By Anura Guruge - Industry Analyst

Today's highly proven Web-to-host technology could truly rival actuarial tables when it comes to being indispensable to the insurance industry. Innovative Web-to-host solutions, such as ResQNet's ResQPortal, can be gainfully used by insurance companies to reduce costs, improve productivity, enhance competitiveness, rejuvenate old applications, enable wireless services and increase bottom-line profits. The Farmers Mutual Protective Association of Texas, a very successful mutual insurance company that specializes in providing Texan farmers with coverage against property loss from fire, theft and vandalism, can attest to this.

The Farmers Mutual has been profitably using ResQNet Web-to-host technology since early 1999 to realize end-to-end encrypted, agent-to-AS/400 remote access over the Internet, to obtain a 'point-and-click' graphical user interface to their AS/400 applications as well as to add new functionality to these applications. All of this was possible with very little effort, minimal costs, and without any changes to the original AS/400 applications. In many cases, ResQNet's Web-to-host solutions will slash remote access costs by over 90% - a typical saving of over $9,000 per year per agent!

Prior to discovering Web-to-host technology, The Farmers Mutual Protective Association of Texas had found that traditional remote access schemes, including public Frame Relay services, could be quite costly for providing their 300-plus field agents with direct, online access to the AS/400 resident policy and claims applications. ResQNet's highly secure Web-to-host technology ensured that they could effortlessly and confidently use the Internet as the basis for their AS/400 remote access. All that is required to freely interact with mainframe or AS/400 applications, over the Internet, using ResQNet's offerings is standard Internet Service Provider (ISP)-based access.

Unlimited Internet access via ISPs is routinely available for around $19.95 per month in North America. Unlimited local phone access to reach the ISP is usually available, in most localities, for under $25 a month. Consequently, for $45 (or less) a month, insurance agents can have unlimited Internet access -- and through the Internet, unlimited host access through the ResQNet Web-to-host solutions. The rule of thumb within the insurance industry is that non-Internet-based remote access schemes [e.g. Frame Relay] typically costs $6.50 per hour per agent. Even if an agent is only online for 30 hours a week, the average monthly bill for remote access is going to be in excess of $870 - and that is before the cost of the remote access hardware at the corporate site is factored in.

Insurance Specific Uses for Web-to-host Technology

Most insurance companies will find that the dramatic cost savings possible with Internet-based remote access alone is more than sufficient to justify unequivocally the merits of adopting Web-to-host technology, à la ResQPortal. Remote access, however, is just one of the many gainful applications for Web-to-host technology within the insurance industry. Some of the other compelling applications - guaranteed to reduce costs, increase competitiveness, enhance productivity and boost responsiveness to the customer base - include:

1. Providing existing and prospective customers with interactive, online information on insurance policies, pricing and services over the Internet. In the case of existing customers this service can be securely extended with userID and password based authentication to include on-line, real-time queries of their policies, payments and claims status. Offering customers this type of Internet-based, direct access, using just a standard Web browser, improves customer satisfaction and provides differentiation from competitors. Moreover it greatly reduces internal costs by minimizing the telephone call queries that have to be serviced on a call center basis.

2. Significantly enhancing user productivity by replacing the dated and hard-to-use 'green-on-black' user interfaces of mainframe and AS/400 applications with an easy-to-navigate, 'point-and-click' graphical user interface. ResQNet is the acknowledged market leader in user interface rejuvenation, extension and augmentation. ResQNet's patented user interface reengineering is so unique and powerful that it is used under license by IBM. With ResQNet's proven technology, user interface reengineering never requires any changes, whatsoever, to be made to the host applications. An automatic, 'straight-out-of-the-box' autoGUI capability that recognizes over 400 common host screen structures [e.g. PF-key assignment lists] and dynamically changes them to GUI-oriented components is hallmark of the ResQNet solution. Extensive customization, on top of this autoGUI capability, is easily achieved using the PC-based Customization Studio with its totally visual, 'drag-and-drop' development methodology.

