What do security threats, service expectations, doubts about thequality of software products being offered, and regulatory concernshave in common? They are all challenges faced by insurance ITleaders who took part in Tech Decisions' annual IT TownHall.

This year's respondents–Raymond Voelker, CIO of ProgressiveInsurance; Tom Bauer, CIO of Allianz Life; Craig Forrester, CIO ofCincinnati Insurance; Stuart Rosenberg, CTO of Westfield Insurance;Tim Schaefer, CIO of Northwestern Mutual; Eileen Slevin, seniorvice president and CIO of New York Life; and Craig Lowenthal, CIOof New York Marine and General Insurance Co.–considered a dozenquestions.

They tackled current concerns ranging from the difficulties ofthe past year and the outlook for 2010 to how they deal with thechallenges brought by both internal business users and theirexternal partners and policyholders. These veterans provide insighton the state of insurance IT in late 2009 and what keeps them up atnight worrying about the future.

Each one of the IT leaders admits to numerous challenges in thepast year, but as a whole they are pleased with how their IT teamsperformed in the face of epic challenges to the insurance andfinancial services industries. As Bauer states, “The perception ofIT has improved over the last year, with special recognition forbetter transparency in communications, business relationships, andbudget management.”

We invite you to read on.

How difficult has 2009 been for your company and the IToperations area?

[Bauer] 2009 has been challenging for mostcompanies, including Allianz Life. We have focused on ensuring aproper balance of sales, profitability, and customer service. Inpartnership with operations, marketing, and sales, IT has beenfocused on upgrading technology, improving processes, and enhancingefficiency to ensure we have the right platforms for customerresponsiveness and product flexibility.

[Rosenberg] Overall, 2009 has been a positiveyear for our IT organization. Although the economic downturn hascreated some pressure on expenses, we have continued to invest inIT solutions that support our business.

During 2009, Westfield expanded operations into two new states,South Carolina and Colorado. We also deployed several new products,including a portfolio of commercial coverages designed forhospitality operations.

These initiatives, which are helping our company maintaintop-line growth in a very challenging marketplace, require advancedIT solutions. We continue to make strategic IT investments thatwill shape the future of our business for years to come.

[Forrester] While the year has been challengingfor our insurance business, morale is high and there is excitementabout the future of IT. We are using the current economic climateas an opportunity to invest in our future by accelerating deliveryof new technology systems that will make it easier for our agentsto do business with us. Our IT associates are excited to be a partof building our future success.

[Lowenthal] Overall it has been pretty positivegiven the economy. While 2008 saw our investments decline, 2009 hasbeen positive on that front. From an IT perspective, we've beenstaying on course and are in the final phase of our core policyadministration replacement project.

[Schaefer] 2009 was a challenging year for allcompanies, and Northwestern Mutual is no exception. However, thecompany was able to leverage one of our core competencies–financialdiscipline–and navigated the storm with the same strength andstability it has demonstrated for more than 150 years. In the ITorganization, several operational efficiency measures wereimplemented, which allowed us to take advantage of our flexiblestaffing and sourcing models. We also placed a lot of trust in ourleadership to manage expenses and deliver on the commitments to ourbusiness. Many of these actions resulted in favorable results for2009, while several will have a permanent positive effect on ourcost structure in future years, as well.

[Slevin] From a company perspective, 2009 hasbeen a very successful year. Sales are up significantly above 2008and above our 2009 plan. From an IT perspective, in 2009 we'vebegun to implement our multiyear technology strategy in support ofthe business plans. We're excited to embark on this work; however,it also is challenging, since we're implementing many newtechnologies.

Were there any positive aspects to the last year thatmade it a better year than expected?

[Voelker] In general, 2009 has been better thanexpected. We saw some business growth, and our IT budget stayedrelatively stable.

One high point for us was the introduction of Name Your Price,an online tool that gives consumers more control over car insuranceby letting them tell us what they want to pay for car insurancebefore we build a package around their budget. Consumer feedbackabout the tool has been overwhelmingly positive; people even havetold us we've made buying car insurance fun. Name Your Price alsowas recognized by our peers, ranking third on this year's“InformationWeek 500.” The tool is just one example of a wayProgressive's IT operations worked with business leadership todrive company growth.

