Insurance carriers, consultants, and technology vendors may be separate entities with disparate goals, but theconnection of each side of this triangle with the other is the sort of melding that makes each of them agree on the beauty of teamwork. Each side may have its own agenda, but without the other two sides properly aligning, deals dont get done and problems dont get solved.

A major part of our task during the business development cycle is to understand the business problem [the carrier] is trying to solve and what mix of our offerings is the best, says Cecil Bordages of software vendor CSC.

Sometimes that means a one-on-one relationship between the vendor and the carrier, but quite often it means dealing with a middlemana consultantwho has the ear of the carrier. As with any business decision, it pays to know ahead of time what you are getting. For carriers such as Companion Property and Casualty, finding the right business partner means learning everything it can about the vendor, according to Lyn-Ellen Maass, the carriers director of information services.