3. Facilitating wireless-to-host interactions whereby insurance agents, on the move [e.g. visiting clients at home], can easily and securely use a palm, PDA or telephone device to obtain accurate pricing, check options on policies, change customer information or even submit a new policy. Such wireless-to-host capabilities will increase agent productivity, maximize customer responsiveness and provide a competitive edge over the competition.

4. Minimizing training costs and expediting the resolution of user problems reported to the help desk through using ResQPortal's incisive and innovative user interaction monitoring and tracking capability. With this powerful tool, help desk personnel can literally look over the shoulder of users, as they are performing a transaction and help guide them through, in real-time, any difficulties they are encountering.

5. Totally eliminateing all of the costs associated with sustaining, maintaining and managing client-side host emulation software. With the ResQPortal solution the only software required at the client side for unrestricted mainframe or AS/400 access, replete with user interface rejuvenation, is a standard release 4 (or greater) Web browser - Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Eliminating the need for any other client side software obviates the need for software maintenance fees, software upgrade initiatives and software management programs. The bottom line here is a cost savings of at least $150 per user per year. If dealing with thousands of users this adds up to a very tangible saving that could propagate itself all the way to the company bottom line.

6. Easily extending the functionality of existing host applications, without making any changes to the host software whatsoever, to add new time-saving or customer satisfaction features. For example, using the ResQNet solution it would be possible to extend an existing mainframe resident policy management application to generate exact facsimiles of customer policies in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) so that they can be delivered in real-time to agents or customers over the Web. Farmers Mutual of Texas is already doing this to great effect. With this new functionality agents can deliver actual printed policies to customers within minutes - rather than days as was the case when the policy had to be printed at headquarters and then mailed to the customer.

How does ResQPortal Work

ResQPortal is a server-side solution that requires only a standard Web browser at the client-end. Moreover, ResQPortal is 100% Java-based. It is thus platform neutral and can be implemented quickly on any of the popular servers including NT/Windows 2000 and Unix/Linux. ResQNet, also supports ResQPortal on OS/390 and OS/400. This ability to be installed on mainframes and AS/400s is a unique and valuable attribute of ResQPortal. Direct host installment results in a highly scalable, robust and secure, 2-tier solution that does not rely on any intermediary servers. With a 2-tier solution, users with Web browsers will interact directly with ResQPortal on a mainframe or AS/400, through the Internet, an intranet or extranet - and through ResQPortal with the appropriate host applications.

ResQPortal is an 'on-the-fly' 3270/5250-to-HTML conversion solution whose unparalleled forte is effortless user interface rejuvenation. ResQPortal supports two levels of rejuvenation: automatic GUI transformations and extensive, bespoke customization. The automatic transformation capability is totally self-contained and automated and does not require any kind of intervention or configuration by the customer (or end user). This autoGUI capability, which includes patented technology, dynamically recognizes over 400 common 'legacy' screen structures and automatically converts them to GUI-type components. Thus, the PF key assignment strings routinely found at the bottom of 'legacy' screens [e.g. PF3 = Exit] will be converted to a clickable button 'on-the-fly'. ResQPortal will also change numbered menu lists to mouse-selectable items, thereby obviating the need to type in a number to select the next action item.

Extensive user interface customization, including extending the interface to add new functions [e.g. generate claims in PDF form], is realized using ResQNet's PC-based Customization Studio. The Customization Studio is the foremost user interface reengineering tool in the market. The Customization Studio offers a totally visual, 'drag-and-drop' paradigm that works on captured host screen images as the basis for user interface reengineering. It is quick, intuitive, efficient and highly proven. With this highly acclaimed ResQNet solution, dramatic user interface reengineering results can be achieved in a fraction of the time of other solutions. Projects that were expected to take months could be successfully completed in days. ResQNet guarantees such expedited results.

ResQPortal's rejuvenation functions, whether autoGUI or customized, are all performed at the server-side - in keeping with it being a totally server-side only solution. No files or applets are downloaded to the client to facilitate rejuvenation. As an 'on-the-fly' 3270/5250-to-HTML conversion solution, ResQPortal functions by intercepting standard 3270 or 5250 datastream from host applications. It does so by acting as a conventional tn3270(E) and tn5250 client vis-à-vis the host software. It works with any and all popular 'tn' servers; e.g. IBM's Communications Server (which runs on mainframes and AS/400s), Novell's NetWare for SAA 4 and Microsoft's SNA Server.