[Bauer] As planned, IT outsourcing benefitsmoved beyond just labor savings into improving service quality anddelivery. For example, we were able to meet the needs of variableproduct projects by ramping up capacity both onshore and offshoreand utilizing a “follow the sun” approach in running 24 hours aday. This was possible because we established the vendorrelationship and infrastructure to deliver offshore in 2008.

[Rosenberg] A critical challenge for any IToperation is to attract, develop, and retain talented people. In2009, we were able to strengthen our team through some keyadditions, particularly in the areas of service-orientedarchitecture and business intelligence.

We offer an outstanding environment for IT professionals. Forexample, we opened the Center for Innovation and Technology, afacility designed specifically for IT professionals that is verydifferent from the traditional atmosphere at the insuranceheadquarters. It's very modern, open, and bright. There's a relaxeddress code. The environment puts an emphasis on collaboration.

[Schaefer] While it's hard to say 2009 wasbetter than expected, there are several things we are celebrating.Sometimes it takes a burning platform to enact change, and atNorthwestern Mutual, there were many positive things that happenedas a result of our response to the challenges of the year. Forexample, a renewed focus on service management allowed us to reduceour support allocation and free up more discretionary investment tofocus on strategic initiatives, rather than being limited torun-the-business initiatives. In addition, the company streamlinedvendor relationships to focus on fewer, more strategic vendors,diverting more of our buying power to them and leveraging ourstrong relationships with these vendors. Finally, we met goals on akey measure focused on solution delivery predictability, whichbuilds credibility with the rest of the business.

What is the outlook for 2010 for your IT operation andfor the industry at large?

[Voelker] As the economy is on the upswing, Ithink the industry will proceed with caution. People will keep aclose eye on whether consumer spending increases and how thejobless recovery evolves.

[Bauer] As life insurers gear up to facilitatedistribution of products through multiple channels, we are layingthe foundation in product configuration and deliverymechanisms.

At the same time, our company is focused on providing stellarservice to our independent agents. The three largest IT investmentsamong life insurers in 2009 for distribution are agent-facingportals, automated underwriting solutions, and incentive andcompensation management systems. IT is putting the foundation forthese capabilities through our licensing, contracting, andappointments project, which will provide a 360-degree view of ourproducers.

[Schaefer] There are several areas of focus forthe Northwestern Mutual IT organization in 2010, includinginvestment in customer-centricity, business intelligence, anddistribution of the company's products and services through itsnetwork of financial professionals. We don't believe the comingyear will mark the end of difficult economic times, although wecertainly hope the worst is behind us. The challenge now is tolearn how to better cope with the inevitable ups and downs in theeconomy. Looking at the industry as a whole, new approaches todelivering IT, such as cloud computing, have been and will be a keyissue. We have seen technology can be a disruptive force, and in2010 we will continue to monitor and adopt technology where thebusiness case makes sense.

[Rosenberg] We're fortunate at Westfield tohave leadership that appreciates the role of IT in supporting thesuccess of our business. Our focus is on making the right strategicinvestments to improve our business capabilities, including betterapplying the power of analytics to the decisions we make.

Because we need to be responsive to changes in the insurancemarketplace, we anticipate increased demand for automation tosupport insurance rate changes and product development. Speed tomarket is critical.

Another result of the economic downturn is increased legislativeand regulatory oversight of financial services companies. Althoughmost of the problems involved the investment and lendingcommunities, elected officials make little or no distinctionbetween those businesses and insurance. We're anticipating anincrease in regulatory reporting requirements, and that means morework for IT.

In our outlook, we also foresee a steady increase in the demandfor e-discovery requests. When the cost of discovery is high, itbecomes a powerful lever for trial lawyers. We're working toimprove our capabilities in this business process.

Proactively, Westfield is investing in predictive analytics andbusiness intelligence. We're not alone in this effort, and thecompanies that fail to invest will be hard pressed to competeagainst those that do.

In terms of the costs for the services we purchase from vendors,we currently are taking advantage of some slightly lower consultingrates.

[Lowenthal] Our IT operations are going tocontinue as designed. When I joined NYMAGIC in 2007, we developed athree-year plan that runs through 2010. We've kept to the plan andplan to continue that through 2010. I feel more companies in theindustry will begin to accelerate IT spending in 2010 to catch thewave of the economic change to try to get ahead of the laggardcompanies that will play it more conservative and wait until 2011before getting back on track.

