Crosman
5/28/2008Will a recent series of vendor acquisitions, including moves by HP and Oracle, have the power to drive further vendor consolidation?
Profile of Anthony O'Donnell
Blog Posts: 2240Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information technology in the property/casualty, life and health insurance industries, following the trends and issues faced by senior technology executives. In addition to reporting and editorial duties for I&T, O'Donnell also serves as a moderator and speaker at industry events and broadcasts. He began his editorial career in the healthcare industry where he reported and edited for medical publications with a variety of audiences, from the general public to physicians and researchers. He has also worked in the healthcare field as a media relations professional and Spanish/English interpreter/translator, and has taught English composition and conversation classes to native speakers of Spanish, both in the United States and in Latin America. O'Donnell lives in the Portland, Oregon area with his wife and two sons.
Articles by Anthony O'Donnell
posted in May 2008
posted in May 2008
Will a recent series of vendor acquisitions, including moves by HP and Oracle, have the power to drive further vendor consolidation?
Is Customer Service Strategic?
5/27/2008While C-level execs and front line customer service people agree about the importance of service to the brand, their opinions diverge notably as one moves into the details that contrast objectives and practices.
Insurers Seek Energy Efficiency Through Virtualization
5/23/2008In the face of reduced energy availability, cost challenges and consumer pressure to be good corporate citizens, insurers are greening their data centers through server virtualization.
New York Life Adds Interactive Features to Its Consumer-Facing Web Site
5/23/2008Building on its industry-recognized consumer Web capabilities, New York Life has added interactive and assistive functionality to its consumer-facing Web site.
AIG Wins With Reds in Moscow
5/22/2008It may be that annoying ads are effective as pleasing ones. However, I can't help thinking there's some advantage in the reassuring presence of Dennis Haysbert in the Allstate ads and the Cockney charm of GEICO's gecko. Similarly, one has to believe that AIG benefits enormously not just from the frequency of exposure that comes with a brand such as Man U, but also, as in the case of Accenture's Tiger Woods ads, the association with a winner.
Independence Blue Cross Renews DST BPO Relationship
5/22/2008Agreement continues data capture and claims processing services, and renews Independent Blue Cross' license for the vendors PowerMHS claims admin system.
Guidewire Signs Beazley Group
5/20/2008British P&C insurer will use Guidwire's ClaimCenter to process claims for all of the carrier's lines of business.
ICW Group Chooses SAP
5/20/2008San Diego-based P&C insurer believes that SAP's integrated platform will result in higher quality service for its customers.
Accenture Contracts Announced
5/20/2008New clients include CNA, Safeco and Southern Farm Bureau Life.
ACORD/LOMA Musings
5/20/2008From the perspective of a journalist meeting vendors and analysts, the show can't fail to be a success, and so it was for me and my colleagues at I&T. However, I also had an outstanding experience in terms of the number and rank of insurance executives I happened to see. Several were old friends but some were new people I was very happy to have the chance to meet.
New John Hancock CIO Allan Hackney to Drive Productivity, Build Staff
5/18/2008Hackney's strategic mandate includes development and execution of strategies that increase productivity and efficiency, improve operating risk management, and build greater technical bench strength across the John Hancock enterprise. He will also be expected to increase the value derived from the company's investment in staff, technology and service providers.
How the NYSE Achieves Low Latency
5/14/2008Yesterday HP and EDS confirmed that they had signed a definitive agreement under which HP will acquire EDS for approximately $13.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the calendar year.
Big Vendors Affirm Insurance Opportunity
5/13/2008As if to validate last week's Editor's Note, major horizontal vendors have demonstrated its introductory hypothesis, perhaps best summarized by the words of the notorious Willy Sutton. When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton famously replied, "That's where the money is."
CEOs to Watch: Thomas J. Wilson, Allstate
5/13/2008Allstate CEO Thomas J. Wilson seeks to reinforce differentiation through improved service to distributors and novel product and service offerings to consumers.
CEOs to Watch: Edmund F. Kelly
5/13/2008Liberty Mutual CEO Edmund F. Kelly has driven rapid growth for its independent agent-driven business through the acquisition of Ohio Casualty and Safeco.
CEOs to Watch: BlueCross BlueShield’s Vicky Gregg, Liberty Mutual’s Edmund Kelly, and Allstate’s Thomas Wilson
5/13/2008From driving product innovation and acquisition activity to the greening of the business, these CEOs are likely to be in the spotlight in the coming year.
Oracle Will Acquire AdminServer
5/13/2008Deal forecast to close within the first quarter of 2008.
Mountain West Selects MSB’s IntegriClaim
5/13/2008Laramie, Wyoming based Farm Bureau Mutual will provide the estimating technology to all of its field adjusters.
Versata Acquires Clear Technology
5/13/2008Clear Technology will operate as a standalone entity within Versata's financial services business unit.
HP In Talks to Acquire EDS
5/12/2008Companies are said to be in "advanced discussions" but decline to comment further until discussions have been concluded.
The Test of Relevance: Ed Zore, Northwestern Mutual
5/6/2008
Anthony O'Donnell, Senior Editor of Insurance & Technology, speaks with Edward J. Zore, one of I&T's 2008 Tech-Savvy CEOs, about the need to balance opportunism and prudence in technology investment in pursuit of business success.
The Virtues of Virtual: Ron Boyd, Midwest Family Mutual
5/6/2008
Anthony O'Donnell, Senior Editor of Insurance & Technology, speaks with Ron Boyd, one of I&T's 2008 Tech-Savvy CEOs, about his role in driving paperlessness and remote work while expanding Midwest Family Mutual's geographic business footprint.
Why Tech Savvy Matters to CEOs - And To Those Who Judge Them
5/5/2008Every once in a while, when acquaintances jocularly question the economics of a trade publication dedicated to the subject of insurance IT, I ask them to guess how much the largest insurance carriers spend annually on IT. My interlocutors typically answer, "I dunno; maybe $10 million?" I laugh in a way reminiscent of the characters responding to Dr. Evil's pathetic ransom demand in the first Austin Powers film and say, "Try again." They give their second answer, sure that this time they vastly
Boyd Demonstrates the Virtue of Virtual at Midwest Family Mutual
5/5/2008Midwest Family Mutual's Ron Boyd has leveraged a fruitful partnership with CGI to show that being green can be extremely good business.
Ed Zore Reconciles Prudence and Opportunism in Northwestern Mutual's Technology Investment
5/5/2008Ed Zore reconciles prudence and opportunism in Northwestern Mutual's exploitation of technology to drive first-class business results.
CEOs Get Smart
5/5/2008Insurance carrier CEOs have come a long way in their appreciation of the importance of IT to the success of the business. But their need to understand technology's role will only intensify in the near future.
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