ResQPortal per se consists of a three to four Java servlets. These servlets run on any Java compatible Web or application server; e.g. IBM's WebSphere, which is available on all popular platforms from mainframes to NT servers. ResQPortal interacts with host applications using 'tn' protocols. It converts 3270 or 5250 datastreams it receives from these applications, 'on-the-fly', to HTML. Rejuvenation transformations, whether they be autoGUI or customized, are applied during this conversion process. The resulting HTML Web pages are then passed onto a standard Web server for delivery to the client's Web browser. In some instances, JavaScripts that are executed by the browser are used to support certain value-added functions. Input from clients, received in HTML form, are accepted from the Web server and converted to 3270 or 5250 so that they can be forwarded to the relevant host applications. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-based user authentication and end-to-end data encryption is supported, in both directions, to ensure guaranteed security.

How ResQPortal Differs from other Web-to-Host Offerings

ResQPortal is a unique and powerful solution. Its primary differentiating features are as follows:

1. Unparalleled user interface rejuvenation and reengineering capability

2. Totally Java-based, server-only solution that can be installed on a mainframe or AS/400 to achieve a highly scalable, secure and robust 2-tier solution

3. No files or applets downloaded to the client to realize rejuvenation or value-added functions

4. Extremely fast deployment, activation and customization that reduces Web-to-host activation lead times from months to days

5. Tightly integrated support for wireless devices - including a unique, on-site service to significantly expedite wireless-to-host application enablement

ResQPortal permits secure, reliable and efficient mainframe and AS/400 access across the Internet. Since its only prerequisite at the client side is a standard Web browser, there is never a need for any special software to be installed or downloaded to the clients. There are no applet downloads. It is truly a zero-footprint solution at the client side. Consequently, new agents or new field offices can be brought online instantaneously - without any delays for software installation or software downloads. Agents can access host applications from the road or from home. With a suitable wireless device, whether it be a palm, pocket PC, PDA or telephone unit, they could interact with host applications and provide policy or claim information to customers at their home. ResQPortal Web-to-host and wireless-to-host capabilities truly liberates agents when it comes to host access.

The browser-based access possible over the internet with ResQPortal, also means that the general public [i.e. existing or prospective customers] can gain access to selected host resources - albeit subject to stringent authorization and security criteria. With ResQPortal, no user, whether internal or external, will be able to get anywhere close to a host application without the appropriate authorization. ResQPortal thus diligently safeguards host resources and host access. Standard Web-oriented security measures, such as firewalls, can be used in conjunction with ResQPortal to provide additional security check-points and barriers even before a user can reach ResQPortal. With a ResQPortal solution, security is never a stumbling block. Comprehensive, end-to-end security is always a hallmark of a ResQPortal solution.

With ResQPortal, Internet-based host access is possible using standard Internet connections and Web servers. Therefore there are no special provisions that need to be made to realize host access [e.g. having to activate Virtual Private Networking (VPN)]. Mainframe and AS/400 access, with end-to-end encryption and user interface rejuvenation, is possible with any Internet connection. So all that is required in general is standard ISP-based Internet access. This is simple and inexpensive. Thus the possibility of slashing agent-to-host remote access costs by 90% or more. The Farmers Mutual of Texas is an excellent example of the power, simplicity and cost-effectiveness of Internet-based host access. Prior to going with ResQNet's Web-to-host access, they found that providing direct on-line AS/400 access to their 300 plus field agents was not cost justifiable. With Internet-based access cost was no longer an impediment. Subsequently Farmers Mutual has used this technology to extend their host applications - in addition to gaining economical remote access.

The Bottom Line

ResQNet's Web-to-host technology can be of great value to insurance companies. This proven and innovative technology can slash operating costs, eliminate software maintenance costs, improve user productivity, enhance corporate competitiveness and improve customer satisfaction. It can truly rival actuarial tables when it comes to being an indispensable tool for the insurance industry. This technology is proven, reliable, secure and readily extensible. Insurance companies like The Farmers Mutual Protective Association of Texas will vouch to that.