What issue concerns you the most about the futuredirection of insurance technology?

[Voelker] We need to continue to addresssecurity threats. As a company, we're responsible for keeping ourcustomers' data private. As employees require more mobiletechnology and accessibility, security threats become moreprevalent. We need to continue to be diligent in making sure ournetworks are secure so that our customers' information stayssafe.

[Bauer] It is a difficult balance to maintainthe existing relationships and expectations for service and salespractices while products, procedures, and practices are changing.Carriers often are forced to implement changes far in advance ofthe field being able to adjust to them, which can cause service andrelationship issues.

[Rosenberg] The P&C insurance industrystill lacks proven, scalable, and viable software products for thecore processes that underlie the business–policy, billing, andclaims administration. Hopefully, there will be enough investmentby vendors to advance the maturity of software solutions and enablemore companies to make core systems migrations.

[Lowenthal] Regulation continues to be mybiggest concern. Needing to adapt to multiple states is costly andinefficient. While the discussions of federal regulation may appearto help resolve some of these issues, the likely outcome will besome watered-down compromises that will end up maintaining somelevel of state regulation and adding a level of regulation with thefederal government. I hate to be so pessimistic, but politicscontinues to win out over sound solutions. Only time will tell.

Has the perception of IT changed within your companyover the past year? Can you give some examples?

[Voelker] IT at Progressive has become evenmore transparent. My performance metrics now are more closely tiedto business results. We've also helped leadership better understandhow IT relates to business value. Our work on Name Your Price,which I mentioned earlier, is a great example of that.

[Rosenberg] The challenge the insuranceindustry has faced in achieving revenue growth has created greaterattention on expense management. In this atmosphere, our internalbusiness partners have increased their focus on understanding theIT expense picture and engaging with us on expense management andbenefits realization.

Project sponsors are working closely with IT to realize fullythe benefits from the new technology solutions we deliver. As anexample, we were able to complete a state expansion project twomonths ahead of schedule by collaborating on the business plan. Theuser community across the enterprise also is embracing new ITconsumption patterns designed to save money. For instance,employees greatly reduced printing expenses after we sponsorededucation on the cost of printed output.

Today, IT is better perceived as an enabler of businessstrategies and as an empowered partner in the development ofbusiness plans.

[Schaefer] Northwestern Mutual's ITorganization implemented a strategy several years ago with specificgoals around service and delivery commitments, risk management,teamwork, and process management. We are pleased we are meetingand, in some cases, exceeding these goals, which three years agoseemed daunting. This IT transformation, while challenging, hasbuilt credibility with stakeholders–a measure that is reviewedannually. By building credibility with stakeholders, the perceptionof the IT organization has improved, allowing us to focus on otheropportunities and harvest current successes to create even morevalue.

Many analysts believe the focus for investment ininsurance IT continues to be on core systems. Do you agree withthat assessment, and how would you describe the state of the coresystems within your company?

[Voelker] Devoting resources to updating coresystems does seem to be an industrywide priority. It's been apriority at Progressive for years, and I'm happy to say we're wellpositioned moving forward.

[Bauer] Gartner's assessment was, due to budgetreductions, half of insurers focused solely on cost reduction, suchas business process management, paperless processing, and reducingsystem complexity, in 2009. A few insurers attempted to capitalizeon economic conditions by entering new markets, creating newproducts, or innovating.

As stated earlier, the IT priority in 2009 was enabling productflexibility as well as building platforms to strengthen customerand market responsiveness.

[Rosenberg] Westfield's view is the value of ITinvestments is greater when the benefits are more directly targetedat revenue growth and loss mitigation. Therefore, we have investedin capabilities such as agency automation, predictive modeling, andbusiness intelligence rather than on core systems.

We are fortunate in having one system for each of the coresystems typical of P&C insurance companies. Therefore, we haveonly one policy administration, one billing administration, and oneclaims administration system. This environment gives us a platformto integrate other capabilities while deferring additionalinvestments in core systems until the business needs support makinga change or the P&C software marketplace matures to the pointthere are more viable options.

[Forrester] We already benefit from ourimplementation of powerful and flexible claims processingtechnology. And in the near future, we will execute our plan todeliver exciting new policy administration software. This positionsus well for when the market starts to harden and allows us to moveour technology focus from “what's needed” to “what's possible.”

