By Stan Sauerwein
Coming off an incredible year of growth, PowerSoft is about to launch several new elements to their suite of software solutions. Chris Lang, president and chief executive, is determined to prove, one more time, why the Vancouver Island-based firm is justifiably ranked among the industry's leading technology innovators.
Financial results from fiscal 2003 prove PowerSoft has gained considerable market support since it first incorporated in 1998 and began to sell its home evaluation and quoting solutions for the industry. Revenue doubled last year and PowerSoft now has 1,500 clients using the 'EvalWorks' engine. EvalWorks is used in many of the firm's products, such as PowerHouse (a home evaluation product for the Brokers), PowerQuote (home, auto, motorcycle rating and home evaluation software) and PowerWorks (a home evaluation product for Insurance companies). The 'EvalWorks' strategy was to ensure the underlying technology was included in all PowerSoft products, Lang says, so clients would be equipped to handle new systems requests that may come from insurers. "If a company sends a bulletin saying they are now accepting PowerHouse but a broker client only has PowerQuote, this will be fine since the EvalWorks engine is utilized in both programs.
"We also wanted to make sure the insurance companies realized uploads that come from either PowerHouse or PowerQuote use this same technology. The data and the numbers are the same."
In 2003, PowerSoft launched it's products into the Alberta marketplace, and by the end of last year, PowerQuote and PowerHouse were available in all the Maritime provinces, BC, the Territories and Ontario. "The only provinces where we don't have a quoting product available are Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The planned launch in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will take place in the spring of 2005," Chris is proud to say.
The PowerHouse re-release last January was done to include the necessary construction cost updates for 2004. The new version also sported a simplified look and improved searching and filing functions, while eliminating user-defined dwelling class designations. With new unique methodology, EvalWorks now calculates home quality by factoring specific building elements as well as the postal code. The ITV Dwelling Classification system now used automatically places a quality factor on the dwelling. The values are based on component information some of which are: square footage, roofing and siding types, wall heights and Canadian geographical location data generated by the postal code. In combination, PowerSoft says the new version is more accurate than any other replacement cost software.
Along with the launch, PowerSoft upgraded its support in a major way. The PowerHouse help desk expanded its operating hours to 60 a week. Clients can now access support 12 hours a day from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (P.S.T.) Monday to Friday. Both English and French support is online at the firm's website. "We also decided to provide a Toll Free telephone number and have doubled our support staff," Lang says.
In the last two years the firm has in fact doubled its staff overall. "We try to hire local people," he says, "and train them in the PowerSoft way of doing things." That means being given grounding in every aspect of the firm's business. "Being a small company, we have multi-talented people who can step up to the plate when they are needed. We always want to put the right person in the right job," he adds, "and sometimes new talents are discovered along the way." David Evans, the firm's director of business development, is a good example. Originally hired in a communications capacity within the sales and marketing department, he is now devoted to helping create new solutions for customers.
The EvalWorks engine was being updated three or four times a year, but Lang says as of June, fiber-optic connectivity at PowerSoft has boosted bandwidth 10-fold. "Now we are releasing the updates as required. We are trying to make it as simple as possible for our clients. For many brokers this is a first foray into a desktop application. These may be smaller-sized agencies or they may not have been using technology to its fullest potential. In fact, this could be one of the first products they've had to install and use in their office on a daily basis.
"So with that in mind, we are trying to keep it as straight forward as possible. We are supporting the product in our portal so that once these brokers are set up with a support subscription we can notify them of updates with a quick e-mail.
"We will push the information out to them. A lot of these people have dial-up networks or limited Internet usage, so they don't want to be scouring our website or our support site on a daily or weekly basis."
Lang says PowerSoft is fairly unique in the industry for that kind of proactive, ease-of-use approach. On the support website, if a broker posts a question identifying a problem, the help desk responds with an e-mail and a link to the answer is "pushed" back to the broker so they don't have to repeatedly check the website to look for the answer. Other clients with the same question can find a solution quickly at the 'User Forum' on the website. "It allows us to stay in touch with our clients through very subtle work on our end, and definitely no work on their end. We're able to push this info out to our customers very quickly and very easily, and for them it is as simple as checking their e-mail."
Lang supplies a good example of how the "push" process can be beneficial.
"If an insurance company is late on giving a rate update, we post a note saying the update that was to be effective on a certain date was late. We might be able to say we got the information today and we'll be able to post the update in 48 hours. When we do the update, an e-mail will tell them the information has been posted. It's great two-way communication."
