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October
1 - 3, 2000, The Westin Providence, Providence, R.I.
Cybersupport
for the Ground Forces
(Managing Multichannels)
Mark Coleman, associate partner, Andersen
Consulting and John Flaschner, Northwestern
Mutual Life
Northwestern
Mutual Commits $100 Million to Upgrade Technology
By Meg Green, Meg.Green@ambest.com
Northwestern
Mutual is spending $100 million over three years to improve its technology,
with the ultimate goal of improving communication, said Jon T. Flaschner,
vice president of field systems.
"It's
all about communication," Flaschner said. "That's what [financial advisers]
do best."
He said
the most successful salespeople aren't always the most techno-savvy people.
But technology can help them communicate and build relationships with
customers, Flaschner said.
"We need
to move from a paper world to a digital world," he said. He added the
Internet has been a "terrific recruiting tool for us."
Mark
T. Coleman, a partner in Andersen Consulting Financial Services, is working
with Northwestern to build the complex system, which must be broken down
into components. ''Trying to do this all at once is like trying to bail
the ocean,'' Coleman said.
Companies
also should encapsulate business functions so that all components don't
become obsolete at once, he said.
Flaschner
and Coleman spoke Tuesday at "E-Fusion: Where Insurance and Technology
Converge," a conference sponsored by A.M. Best Co. held in Providence,
R.I. Full coverage of the event is available online at http://www.ambest.com/e-fusion.html.
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