[Lowenthal] I do agree with that assessment. Ibelieve the late 1990s and early 2000s saw layered upgrades to coresystems. This allowed Web enablement and extension of legacyinvestments. Companies now have to start taking the next step andmodernize to be able to compete with the newer and more nimblecompanies that have leveraged technology to reduce their operatingcosts and quickly introduce new products.It became clear in 2007 weneeded to modernize, which led to the current core policyadministration replacement project that now is in its finalphase.

How is innovation handled within your company? Howimportant are your vendors/partners in this process?

[Bauer] Allianz Life and our parent company,Allianz SE, strongly encourage innovation. We have a globalinnovation program called Ideas to Success (I2S). The programprovides training, materials, brainstorming techniques, and toolsfor tracking benefits. IT has been a major contributor andbeneficiary of the results of this program.

IT still is learning how to tap into our vendor partners'innovation capabilities and include those ideas into our ITDNA.

[Rosenberg] Our leadership team at Westfield isfostering a workplace that is more collaborative, flexible, andreceptive to innovation. In recent years, we have sponsored severalmajor initiatives in empowerment and inclusion as well asleadership development efforts aimed at fostering respect for thecontributions of employees at all levels of the organization.

In the area of IT, we support broad-based thinking andresponsiveness through how we allocate team members to majorprojects. We maintain a flexible staffing model for many ITpositions. Employees are assigned to projects rather than tosupport for a specific business unit. When a project ends, theymove to the next project. We're able to move IT team membersquickly when needed as new projects are approved and funded.

[Lowenthal] We don't have a specific groupdedicated to innovation. We encourage innovation at all levels andhave regularly scheduled meetings with underwriters and otherbusiness personnel to discuss ideas and leave with actionable nextsteps. Our partners are critical in this process. Our brokers,program managers, and technology partners each play important rolesand provide capabilities that wouldn't make sense for us to go italone.

[Slevin] Two years ago, we initiated a programcalled “Continuous Innovation.” The program is open to all of ourIT employees for submission of new and innovative ways to improveorganizational performance. This program leverages employeecreativity and gives employees a comfort zone for opencommunication.

Employees are encouraged to provide ideas in basic categories,including: new ways to use our technologies; process improvementideas; ways to go green; and ideas for new insurance products.

To date, we've received about 500 submissions via our intranetand through our first Innovation Week, which we hosted in June ofthis year.

What steps has your IT team taken to improve customerrelations with internal business users?

[Voelker] We try not to think of it as avendor/customer relationship. Our goal is to collaborate with thebusiness in order to drive overall value for the company. I'llpoint to Name Your Price, again, as a great example of thatcollaboration. Rather than the business developing the idea andthen presenting us with its thoughts, we had a seat at the tableduring the development phase. It was very collaborative and typicalof how we approach innovation at Progressive. We don't considerthem “IT projects;” they're “Progressive projects.”

[Schaefer] The relationship between businessand IT cannot exist without two fundamental things: reliability andpredictability. Without reliable and predictable systems, IT is ina defensive position. While it takes time for these things tomature, once they are established, credibility follows.Northwestern Mutual's IT organization runs a reliable andpredictable portfolio of services, applications, and projects ourbusiness colleagues tell us have a meaningful impact on theiroperations. We remain focused on maintaining and sustainingcredibility levels and building on this foundation by innovatingaround business process, enhancing our exclusive distributionnetwork, and making it easy for our customers to do business withNorthwestern Mutual.

[Bauer] IT organized to create a dedicatedcustomer service and relationship management team to provideinternal customer focus, build relationships, and align IT effortswith the business' strategies. We have internal customer surveysand special service initiatives. IT goals and progress are reportedat regular meetings to executives and to a wide range of companyemployees.

As with any internal customer-facing team, we continue toevaluate whether we are meeting the internal customer demands andare continuing to evolve to meet these goals.

[Rosenberg] For years, we have had an ITorganizational structure that formally aligns the members of our ITleadership team with business unit leadership. In recent years, wehave extended this model to create client relationship managementteams to improve the visibility and accountability of the broaderIT management group for client satisfaction.

We also have implemented IT service level agreements (SLAs) witheach business unit, defining expectations for all parties. Wemeasure and communicate our performance against these SLAs via aservice portfolio of metrics.

