Agents, have varying application needs. Likewise, they share a common interest – to achieve the best customer service possible. The Policy department has users that perform the administrative and technical type of work as it relates to underwriting insurance policies. The Claims department has users that perform calculations for the reserves of claims. They review the potential liability costs involve in customers' claims. The Legal department relies heavily on an efficient exchange of information. The Personnel, Policy and Legal are information oriented departments. Claims and Payroll, on the other hand, relies heavily on accurate calculations of fiscal data. It is reported that the current databank is reaching its capacity. The current system is also inhibiting their customer service where the turnaround to process a claim takes about 90 days.
             The strategic locations of the Business units also contribute to the problems of the current system. The mainframe system negatively impacts the company's ability to reach out to their customers. The Insurance Agents are limited to the office in terms of processing new clients. Under the mainframe system, the structure of the database is costly to maintain and support. Also, it limits the company's ability to intelligently process their information and exchange them with their external business environment.
             There are a variety of systems available in today's market. Costs will depend on the company's desire on long-term solutions. In today's information environment BWAIC needs to position itself to compete with other insurance firms with an advantage of having the best technological tools. An efficient system will produce satisfied customers and intelligent employees. This change in information culture will allow the company to utilize their resources more efficiently where performance reports and external data help the managers make inte...