TECHNOLOGY
DORIS, Inc., creates vertical application service
provider to leverage latest technologies
By Len Strazewski
Mike Mansperger is vice president and chief information officer of DORIS, Inc., and president of FILESERVERonline.com.
Agency management system technology is supposed to be a boon to independent agencies, a tool for boosting productivity and creating opportunities. But technology is also expensive, says Jack Murphy, president of John H. Murphy & Sons Insurance Agency, Inc., in Sarasota, Florida, a small, predominantly commercial lines agency.
"Whenever you commit to an agency management system, you also commit to a lot of technology management. And every few years, you have to make system upgrades to acquire the latest versions of the software. And then you have to make sure you have the latest computer hardware to run the latest software.
"Information technology maintenance is very expensive. For a small agency, these costs add up quickly," says Murphy. "It makes you think twice about every technology investment."
Murphy's agency was an early adopter of the DORIS agency management system from DORIS, Inc., in Alpharetta, Georgia; and Murphy says the latest version of the system--DORIS32 Gold--was well-suited to his three employees and his book of business. The software helped him manage his client information, print ACORD forms and download from key carriers.
But managing the system was a distraction from what his employees did best--sell insurance and service his clients, Murphy says. He wished there were a better way to use the system functionality without the management time and expense.
He found it last year, with FILESERVERonline.com, Inc., a new vertical application service provider (VASP) and a sister company to DORIS, Inc. FILESERVERonline.com delivers management software functions to agencies over the Internet, eliminating the need for database management inside an agency and regular technology upgrades.
FILESERVERonline.com delivers and manages an agency management system for clients within its own offices and provides agency access over high-speed Internet service. Agency employees use the system as they would an in-house system to access and add client information, download from insurers and print policies and forms. The data remains secure at the FILESERVERonline hosting facility.
"It completely relieves us of the need to upgrade our system whenever a new version of the software is released. FILESERVERonline.com does it on their end and we get the benefits whenever we sign onto the system," Murphy says.
The FILESERVERonline.com service has been under development for nearly four years, says Mike Mansperger, president of the new company. "Remote access to agency management systems has also been a problem and several years ago, we developed remote access to DORIS using existing dial-up software,"
he recalls.
The advent of Internet-based communication provided a more effective way to connect agency users to their agency management systems and as high-speed access became available, Mansperger realized that the totality of system applications could be delivered directly over the Internet. Outside of the insurance industry, other companies began to develop application service providers (ASPs) to deliver software applications to remote users.
Specialty software companies began developing VASPs to support users that wanted to outsource information technology management and eliminate hardware and software maintenance. DORIS, Inc., launched FILESERVERonline.com in December 2000, to meet the need of such agencies.
"It works great for small agencies like us," says Murphy. "But I can see it would also be valuable for larger agencies that just don't want the bother of IT maintenance."
FILESERVERonline.com offers three versions of its online technology services, Mansperger says.
* FILESERVER Online, the VASP product--used by more than 100 agencies and 360 individual users, provides a customized version of the DORIS32 Gold agency management system developed by the parent company.
The software features transactional filing to record all policy endorsements, cancellations, letters and other client activities; diary and suspense systems to record actions and archive letters and correspondence; marketing programs based on client and prospect files; laser printing of all reports and more than 300 ACORD forms; and an integrated accounting and general ledger system.
Agency management data resides offsite in the secure FILESERVER Online database at the DORIS, Inc., hosting facility. Agency users access the system through the agency's high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable modem Internet connection and perform transactions using an Internet browser and the FILSERVERonline.com interface.
"FILESERVER Online relieves an agency of much of the burden of information technology management," Mansperger explains. "Many independent agencies simply do not have the trained personnel to manage complicated IT functions, such as servicing hardware and software, backing up data and completing regular hardware and software upgrades.
"We do all of that at our facilities. The process is invisible to users and the agencies benefit from our regular maintenance, data backup and upgrades," he says.
Mike Mansperger has been part of the four-year development of FILESERVERonline.com, a product that frees agencies from the distractions of agency management system technology maintenance.
FILESERVER Online also allows agents to access the database from remote locations using a home computer or a laptop computer and a standard Internet connection, facilitating telecommuting and branch office operations, Mansperger says.