[Forrester] Our IT team delivers technologysolutions our business users rely on. The implementation of ITservice management best practices allows our department to respondquickly and efficiently to business user needs, ensuring qualityand timely delivery of IT services are not jeopardized.

[Lowenthal] We use various methods. At the highlevel, there is our governance model via an IT steering committee.We also have a vice president of business systems, whose keyfunction is to liaise with our business users. This VP of businesssystems manages our business analyst group, and we have businessanalysts assigned to specific business units. Additionally, we havea vice president of training and communications. This person isresponsible for keeping our business users up-to-date with trainingbut also is responsible for newsletters, tech tips, and othervaluable communications. We have a production support hotline, too,for any application-related issues/questions/problems as well as atechnical help desk hotline for all desktop/mobile/network-relatedissues/questions/problems. Having these hotlines alone isn'tdifferentiating. Creating the appropriate processes and “closingthe loop” with our business users via effective communications isthe key. “Closing the loop” refers to ensuring we always touch basewith the business users to keep them updated.

[Slevin] Recently, some of our teams haveinitiated something we call morning stand-up meetings. These arequick meetings, usually ending within 15 minutes, which fosterfriendly, relaxed communication with our customers about currentprojects.

In addition, for many applications, user acceptance testing hasbecome increasingly complicated. To address this, we have created anew testing environment, which dramatically improves our ability tomaintain a competitive advantage in a fast-paced environment.

What are you doing to improve connections with externalusers such as agents/brokers and policyholders?

[Voelker] We've always been committed to givingagents and policyholders choices in how they want to communicatewith us (through agents, by phone, and online). These days there'san increased demand for online interactions, so we're finding newand innovative ways to accommodate those requests.

[Bauer] IT invested in the Depository TrustClearing Corporation capabilities to improve “ease of doingbusiness” with Allianz and on-boarding of new broker-dealerdistribution as well as to enable distribution of fixed productsthrough B-D channels.

Additionally, IT began development of a licensing, contracting,and appointments system to provide a single view of producerinformation across distribution channels for sales and service.Included in the initiative are improvements to the electronicworkflow and to the data accuracy for delivery of producerservices.

[Rosenberg] All of our insurance products andservices are distributed exclusively by independent insuranceagents. It is critical we understand their workflows andintegration with the agency management systems they use.

We continue to be active participants in agency automationindustry groups, agency management system user groups, andorganizations responsible for standards. We also sponsor an agencyautomation advisory group, creating a forum for the exchange ofideas between our staff and technology professionals representingtop agencies.

[Forrester] By advancing our technologyofferings, we enhance the strengths we already bring to our agentsand their policyholders–superior claims service, localdecision-making, and underwriting flexibility. In recent years, wealso have supported industrywide efforts on real-time bridging.This allows agents to submit information to our systems directlyfrom their agency vendor systems, saving time and eliminatingmultiple entries.

[Lowenthal] As many companies are doing, we aretrying to make it easier to do business with us. Our new corepolicy administration system will offer some key functionality forour agents/brokers. It also will offer our program managers choicesthey haven't had in the past.

[Slevin] Internally, for our agents, we arefocused on three key projects right now: the continuation of ourvery successful sales-lead and agent-recruiting lead-generationprograms; the rewriting of our illustrations system for our agents,in which we plan to use Web 2.0 features as we deliver the newsystem; and social networking.

Additionally, we implemented a robust CRM system for agentsearlier this year. The system provides instant access to existingcontacts, calendaring data, and the ability to review a client'sportfolio, contracts, and up-to-the-minute policy details.

Externally, a major success for us has been our Virtual ServiceCenter on our Web site (www.newyorklife.com). It provides ourpolicy owners with another alternative for customer self-serviceacross a broad array of service inquiry and transactions–fromaccount value inquiries to changes in fund allocations. We processmore than three million of these self-service transactionsannually–a win for both our policy owners and New York Life.

Providing superior customer service to our agents and policyowners is critical to how we connect with them. We also havedeployed technologies such as automated workflow to enhance ourability to do this. As part of our Service Anywhere strategy, weplan to take this to the next level, utilizing technologies such ase-forms and e-applications to simplify the way agents and policyowners interact with us.

Is green IT an important issue with your company? Whatsteps have you taken in this regard?

