Bleeding edge technology adoptees in the insurance industry started talking SOA, Web Services and Software as a Service, or SaaS, in one form or another twenty years ago. The names change, but the problems with adoption stay the same. Insurance companies have considerable capital invested in outdated, rigid, legacy environments and the idea of "rip and replace" is just too bitter a pill to swallow.

So, how about a little sugar to make the medicine go down? Whether you know it or not, global cloud computing is already changing the future of how applications are built and how business functionality is provided, and it could be your ticket to salvaging the technology investments your company has made without an additional broad outlay of capital.

Cloud computing is a method of distributed computing that can create a fundamental shift in the way computing is handled and, more importantly, where it is handled. Up to now, the IT folks working at insurance organizations just like yours have been very happy for technology infrastructures to be set up with PCs and servers and networks purchased and maintained by individuals or corporations. And even though many IT professionals would prefer you think there is some magic behind it, the reality is the systems that were built were tangible objects executives could see, hear, touch and even understand (if they really wanted to).