Technology may not always be easy for small businesses, particularly in the complicated world of insurance agencies. That's why Deb Smallwood, founder of Strategy Meets Action (SMA, an insurance research and consulting firm), believes independent agents are facing real-time issues in dealing with carriers.

Smallwood and her partner, Karen Furtado, recently published their report "Agency Management Systems: Mar-ketplace and Vendor Analysis" and learned firsthand of the struggles agencies face.

"What surprised Karen and me was a lack of modern and current technology in the agencies and a lack of understanding of the power of that technology," says Smallwood. "Many of them have agency management systems, but a lot of those systems are outdated. They can't do the TransactNOW or Transformation Station, which would give them real-time capability."

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