Small devices, big challenges: handhelds present insurers with an assortment of new risks. But new technology is now helping many of them protect against the worst were it to happen

Risk & Insurance, March 3, 2003 by Joan Herbig

That help can only be given, however, if the data on the device has been adequately backed up. Again, the average computer user isn't famous for making conscientious backups, and this is especially the case for busy, mobile users of handhelds. If backups are going to happen, they need to take place automatically; data needs to be stored on the server (not on the companion laptop kept in the same place as the handheld) and updates need to be performed in an unobtrusive manner.

With mobile infrastructure technology, all of this is possible. Device backups can take place in the background, whenever the user connects to the server to check e-mail or update files. Better yet, a server-side solution allows the IT department to control how often data is backed up, as well as where and how it is stored. For insurance organizations that must communicate with large numbers of mobile employees, this is a critical component to maximizing their mobile investments.

The increased computing power of today's handhelds allows enterprises to improve the productivity of field employees and streamline many labor-intensive business processes. Nevertheless, this increased power is truly a double-edged sword. The mobility that makes handhelds so convenient also makes them unpredictable wild cards, capable of wreaking havoc on the entire organization.

The need to extend network management capabilities to mobile handheld devices is obvious--and in the insurance business, critical.

By implementing mobile infrastructure technology, insurance agencies can protect themselves--and their customers--from data theft and recover quickly from its accidental loss.

Joan Herbig is the CEO of XcelleNet Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga., a provider of technology solutions to the insurance and risk industries.