We're three days into the new business year and like many of youI'm still trying to dig my way out of the stack of work I let pileup during my time off for the holidays.

I hope you got a few tech toys for gifts this year. I wrote iPadon my letter to Santa and somehow it came out as an iPod, which was needed, butwhen you ask for a new car you don't want a motor scooter.

I hope to get another present shortly. My cell phone contractexpires in another month and I'm trying to figure out twothings:

• Which smartphone do I want?
• How can I convince my wife this is somethingwe desperately need.

In an article that Karen Furtado of Strategy Meets Action wrotefor our January issue of Tech Decisions she describes afriend who is in quite similar to me. He uses his cellphone almostexclusively for making calls with the occasional text. He toldKaren he didn't feel he needed anything else.

Karen explained to him the many things smartphones can do forhim in addition to calling and how quickly the world of mobilecommunications has changed.

Many insurance companies find themselves in the same situationwith their software. It's working so why bother to upgrade orreplace it. Too often they fail to look at the possibilities thatexist beyond their little corner of the world and instead embracean old rule: If it ain't broke don't fix it.

There is certainly a fine line for all of us to examine when wemake changes. Sometimes people tinker with perfectly good productsand manage to screw things up. This was best exemplified byCoca-Cola some26 years ago (my, doesn't time fly?) when they reformulated themost popular soft drink in the world.

But we can't be put off by spectacular failures. There is adifference between remaking your product and how you go aboutputting that product together and distributing it.

Don't be put off by the possibility of failure, particularlywith insurance software. Failure rates have dropped sharply overthe years as the technology has improved and matured.

Embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, don't be fearful. Andany help you can give me to convince my wife about the need for asmartphone would be greatly appreciated.

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I'm not sure where you are accessing this blog, but beginningnext week it will be a part of our new Web site: www.propertyCasualty360.com.You'll find all your insurance tech news there (and me) along withindustry news that covers the gamut. Don't fret, though. TechDecisions magazine will continue publication, although thereis a regularly scheduled pause in February.