IBM has introduced a new grid-computing product to help lifeinsurance companies cut the time needed to run complex insurancemodel scenarios. Called IBM Grid and Grow for Actuarial Analysis,the offering combines IBM and IBM business partner and ISVtechnologies to help insurers gain competitive advantage, improvefinancial risk and capital management, and get to market fasterwith new products. At the heart of the system is IBM's BladeCenterto power the grid. Using the IBM solution, actuaries receiveresults much quicker, making it possible for them to run morecalculations and tune their models to improve accuracy. The abilityto model more accurate, complex financial scenarios is a key togaining competitive edge. It also helps meet regulatory complianceand reporting demands. "With grid computing, infrastructures arefaster and more resilient, automatically circumventing hardwarefailures or capacity issues to ensure complex queries complete inan accelerated fashion," says Ken King, vice president, GridComputing, IBM. "For insurance companies, as with almost anybusiness, the ability to understand the balance between risk andreward in a timely manner is crucial to success. Grid computing cando weeks of work in mere hours, and the time saved can make adifference in the marketplace." The Actuarial Analysis solution isa packaged set of hardware, software, and services leveraging gridISV products such as DFA Capital Management's ADVISE; GGY's AXIS;Milliman's MGoALFA; and SunGard's iWORKS Prophet as well asmiddleware from IBM business partners DataSynapse and PlatformComputing. IBM's Grid and Grow program was launched in August 2005to allow businesses to incorporate grid computing into theirinfrastructure. IBM has specialized grid offerings that providehardware, software, and middleware packages for a variety ofindustries including financial services and medical archiving.