INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY EVENTS: REVELATION OR REPETITION?
by Greg Maciag
The insurance industry has spawned enough conventions and seminars to keep you busy year-round. And technology issues are adding to these already overloaded programs. How do you determine which are worthwhile? This document by Greg Maciag looks into what makes technology events relevant to you.
Technology has contributed to an explosion of industry meetings during the past decade. Is there a saturation point? Are we diluting our ability to focus the industry? Is there too much information? Are we confusing people? Or is all of this a good thing?
First we need to look at the huge convention center technology extravaganzas that aren't industry specific. These are the hardware/software solution shows that attract people from all industries. Then we have the traditional insurance industry conferences and conventions that include technology education and exhibits. Some are oriented to technology exclusively (user group conferences) and others include technology within a broader context (producer associations). Then there are the conferences that offer meetings (education) without exhibits. These are smaller events that can offer more time for reflection and networking and less time looking at the technology.
In addition to industry association events, we see numerous events hosted by solution providers and by trade publishers. And lastly, we have seminar companies that basically organize events for profit. These are the brochures that you get almost daily inviting you to some kind of seminar in your town.
You can attend meetings, conferences, and conventions on a nearly full time basis. I'm pleased that technology has found its way into events and gatherings of people who traditionally didn't talk of such matters. It seems like only yesterday that events for CEOs would acknowledge technology in a very lofty kind of way. Today, technology has surfaced as a competitive corporate strategy and CEOs are becoming well versed in what once was viewed as arcane techno-babble.
If you're a hands-on technology user, you can't pass up your user group meeting because it allows you to communicate with people using the same hardware and software. And just from a training perspective, it makes sense to keep up with what your system can do and voice your opinions for future enhancements.
If you're a professional who incorporates technology into business strategy, you want to focus on the events that are about technology exclusively. They range from small (100 or so) meetings that offer panel discussions, lectures, and networking opportunities to the major technology shows (several thousand) like Comdex. There are also a few insurance or financial services technology events that provide education and, at times, an eclectic showcase of exhibits.
The wired world is a confusing place. The challenge for ACORD is to bring people from different parts of the industry together. We build the standards necessary for processing business and communicating from end-to-end is no simple matter when the industry resembles a patchwork quilt of isolated special interest groups. Association leaders driving industry technology agendas on behalf of a constituency must reach out to others doing the same thing.
We need to harvest good ideas from everyone, forge a consistent industry direction, and encourage trade associations to work more closely together on technology and standards. Industry trade associations must share information, listen to each other, and perhaps merge limited resources to accomplish more.
There's such a glut of information that it has become difficult to separate fact from fiction. Don't take everything you read at face value. What you read and what people believe is largely influenced by perceptions, attitudes, and self-interest.
Remember: The future is shaped and influenced to a great extent by those who have the most to gain or lose.
Gregory A. Maciag is president and chief executive officer of ACORD, the non-profit industry association based in Pearl River, N.Y. ACORD develops and maintains standards for the insurance and related financial services industries and promotes effective use of technology to facilitate e-business and reduce costs. For more information, call (845) 620-1700, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.acord.org.