An interesting dichotomy in insurance technology gradually has developed. On the one hand, many IT executives remain mired in the same questions that plagued them or their predecessors 10 or 15 years ago: What to do about legacy systems, build vs. buy, how to do data management right, etc.those old familiar evergreen issues. At the same time, with advancements in technology, the industry has been inching to technologys forefront, starting from the now ubiquitous cell phone to what (according to many of the CIOs profiled in our Automated Exec department) seemingly is a CIOs new best friend, the BlackBerry, to global positioning systems and maybe even radio frequency identification. Another dichotomy: These changes that make our lives more efficient and simple also make them more complex. Think of the newfound network strain and the demand for security.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is carriers that recognize todays IT frontier is tomorrows Main Street are the companies that will dominate. Of course, this doesnt mean chasing a new technology is the key to success or without risk. Furthermore, this march forward increases the pressure on insurers as their size and resources decrease, but its a fact of competitiononly the strongest survive.

The strongest not only comprehend new technology developments but are able to leverage them as such new tools prove themselves. This applies equally to IT and business, which means business needs to be part of the education process.

Every once in a while Ive heard about senior business executives who are so technologically challenged they have their personal assistant print out their e-mail. Im guessing their ranks are decreasing, as these will be the managers who will be put out to pasture sooner rather than later. The same holds true for CEOs. Current business thinking endorses the tech-savvy CEO as a leader who knows how to use technology as a key competitive advantage (for CEO and CIO input regarding the challenges that keep each up at night, see p. 16).

But what is the logical conclusion to this belief? How will the role of the CIO change? Will it make the CIO a candidate for the top spot as technology becomes the lifeblood of organizations? Or will the CIO become redundant? My musings on this lead me to believe theres another dichotomy lurking. On one hand, businesss reliance on technology is only going to grow, with the role of the technologist becoming more essential and complex. However, that same need (not to mention the arguable lack of well-honed business skills) likely will keep the CIO from trading in the I for an E. A business-savvy CIO is a treasure to a CEO, and even an IT-savvy CEO cant handle wearing ITs shoes full time.

Now the world isnt necessarily logical. However, if this scenario plays out, the good news is CIOs will continue to be the big fish in the technology pond. The bad news is they may well continue to swim upstream toward the corner office.

Sharon S. Schwartzman
Editor-in-Chief