One of the great advantages of doing business today is that it is not business as usual. And one key to a bright future is wireless technology. The ability to send and receive data from remote locations without a desktop hookup has greatly opened the insurance world, particularly for claims adjusters. Today, thanks to a host of technologies that could barely be imagined 20 years ago, an adjuster can pick up his assignments, carry out his tasks, and even write a check, all from the back of his car.

Wireless technology will dramatically impact the way insurers do business. It has improved to the point where signal interruptions and dead zones are no longer the disaster they once were, and where the middleware available for wireless applications is making worries about bandwidth seem less troublesome than in years past.

Sure, everyone would love to have 3G wireless,said Steve Ramirez, senior director for market planning for e-business with Mitchell International, referring to the third generation technologies promised in the next three to five years, but the existing throughput works well with accompanying middleware. We all want everything to be bigger, faster, and strongerits an indelible part of our society. But businesses dont need to wait till tomorrow to derive significant value from wireless applications, according to Ramirez.