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Wayne Plotkin
"While many businesses are investing in cloud storage, we are going one step further and building our own private cloud."Wayne Plotkin
CIO
Sihle Insurance Group
Wayne Plotkin has been Chief Information Officer for Sihle Insurance Group since 2005. He has more than 15 years of experience leading technology operations and initiatives across large-scale, complex organizations.
Steering transformational initiatives within business environment that typically required IT
When we constructed our new, 40,000 square foot Sihle Insurance Group headquarters five years ago, one of our main goals was to aggressively discover, analyze and embrace promising technologies that could help us transform our business to a paperless process that added value to everything we do. Our investment of nearly $500,000 in leading edge IT systems, cabling and wiring during construction has paid off, and today we are indeed paperless. Since then, we have focused on enlarging our bandwidth from our initial T1 with 1.5 megs, and we are now on a fiber optic system providing us 100 megs, which is also scalable upward with a phone call.
Some of the things you have done to elevate IT’s relationship with the business
While many businesses are investing in cloud storage, we are going one step further and building our own private cloud. Among its other advantages, having a private cloud is actually less expensive and more reliable in the long run than renting space from a provider if you know what you are doing and build it correctly.
While many businesses are investing in cloud storage, we are going one step further and building our own private cloud. Among its other advantages, having a private cloud is actually less expensive and more reliable in the long run than renting space from a provider if you know what you are doing and build it correctly.
Utilizing technology to streamline your business processes
A significant savings in the cost and time and improved accuracy associated with data duplication is realized through carrier integration into our management system. We can key in client information, select a fairly large number of potential carriers for that client, and the system automatically uploads and injects that client information onto the proper carrier forms to calculate a quote.
The areas in business environment where solutions do not exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier
A solution that I would look forward to in 2013 is “a day without SPAM”. When you look at how far technology has evolved in the past 15 years, and especially within the last few years, it amazes me that SPAM is still such as big a problem as it is today. Here at Sihle Insurance I have implemented many different technology solutions to combat SPAM. Just to name a few we have all inbound messages scanned by a third-party solution and then scan inbound mail again when our servers receive the email. We have also implemented a DNS Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record for our domain.
A significant savings in the cost and time and improved accuracy associated with data duplication is realized through carrier integration into our management system. We can key in client information, select a fairly large number of potential carriers for that client, and the system automatically uploads and injects that client information onto the proper carrier forms to calculate a quote.
The areas in business environment where solutions do not exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier
A solution that I would look forward to in 2013 is “a day without SPAM”. When you look at how far technology has evolved in the past 15 years, and especially within the last few years, it amazes me that SPAM is still such as big a problem as it is today. Here at Sihle Insurance I have implemented many different technology solutions to combat SPAM. Just to name a few we have all inbound messages scanned by a third-party solution and then scan inbound mail again when our servers receive the email. We have also implemented a DNS Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record for our domain.
Technology trends impacting enterprise business environment
We were the first agency in Florida to develop a mobile app and make it available in the iPhone app store: the Sihle Insurance Group app. It enables clients, staff, customers and carriers to access and manage numerous aspects of the products and services we provide, including claims information and tracking. All of our sales staff have smart phones and/or tablets with total access to all agency data as if they were sitting at their desks, which helps them be more effective through the use of leading edge technology.
My roles and responsibilities as a CIO
Technology is always evolving, so the role of a CIO is also always evolving. Just when you think you have learned everything there is to know about technology, something new is developed and the education process starts all over again. The simple fact that technology innovation never stops is why I love it.
Lessons learned and advice for fellow CIOs
Business intelligence starts with the ability to analyze data and understand what that data means. I recommend that every business large and especially small embrace technology and find ways to utilize it in every way possible.
We were the first agency in Florida to develop a mobile app and make it available in the iPhone app store: the Sihle Insurance Group app. It enables clients, staff, customers and carriers to access and manage numerous aspects of the products and services we provide, including claims information and tracking. All of our sales staff have smart phones and/or tablets with total access to all agency data as if they were sitting at their desks, which helps them be more effective through the use of leading edge technology.
My roles and responsibilities as a CIO
Technology is always evolving, so the role of a CIO is also always evolving. Just when you think you have learned everything there is to know about technology, something new is developed and the education process starts all over again. The simple fact that technology innovation never stops is why I love it.
Lessons learned and advice for fellow CIOs
Business intelligence starts with the ability to analyze data and understand what that data means. I recommend that every business large and especially small embrace technology and find ways to utilize it in every way possible.
