Products: QoB Lab andQoB Assistant
Company: Swingtide
Web site: www.swingtide.com

Helping insurers make diverse XML standards work together is the goal of two new products offered by software developer Swingtide, Inc. QoB Lab and QoB Assistant are the first two in an integrated suite that will automate the process of managing and analyzing XML-based services.

Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance was part of the beta testing for Swingtide. Programmer/analyst Tony Cox says the insurer purchased an XML-based policy administration system last fall, and Swingtide approached the carrier about participating in the testing. Swingtide offers a way to lay the foundation as we move forward, says Cox. He describes the Swingtide products as an eye-opener. Indiana Farmers Mutual has not been a technology leader in the insurance industry, notes Cox, but using XML will help the company break through. Weve got to be able to accept [an agents] XML, and hes got to be able to accept ours, and we have to be able to talk, says Cox. If we dont implement the same kind of standards, and if we dont start planning for that in the beginning, it can get kind of ugly down the road.