If you had a crystal ball and could see what the future of thebusiness world might be, you'd be set. Unfortunately, mere mortalscan only hypothesize and plan for what may come. Even with all weknow and all the technology at our disposal, we can't predict withcertainty what may impact our companies, our industry, or the worldaround us. But we can prepare ourselves for the future and build inthe ability to seize the day and the market. What it takes tocompete and survive is agility.

All sectors of public and private industry need this ability. AsLinton Wells II, the U.S. Defense Department's former chiefinformation officer, stated: “Agility…is a theme that runs throughalmost everything we're talking about these days. We can't knowwhat the future's going to look like. We have to be agile enough tobe able to respond to that uncertainty.”

If you don't think things are changing all that fast and youhave the luxury of time, think of this: One of the mostindispensible (and addictive) devices of our time is theBlackBerry. It's part of daily business life and our normalvocabulary. When did it come on the scene? Amazingly, the firstmodel came out in 1999, not even a decade ago. That doesn't takeinto account the numerous upgrades and versions since then. Thesame holds true for TIVO (1999) and iPod (2001), among othertechnologies. It's clear times are changing fast. Not sure? Google(1998) it!

So, what is agility? It's the ability to respond to change, toembrace emerging technology, to react to evolving needs. Agilityimproves speed to market, and it keeps us on the leading edge ofdeveloping products and trends. Agility is our next great challengeand our next great opportunity.

Agility is not inherent in business; you have to plan for it andthink about it. Building in this flexibility is strategic andessential for long-term vision and for quick responses to newopportunities. Carpe diem!

In the insurance industry we deal with information, and howquickly and efficiently we share that information is crucial. Thedelivery time for information is nearly instantaneous today. Butthat information is only valuable if you can easily, accurately,and rapidly share it with other systems and with business partnersand customers. That's where standards serve as an essential part ofyour planned agility.

When deployed across an organization, standards lend industryDNA to local processes and ensure compatibility with other internalsystems as well as with members across the value chain.

Think about the new and emerging markets within the insuranceindustry. In the past few years, China and India have become majorplayers. But how quickly can you tap into these and other marketsas they arise? Can you communicate with the systems, exchange data,or become a business partner? Planning and standards can lead tobusiness agility and increased opportunity.

ACORD is working to improve its own agility and be even moreresponsive to changes in the industry and membership. Over the pastfew years, we've seen the industry confront new challenges, andwe've been working with members around the globe to address theseevolving and expanding data requirements.

That's why we need to be agile, too. ACORD's standards not onlyneed to meet the requirements of our different constituencies butdo so while remaining consistent and ensuring data flows smoothly,quickly, and accurately.

To make that possible, work is well under way on the StandardsFramework, which will bring a new era of flexibility and increasedcapabilities to ACORD standards.

ACORD and its membership have grown and changed over the years.We have an expanding, diverse international membership, with newand unique needs and a desire for standards to improve datacommunications. The Framework will help us be more agile andfulfill members' needs more efficiently.

We also see the coming together of our now separate standards,finding the commonalities and improving collaboration,coordination, and consistency so that we can all communicate moreefficiently. The Framework is helping to make this happen.

By making ourselves more responsive, we'll keep standards at theforefront of your long-term vision and help you seize opportunitiesas they arise.

What's the next big, new market for insurance? When and wherewill the next major natural disaster hit? What will the next big,revolutionary technology be? How can we strengthen existingrelationships and tap into new business partners?

The crystal ball is a bit cloudy on these questions. But onething is clear–agility is important. And ACORD standards are thereto help improve your agility.

Now is the time to plan; to take the long-term, wide-focus view;to become agile; and to implement standards.