CTO: Sometimes Tech Is Not The Answer

By Ara C. Trembly

NU Online News Service, Oct. 20, 3:53 p.m. EDT?While some see technology as a remedy for almost any business problem, one expert counsels that solutions are sometimes fund outside of networks, software and operating systems.[@@]

"Technology can do a lot," said Catherine Brune, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Allstate Insurance, Northbrook, Ill., "but sometimes technology is not the answer. Sometimes we need to tweak the process."

Ms. Brune's remarks came in the operning general session of the Tech Decisions Expo and Conference (TechDec) held Oct. 14 through 16 in Chicago.

In a talk titled "Aligning IT and Business: Will the Marriage Work," she outlined Allstate's experience in synthesizing input from the two corporate specializations which have traditionally been seen as competing entities in many business environments.

According to Ms. Brune, Allstate entered the information technology arena early on, giving the company what was at that time "a competitive edge." More recently, the company developed its Business Aligned Technology Strategy (BATS), which included polling some 300 company leaders on the question: What are your most serious business problems? As a result, the company was able to agree on business priorities across and within business units, she said.

Before BATS, Allstate "had some bad behaviors" with reference to business/IT interactions, said Ms. Brune. Intent on changing behaviors, the company focused on planning, allocating information technology resources and spending "in the right areas," based on its priorities.

"IT no longer makes all the decisions [with regard to technology/business issues]," she explained. "I no longer own the checkbook." By applying its priorities to IT as well as other business areas, the company was able to reduce IT costs; increase capacity, efficiency and flexibility; become more agile; and serve its customers better, she noted.

The company also realized substantial savings in maintenance costs by listening to customers' needs and "doing more with less," said Ms. Brune. Changes included early adoption of drive-in claims and redesigning the claims process to increase customer satisfaction. "If I had a dollar to spend in technology, I would put it into claims. That's what customers say matters most.

"If IT and claims [personnel] come together as partners, there's nothing they can't accomplish," she continued. Making the marriage work includes "sharing the risk, the credit and the blame," and having IT and business personnel go to senior management to propose projects together.

"We can change the supply chain and delivery of claims," Ms. Brune stated. "Customers are tired of the hassles. We have to lower costs and take care of our customers, too." She encouraged IT executives to "let go of the money," emphasizing that "your results define you."

Other keys to IT success include passing the "architectural smell test"?developing IT programs that can be used repeatedly?enabling good governance, maintaining creativity and "parking your ego at the door," she noted.

Looking to the future, Ms. Brune predicted that wireless technology?in particular, global positioning system (GPS) technology in cars?will change the claims process. She noted, however, that such changes are "probably three or four years away."

Special Reports /

CTO: Sometimes Tech Is Not The Answer

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