Kellner and Roy believe that together, Applied Systems and Artizan offer new advantages for managing insurance relationships. The centerpiece of the new union is the integration of CSR24—and later, other Artizan products—with all agency or broker management systems.

For some time, Applied Systems TAM, Epic and Vision have been among the agency and broker management solutions that integrate with CSR24. Kellner and Roy believe that common ownership will foster development for greater efficiencies and effectiveness. They emphasized that Artizan will continue to develop and deliver solutions for agency and broker management systems from all technology vendors, not just those from Applied Systems.

Kellner said the Artizan acquisition came about after he consulted with Roy on the future development of a 24/7online consumer connection. Roy's company wanted additional financial resources to advance the technology and grow Artizan's staff and infrastructure, according to Kellner. He noted that Artizan will maintain its headquarters in Windsor, Conn., as well as its development office in Phoenix. The entire Artizan management team and staff remain in place.

In addition to CSR24, Artizan products include InsWorld, an electronic publishing and communication service; certTrax, a Web-based system for reviewing and managing certificates of insurance for compliance; and WebServices for templated and customized agency or broker Web site design. Since the acquisition, Artizan has undertaken CSR24 testing to develop integration with broker management systems in Canada. Those integrations are targeted for later this year.

“Every agency and broker office is looking to make the most of existing sales and service operations,” Kellner said. “Artizan's suite of products and services allows them to enhance the work they're already doing everyday with their agency and broker management systems.”