PowerSoft, Lang says, bases its innovations on customer feedback, but also on some visionary tactics. "Everyone in this office is always on the lookout for new ideas and improvements to workflows. We're constantly searching for ways we can bring these innovations to the marketplace so that brokers and insurance companies can benefit from them."
Clients seem to agree. John Dewit, a broker at Del Fisher Insurance Inc. in Calgary, speaks highly of the PowerSoft solution.
"It's been easy for our staff to understand and accurate for us. The bottom line is still the bottom line. We found it was significantly cheaper than the competition and we didn't think we were losing anything with the capabilities. The integration with Power Broker is stellar and the ease of the integration was a key selling feature for us.
"They are recognizable. I don't see what is happening down east but I have seen what's happening in the Alberta market and think they've been pretty responsive. All indications are they're going to be on the ground and running when the Premium Grid is forced upon us. They'll be ready when we are and that's all you can ask."
Dave Binder, with Atkinson & Terry Insurance Brokers in Port Coquitlam, agrees about the integration that PowerSoft has managed with the Power Broker management system.
"They've done a terrific job with that and it is very user friendly," he says.
Prior to Atkinson & Terry placing an order for PowerQuote in its 20 British Columbia offices, the broker did a careful assessment of EvalWorks. Before the January re-launch of PowerHouse, he says he knew of concerns from some markets about methodology being used in the evaluations, but PowerSoft made quick changes and now has broad carrier confidence. "They showed swift responsiveness and were very dedicated about it. We now find they are in the high 90 per cent of accuracy. We've compared the rating system to what contractors have told us the costs would be and it is very close."
Lang says a new product that is planned for introduction is a perfect example. PowerSoft had previously introduced Data Collection Worksheets for brokers who wanted to go to the field for evaluations, etc. "That was a big issue for a lot of brokers who still do the house call. The new product planned for release is a mobile edition of PowerHouse, for use on either a laptop or a tablet pc. Brokers will be able to take a laptop or tablet pc to the field, then bring it back to the office and link back to the main database," he predicts. He says the tablet pc version will be able to handle handwriting recognition. PowerQuote will follow with the same field capability.
"We're really excited about the tablet pc. I think that's the next big platform. We looked at the pocket pc and the Palm, but from a data input perspective I think the tablet pc and the laptop are still going to be king. The palms and pocket pc are great for data retrieval but I don't think they're great for data entry. This is going to be an industry first." Lang says the introduction will illustrate his contention that PowerSoft is more of a technology company that any of its competitors. "I don't mean to knock the competition, but we strive to bring technology to the marketplace and I don't think our competitors are doing that. They are good at what they do, but they aren't interested in bringing new solutions."
He says PowerSoft plans on other introductions too. "Acrobat PDF technology will go right into the program so brokers can take a home evaluation report, convert it to a pdf file and e-mail it. That will go into all our products and no one else offers anything like that. You can use an outside program but that is cumbersome and brokers have to take the extra step to launch it. This will be built right in. Quick, easy and efficient.
"We decided if we were going to do something, it was going to have to be a one click solution. We're also going to bring mapping into home evaluation through Microsoft MapPoint." That may not seem to be a benefit until you look past using MapPoint to find a house location on a map. Lang's team has done just that. "Brokers will be able to bring up a map of the 15 or 20 evaluations in a five mile radius of the one they just did for their client to make sure it's close." Brokers will thus be able to show their clients comparatives, which is a big marketing plus.
A photo gallery utility will be another competitive advantage for PowerSoft, says Lang. "Brokers will be able to bring digital pictures in and attach them to the home evaluation. Next year when the file is referenced again, the digital image will be there."
He admits some of the PowerSoft innovations are for brokers who want to embrace all the technology included in their systems. For brokers who only want the basics, PowerSoft has kept their programs simple and easy to use.
"I know some of our clients are still on older technology, but it doesn't mean that as a company we can't explore new ideas and present them. They may not choose something like a tablet pc. In fact, I am positive most of our customers will not be interested in it immediately, just because of the price point. But when they are and the technology becomes mainstream, we will already be there ready to meet their needs."
"Our clients know that when they are investing in us they are investing in a forward-thinking company. It's too expensive a proposition for a client to keep current with changing technology. It doesn't make business sense to be on the latest and greatest at all times, but what makes sense is at least to know when you do upgrade, your software and technology vendors are with you. There is nothing worse than buying a new computer and then hearing from a vendor that his product doesn't run on it. With us, the options are always there."
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