Originally appeared in NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE, MARCH 26, 3:20 P.M. EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A software expert told insurance agents and brokers attending an automation conference to position themselves for an economic upturn by investing now in technology.

Businesses have "got to invest now" so when there are "small upturns" in the market place they will be in a position to "take advantage" of that future, said Euan Menzies, president and chief executive officer of Bothell, Wash.-based insurance software and service provider Vertafore.

He spoke here at the 34th annual national conference of AMS Users Group, which changed its name today to NetVU (Network of Vertafore Users).

Menzies told his listeners that right now Vertafore is continuing to invest in improving its technology to develop a seamless work experience for users. "We see evolution, not revolution," he said.

(See an article, "Vertafore launches AMS 360 version 4.")

He reviewed how Vertafore has continued to work at improving its ease of use and seamless integration between agency and carrier systems. Saying he was avoiding the term SEMCI (Single Entry, Multiple Company Interface), he said the company is improving its software so agencies and brokers will "see more seamless transaction with carriers."

(See an article on SEMCI, "Agency automation comes of age.")

"It's all about building capacity for your business," Menzies said. "It is not enough to build for the future," he continued. "We need to make sure you can invest in the future."

He assured attendees that Vertafore continues to make the needed investments in technology to provide a better experience and is studying the integration area to improve interface.

Among some of the technologies he highlighted, Sagitta UI, the agency management system for large, complex agencies and brokers, is being refreshed because it has "gotten tired and stale." While it does the job, he said the product needs to be improved to appeal to the "I-Pod generation."

(See an article on "AMS introduces Sagitta version 7.5.")

The company, he continued, is working on password management capabilities that will allow for the management of identification authority aimed at preventing unauthorized access to agency or personal information, adding that this is a huge errors and omissions risk users want answers for.

Just today, Vertafore said it will release Vertafore Identity Management that will allow the company's users to use one username and password to connect with major identity management and federation vendors and systems. The product will be available to the public toward the end of 2010, the company said.

Menzies said Vertafore is confident that it will soon be able to provide users with commercial lines submission capabilities that will be an efficient link similar to what has been developed for personal lines.

While it has been hard to get it right, Menzies predicted that eventually agency management systems will have the same ease-of-use capabilities as personal lines, and that will mean an increased number of submissions using that technology."We will get commercial right just like we got personal lines right," he said.