What’s Inside Partner XE 1.5?
March 2010 brings the release of Partner XE 1.5, a rich package of enhancements to our agency management system. This release keeps us on target with Partner XE’s product roadmap including some key initiatives our agency user group NASPA (National Association of SIS Partner Agents) helped us establish: email and search. In the interview that follows, SIS’ Chief Architect Donavan Stanley and Quality Assurance Manager Nolan Davis share highlights of the features and functionality of this upgrade.
What do you consider to be the most significant enhancement in the Partner XE 1.5 release?
Nolan: The two-way enhancements to Partner XE’s integration with Microsoft® Office Outlook are probably most important to NASPA and all our clients. A key piece is the new auto-add functionality that will automatically pull in the incoming and outgoing emails – and their attachments – that you have associated with specific clients in Partner XE, and put them in their files.
Donavan: Absolutely. This is all about streamlining an agency’s work with clients. The functionality was there in previous releases of Partner XE, but it was a cumbersome, multi-step operation. The new plug-in will allow users to receive an email from a customer, then that correspondence and any attachments will be automatically added to the customer’s file. In addition users can right click and open that customer’s file – all without leaving Outlook – significantly cutting down the time of that transaction.
Nolan: There’s also an Outlook Calendar upgrade. Now you can create your appointments in Partner XE and they will automatically populate your Outlook Calendar, which could then synch with your mobile device as well.
Another NASPA directive has to do with more robust search capabilities. What can we expect with Partner XE 1.5?
Donavan: This release includes web-based search integration with Partner XE that allows users to drill down into the policy details of an individual or group of clients for more in-depth reports and analysis. Users will find the searches are much more intuitive and significantly faster.
Nolan: As a part of this web-based search functionality, you will also have a new tool option, called Query Builder, that will enable you to build user-defined queries within two lines of business currently: personal auto and home (and know that we will be adding additional lines of business in future releases). That gives the user full control of the search with the ability to set parameters with specific variables in as much details as required; save, apply and share the search queries; and generate reports whenever needed with results output to Excel.
Donavan: The bottom line is that agency principals and office managers will be able to build reports and obtain exactly the information required for workflow analysis, business reviews, marketing campaigns, producer efficiency, all the key components of their business… better, faster, and more efficiently.
There are also industry-related enhancements in the Partner XE 1.5 release as well… What are those highlights?
Donavan: There are updated ACORD forms, specifically ACORD 24 Certificate of Property Insurance and ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance.
Nolan: And there are some significant integration enhancements. For example, we have added two-way integration with AMS Producer Plus commercial lines sales product that allows agencies to create proposals, do analysis and take advantage of the multiple tools within Producer Plus. In addition, this release includes enhanced Boston Software WinRater software – from one-way to two-way integration.
Donavan: And we continue to look for additional integration opportunities to enhance our client agencies’ efficiency.
Is there anything else you want to share about this initial 2010 Partner XE 1.5 upgrade?
Nolan: A lot! That’s why we’ll make web-based demonstrations available as soon as we release, and our Customer Service Team is available to help our client agencies in any way at service@sisware.com.
Donavan: And we’ll continue to follow the Partner XE product roadmap – and listen to input from our users and our user group – for additional enhancements throughout the year.
Disaster Preparedness through Partner XE
From time to time we sit down with members of the SIS team to get the inside view of the company, its workings and its plans. This interview with Nolan Davis, Quality Assurance Manager, and Reggie Hillery, Sr. Business Analyst, focuses on disaster preparedness and recovery through Partner XE.
What do you mean when you say disaster?
Nolan: There are really two types of disasters: something localized to your agency, like a fire in your office; or something regional, like an ice storm, hurricane, flood, etc., that affects others as well. But regardless of the source, when a disaster strikes, you still have to have to be prepared and have a plan for recovery.
Why was Disaster Preparedness chosen as a priority for the March 2010 Partner XE upgrade?
Reggie: In the case of a disaster – natural or otherwise – often the first call people make is to their insurance agent. That means you have to be available to your clients and have access to the data you need to be able to respond appropriately and serve them, regardless of what’s happening around you. You need a plan in place. Because it’s a priority for every agency, that makes it a priority for us as well.
Nolan: Until you actually have to deal with a disaster, you might think, “Oh, this doesn’t really apply to me…” But once a catastrophe happens on any level, you recognize how critical a plan can be. Don’t wait to find out… For example, a few years ago, one of our SEMCI Partner agencies experienced a devastating fire. They did have a plan, and had regularly and carefully put back-up files in a fire proof safe. Unfortunately, that safe wasn’t water proof, so all their records were lost…
If you don’t currently have a disaster plan in place, please take time right now to read an ACT (Agents Council on Technology) whitepaper on the subject: “Key Considerations in Disaster Planning & Management For Independent Agencies & Brokerage Firms.” Of course, if your agency has a plan, it may be time to review it. We recommend ACT Executive Director Jeff Yates’ article on the topic, “It’s Time to Update Your Disaster Plan.”
What will the upgrade provide?
Nolan: The Partner XE Disaster Preparedness initiative is an enhancement we had in the queue, but at the urging of NASPA (National Association of SIS Partner Agents), we advanced its priority. The user group helped us refine what was needed since this feature becomes a key component of an agency’s overall disaster recovery plan. With this upgrade we are providing a query you can run to export key data out of Partner XE. That way, in case of a disaster, you’ll have recent, basic information on your customers and can still contact them, even at those times when you might not have access to your agency’s Partner XE system.
