By Stan Sauerwein
When Pamela Wallin, Canada's Consul General in New York City delivers a speech these days, she holds up a palm-sized device with a keyboard and tiny screen and then says "Canadian technology".
She's proud to tell egocentric New Yorkers that Canucks are the recognized world leaders in a wireless communications revolution.
In 1984, Research in Motion Limited (RIM) began selling an innovative wireless solution to the business world from Waterloo, Ontario. RIM now has over a million users of its products and services, topped by their BlackBerry® wireless platform. In November, the international communications giant, Siemens, will start selling the first mobile phone to feature BlackBerry Built-InTM technology. Can having wireless utility on every mobile phone be far away?
BlackBerry is the most advanced wireless technology on the planet. It's become an invisible umbilical cord constantly anchoring businesspeople to their offices, no matter where they travel. RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including e-mail, phone, messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications, right in the palm of your hand. The BlackBerry handhelds are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, so e-mail and data is automatically 'pushed' your way. No need to search for a modem so you can jack in to the Internet anymore. Whether you're in a taxi, on the golf course or waiting in an airport lounge for your next flight, you can read and answer e-mail or connect to the Web.
The BlackBerry Wireless Handheld also supports voice services like call waiting, call answer, conference calling and call forwarding. It even comes with a headset for hands-free conversation, allowing users to read, type or retrieve information while they talk. BlackBerry is also a personal organizer providing easy access to a calendar, address book, memo pad and task list. When you return to the office, all you need to do is place the handheld in its cradle, click the Intellisync icon in your BlackBerry Desktop Manager and your information is automatically synchronized and updated between your handheld and PC.
Siemens says the SK65 mobile phone they just announced is a communications breakthrough because it has the e-mail, calendar and browser functions built right in to something that actually looks more like a cell phone than a palm pilot. Siemens and RIM are providing their customers and partners with a world-class messaging solution and a powerful application environment. The Siemens SK65 is able to connect to BlackBerry services via both BlackBerry Enterprise ServerTM and BlackBerry Web ClientTM. The Web Client gives smaller businesses an Internet-based e-mail interface that lets them access multiple existing corporate and/or personal e-mail accounts from a single device.
Siemens isn't the only company that is employing BlackBerry. eAgency Systems, a firm that provides sales force automation and customer relationship management (CRM) software to the insurance industry in the U.S., has also begun to deliver their suite of apps to BlackBerry handhelds. By extending their web-based information exchange platform for CRM to mobile users, eAgency lets brokers manage client sales activities or check underwriting in the field.
For brokers or adjusters who have years of Palm Pilot usage under their belts, there may be some attractive advantages for switching to something like the BlackBerry device. For example, all text is input using a mini thumb-operated QWERTY keyboard. Wireless e-mail is as easy as paging, and typing long messages with a built-keyboard is easier and quicker than writing Graffiti characters with the Palm stylus.
It's all interesting technology, but will wireless ever get widespread use in the insurance industry? Issues of privacy and security obviously have to be considered. Wireless applications will ultimately be more appealing as the overlap between portal packages and traditional wireless application service increases. As with any other technology innovation, however, the companies will make a hard-dollar evaluation of any wireless investment, putting it through a rigorous ROI process. The projected costs would have to be weighed against benefits, including increased revenue and income, expense reduction, cost avoidance, increased market share and additional revenue opportunities.
Royal & SunAlliance USA seems to think it is worthwhile. They combined a messaging solution from Compaq with RIM and Lotus software from IBM.
The company wanted to add a push capability to their messaging infrastructure. Previously, when new claims came in, adjusters had to log onto their PCs and pull data down when they had time. Adjusters were often unaware of claims that came in while they were out in the field. Now they receive messages via Compaq iPAQ BlackBerry handhelds. Royal & SunAlliance USA claims the real-time access to information gives them a competitive advantage. A check of Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada, however, shows it is not using the technology in western Canada.
From a broker perspective, customer-facing Web initiatives in insurance haven't had huge impact on real transactions so far either. Just making the customer-facing interaction wireless isn't likely to produce more revenue and before brokers start visiting clients with wireless devices tucked under their arms, they'll have to be convinced the devices really are "on" all the time. The embarrassment of a spotty connection is a real concern, as is consistent performance.
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