The company charges a $2,000 initial setup charge and $50 per month per user, subject to a 90-day guarantee.
* FILESERVER On-Site provides another option for agencies that are uncomfortable with agency manage-ment data residing in an offsite database, Mansperger says. For those agencies, FILESERVERonline.com can provide a complete hardware and software package, including custom manufactured computer server with the Microsoft Windows 2000 SQL database management system and Internet server support as well as the FILESERVERonline agency management software.
The On-Site product allows an agency not to only retain full control over agency data, but also to host Internet functions such as internal and external e-mail and Web site hosting.
FILESERVERonline.com manages the network remotely over the agency's Internet connection and monitors various functions to identify and correct problems before they affect an agency's productivity.
Mansperger points out that "the agency has complete control over its data--which is the cornerstone of agency operations--but also has the security of our remote services."
The company also will convert data from most other agency management systems for installation into the FILESERVER On-Site system. Cost for one to five users is $12,995, including one year of system support.
* FILESERVER In-House is an add-on option for FILESERVER On-Site users that allows agencies to combine all remote locations (telecommuters, remote individual producers and branch offices) in a single agency management system network. This "thin client" technology allows agencies to host all of its management functions and serve as its own application service provider, Mansperger says.
As a result, agencies can use existing computer hardware and terminals to access the system, maximizing the number of users in the agency. The In-House system is also useful for agencies that have marketing relationships with other agencies or independent producers and want to offer controlled access to its agency management system to these users.
FILESERVER In-House includes overnight replacement of the FILESERVER computer server if a hardware-related problem is discovered.
FILESERVER In-House costs $6,950, including the first year of support and can be installed at the same time as FILESERVER On-Site or added later.
All of the products include an interactive CD-ROM-based training program and membership in USAgents, the company's national service and marketing affiliation (see sidebar).
The author
Len Strazewski is a Chicago-based freelance writer specializing in marketing, management and technology topics. In addition to contributing to Rough Notes, he has written on insurance for Business Insurance, the Chicago Tribune and Human Resource Executive, among other publications.*
After nearly 15 years in the marketplace, DORIS agency management software continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of independent agents, says Tony Wilkie, president of DORIS, Inc., in Alpharetta, Georgia.
The backbone of features delivered by the new FILESERVERonline.com ASP products, DORIS32 is a comprehensive agency management system used by large and small independent agents in 50 states, Wilkie says.
DORIS, Inc.'s, newest product, The Agent's Choice, was released in January 2002, with new high-tech network features that take it a step above DORIS' current agency management systems, Wilkie says. The software was designed exclusively for the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and now includes electronic signatures, scheduling and the ability to fax or e-mail directly from the agency terminals.
The Agent's Choice software also features:
--Download capability from 320 insurance companies
--Rating integration
--Transactional filing
--Integrated marketing management reports
--Scanning and imaging
--Diary systems
--Word processing
--Laser printing
--Integrated accounting
--General ledger
--More than 330 ACORD forms
Software charges are $4,750, including the first year of support and $2,400 per year afterwards, subject to a 90-day money back guarantee. DORIS, Inc., also provides an upgradable subset of the software, DORIS Daily Connect, free of charge for one year to agencies sponsored by more than 100 insurance companies that have partnered with DORIS, Inc. to develop download capabilities using the software package, Wilkie says.
DORIS, Inc., also provides CD-ROM based training for DORIS32 Gold users and its ASSIST Agency Support Services training program for customer service representatives (CSRs).
DORIS users also become members of USAgents, a national agency service and marketing group that represents more than $2 billion in insurance premiums, according to Wilkie. USAgents allow members to represent their agency as a national entity and service clients wherever they happen to be located.
"It will provide your customers with the same feeling of unity that the direct writers offer their customers. If one of your customers is vacationing or moving to another part of the United States, they can feel confident in knowing that a USAgents member will be there to assist them," he says.
DORIS32 users are listed in the USAgents organization directory and can receive referrals from the organization's toll-free number (800) 851-0023 or Web site (http://www.usagents.org).
For more information:
Web site: www.fileserveronline.com