Reggie: The query process will be manual, and its output of the query is a Microsoft Excel® file. As part of the upgrade, we will provide default criteria you can run to gather your data, including client information and policy profiles. You can certainly change the parameters of that query to add or delete the information that will be most useful to your organization; it will be flexible so you can choose exactly what kind of report you want. But regardless of the data you select, we recommend that you run the query every 7- to 14-days.
What kind of Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan does SIS have in place for its Partner XE data?
The answer can be found in the Partner XE Hosting Service statement. If you have additional questions, please contact us at 800.747.9273 or sales@sisware.com.
An Interview with Alex Deak, CEO and Mark Miller, COO of SIS
Part of our ongoing communications plan is to sit down with members of the SIS team from time-to-time and get the inside view of the company, its workings and its plans.
How’s the transition going?
Mark: I don’t think we could have anticipated how smoothly the transition has gone. The SIS and NuGrowth teams jumped right in and really hit the ground running. The fact that we’ve worked closely together over the last 12+ months really helped. The team is pushing forward on all fronts and you can feel the excitement and passion from the group growing every day. We have moved to our new location and that is strengthening the team even more.
Alex: I couldn’t agree more. We are committed to making all of this a smooth transition because SIS is an important long term business for us. When State Auto made the decision to spin off the SIS business, we immediately responded with our offer to acquire the company. We knew from our successful partnership engagement experience that SIS is a great business that fits our profile very well.
Our intention is to grow the business and build or acquire complimentary service offerings to make Partner XE the premier Agency Management System on the market.
And of course everyone is excited about moving into new, bigger office space for better collaboration and with room to grow.
What’s the outlook for growth?
Mark: I can talk about this all day; we just came off our two largest months this year in terms of new sales and converting Partner 6 clients to Partner XE. The value proposition of Partner XE – top tier functionality provided at an economical price and backed by the industry’s best customer support – is unmatched in the industry and we seen the momentum grow throughout this year as a response to it. We’ve always been good at developing a great product and supporting it better than anyone else in the market, now we have the added expertise of NuGrowth.
Alex: The combination of expertise is definitely contributing to our considerable growth. NuGrowth and SIS have been assisting small businesses with sales, operations, and service delivery for years. It’s a very natural match.
How have service levels been?
Mark: I can’t begin to tell you how proud I’ve been of our team, the support we provide our customers has always been something we pride ourselves on and we’ve continued that tradition through the transition. We are making improvements to our internal processes and investing in infrastructure to make sure we continue to provide the highest level of customer support in the industry.
Alex: We prefer the service model because we value the relationships with our clients. This is not a transaction for us. We want a client for life and look to broaden and deepen our relationship over time. We know the only way to do that is offer high quality and service at a great value for our customers.
My background is in technical sales and service delivery. I’ve run client service and professional service organizations that were key business differentiators. As a CIO, I’ve been on the technology buying side and know what customers want: good service at a fair price and a provider with high integrity that delivers on what they promise. Our team understands this and works hard to provide the highest level of service to our clients every day.
What else is on the horizon?
Mark: An area that I’m really excited about is our 2010 Partner XE product roadmap. We will be focusing on areas that help our customers grow. We’ve worked closely with NASPA to lay out goals for the product in coming product releases. One other exciting thing is that we’ve recently implemented the latest technology that incorporates parallel processing, allowing for faster update speeds. It’s the first of many such planned enhancements. I believe we will all be excited to see what 2010 has in store for Partner XE.
Alex: We know that we offer significant value in the market and intend to maintain our price advantage. We plan to make significant investment in the platform and we are introducing special pricing and conversion programs for current Partner 6 customers to move to Partner XE. We are also working on expanded service hours, electronic billing and payment options (including credit card processing), and payment frequency options including monthly and annual plans.
COLUMBUS, OHIO – August 19, 2009 – NuGrowth Solutions, a software sales and development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire Strategic Insurance Software (SIS), a subsidiary of State Auto Financial Corporation (STFC). SIS was founded in 1995 with the purpose of designing and selling agency management systems that allow independent agents to enter and process business directly with their company partners. NuGrowth has provided business development, sales and e-communications services to SIS since 2008.
NuGrowth CEO Greg Tillar explained the decision to purchase SIS was grounded in their day-to-day work with the SIS product and people. “We have appreciated being part of an organization that brings such excellence and commitment to the insurance agency marketplace. We look forward to building on that passion. With its talented staff, robust agency management platform, outstanding customer service and award-winning industry expertise, SIS is poised for continued success and quality growth.”
STFC Chairman and CEO Bob Restrepo said the sale of SIS to NuGrowth was a sound business decision on several levels. “SIS customers, many of whom are State Auto agents, will benefit from the singular focus of NuGrowth. SIS has built terrific agency management software products, but State Auto is an insurance company and that needs to be our singular focus.” Restrepo added that the inclusion of the SIS staff was an important requirement of the sale for both parties. “NuGrowth is acquiring talented people who will insure the maintenance and stability of SIS products.”
NuGrowth is a sales and business development organization founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 2000. NuGrowth partners with companies to accelerate sales performance, implement growth strategies and build equity. The NuGrowth team has managed top-line sales and bottom-line results for a host of technology and software companies ranging from zero-revenue start-ups to publicly traded global organizations.
State Auto Financial Corporation, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company. The company markets its personal and business insurance products exclusively through independent insurance agencies in 33 states and is proud to be a Trusted Choice® company partner. STFC stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which represents the top third of all NASDAQ listed companies. The insurance subsidiaries of State Auto Financial Corporation are part of the State Auto Group. The State Auto Group is rated A+ (Superior) by the A.M. Best Company Additional information on State Auto Financial Corporation can be found online at www.StateAuto.com.