[Schaefer] Northwestern Mutual always has beenactive in the community, and thus we see green as an extension ofwhat we do for the communities we serve. The IT organization itselfhas implemented several green initiatives, including one thatfollowed an audit of energy use in our data center regardingtemperature and humidity adjustments in how we cool and controlequipment. As a result, we reduced electrical consumption andprovided cost savings for the business.

We've also continued to increase the percentage of virtualservers used in our operation, an initiative we began more thanfive years ago. This gives the company the ability to operatemultiple servers on one piece of hardware, meaning we save energyevery day and ultimately generate less downstream waste into theenvironment.

[Voelker] We do think it's important to be agood corporate citizen. However, the real goal of some of ourgreenest IT projects–such as server virtualization and paperlessbilling–is business efficiency. Clearly, this work is a win/win forus and the environment.

[Bauer] Green is a key concern for our globalparent company. Locally, we have taken steps to address greenissues such as virtual desktops, server consolidation, servervirtualization, and paper reduction. It helps that our CEO is aproponent of environmental responsibility.

[Rosenberg] Westfield is a company that alwayshas been responsible toward the environment. Our focus in IT hasbeen to move away from paper to electronic delivery of reports andforms whenever possible. We have made significant progress in thisarea.

[Forrester] We are committed to reducing costs,improving workflows, and being environmentally responsible. Weembraced virtualization and significantly reduced server footprintin the data center. Workstations are next. These changes result inreal energy savings. In addition, our new policy systems make itpossible to offer agencies and policyholders the option to gopaperless with electronic documents.

[Lowenthal] Green is definitely important.Internally we are almost completely paperless. Everything is imagedinto our ImageRight system as it comes in the door, and allsubsequent handling and processing is handled electronically.Additionally, where practical, we purchase green servers for ourdata center.

Are you satisfied with the way business processes andworkflow are handled in your company? If so, what have you done toachieve this? If not, what steps are you taking to improve thisarea?

[Bauer] We have made progress but always arelooking for ways to improve. Processes were optimized during theoutsourcing of operations for the variable product line in 2008 andthe fixed product line in 2009. Investments were made in workflowapplications to support the optimization and interactions with theoutsource vendor.

[Rosenberg] There always is room forimprovement in workflow management. We have made good headwaythrough the implementation of our online rating and policy issuancesystems. The result has been greater standardization across theenterprise and improved quality of data and underwriting.Predictive underwriting tools have contributed to better lossratios by better matching price
to exposure.

Our professionals in personal lines and small business accountshave been able to transition from a sole focus on individual riskunderwriting to more proactive territory and book-of-businessmanagement. This transition is supported by our ongoing developmentof business intelligence capabilities.

[Forrester] Technology is transforming ouroperations. Streamlined processes and workflows are creating newopportunities for our associates. However, change is tough. It'scritical to manage the message and communicate effectively.

[Lowenthal] Based on our core policyreplacement project, we've had the luxury to assess our currentbusiness processes and workflow and suggest changes based onseveral factors, including new system functionality. We've beenworking closely with our business users to change and/or enhanceprocesses jointly.

Can your company continue to gain value from predictiveanalytics and business intelligence? Does the technology need tocontinue evolving, or is it a question of the data your companymaintains?

[Bauer] Allianz Life anticipates an increasedreliance on business intelligence, consumer data, statistics, andmodeling and simulation. To do this, IT has developed anoverarching data strategy and will continue to address the multipleviews of data issues caused by separate platforms for fixed andvariable products.

[Rosenberg] We see significant opportunitiesfor value generation through our investments in predictiveanalytics and business intelligence. We have found the technologysolutions to be plenty mature to meet our business needs.

From a technology perspective, the keys to our success have beenestablishing strong standards, building reusable services, andplanning for scalability. From a business perspective, we have putextra effort into training, communications, and change managementin order to up-skill our employees and enable them to perform theirroles in new ways using better information and analytics.

It is important to get the technology right in order to minimizethe burden for our business unit employees, but the truecompetitive advantage will be realized by the ability of our peopleto use information and analytics to make better decisions.

[Slevin] New York Life does, and will continueto, gain value from predictive analytics and business intelligence.As the volume of information available grows, better tools andmethods are needed to identify, track, measure, and predict keymetrics that are critical to our business planning.

The available technology does need to evolve, with a focus onsimplicity of use, so it can be leveraged by a broader audiencewithin the business. TD