Insurance is an industry built around the understanding of risks. The ability to analyze the history of loss incidents and estimate the probability of future losses is the key to identifying what prospects to approach, what risks to underwrite, how to rate and price policies, and how to organize and prepare for claims service.
Marketing and the Market Place
eMarketer: New York Life and Online Marketing Tactics.
FEBRUARY 4, 2011 - Ken Hittel has spearheaded the development and maintenance of the employee intranet and the public-facing NewYorkLife.com site. He also leads New York Life's social media and mobility programs. Hittel spoke to eMarketer's Lauren McKay about how the company uses online marketing tactics to extend its role as a trusted provider of premium insurance products.
eMarketer: Where Are Social Media Marketers Seeing the Most Success?
FEBRUARY 1, 2011 - More companies in the Inc. 500 are using social media as part of their business and marketing strategies, and they are seeing success and viewing social media overall as more valuable. These firms, which include the fastest-growing private companies, have been using a mix of tactics, with Facebook as the most popular.
Business of Insurance
Foresters to expand in the UK: Communication Workers Friendly Society to Merge.
Toronto, ON, February 3, 2011 - Foresters™, a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families, announced that the Communication Workers Friendly Society (CWFS) intends to merge into Forester Life later this year, as part of a process known as a transfer of engagements. The value of the transaction is not being disclosed at this time.
RIMS Benchmark Survey™: Commercial Insurance Pricing Little Changed in Q4, but Soft Market is Far From Over.
NEW YORK (January 24, 2011) - Average renewal premiums for commercial lines property & casualty insurance were largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey™, administered by Advisen Ltd. Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) was the only line tracked by the survey experiencing a material decrease, falling almost 5 percent compared to the prior year. Advisen analysts caution, however, that a turn in the market is not imminent.
Reference and Statistics
MIB Life Index Reports U.S. 2010 Life Application Activity down -1.2%.
Braintree, MA. - (January 26, 2011) U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined by -1.4% in December year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. At year-end, the U.S. Life Index was off a modest -1.2% year-over-year, all ages combined - significantly less than the three percent plus annual declines the industry experienced from 2006-2008, and only one percent off December 2009's YTD close (-0.2%).
Consumer Information
ICBC's top five tips for buying a safer vehicle.
January 18, 2011 - What better way to kick-off a new year than with a new vehicle purchase? If you've found the model that has the right look, price and size for you, have you also considered how it will protect you and your passengers? Any vehicle purchase is a significant investment but for a small price differential, you could be getting a whole lot more protection.
Insurance Information Institute: Ten Questions to Help You Assess Changes to Your Insurance Needs In the New Year.
NEW YORK, January 20, 2011 - Major purchases and lifestyle changes such as marriage, divorce or retirement can have a profound effect on your insurance needs, so an annual coverage review is always a good idea, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
from Doug:
The conference is coming together well. But I feel a bit like that old picture of the duck, which looks to be swimming placidly on the surface of the water, but whose webbed feet are paddling frantically beneath. Some days it is a challenge to maintain the somewhat calm demeanour.
For a break on Sunday we attended the accession day (59th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne on Feb 6, 1952) luncheon and evensong service. With at least two weddings of royalty this year and the Queen's diamond jubilee early next, there was significant buzz this year.