We’re Here!
Before we get started this week month year decade, I want to start out by wishing everyone out there a successful and fulfilling 2020 possible!
(sidenote: isn’t 2020 the most fun year to type in a while?)
It’s a particularly special time for me, as 2020 marks my 10th year of leading Team Archway and it’s been an interesting ride to say the least.
Still, I’m saving myself some time during this latest lap around the Sun by realizing early that this is not the year I give up sugar, desserts, dairy or carbs…it’s one of the consistent themes of every New Year. Another regular realization that hits me around this time is that a lot of insurance agencies start wondering if they’re getting the best IT services out there.
That’s why we specialize in providing that level of constant care all year long.
Put simply, Archway’s focus is on helping independent agencies just like yours get the most out of the hardware and software they rely on every day. That means identifying potential problems before they transform into costly downtime, keeping your resources available to you so you can spend more time doing what you do best: growing your insurance agency.
If you’re still reading this, I’m appreciative of your time. If you would like a little of mine in return, you can schedule a 15 minute call with me by clicking this link.
Happy New Year from all of us at Archway!
Habitual Line-Skipper
If this year is like most others, I’m set to travel abroad my fair share in 2020. One thing about traveling outside these United States is the process of returning home, and that means dealing with immigration…apparently I’ve been doing it the caveman way all this time.
My son (leave it to him, naturally) recently clued me in on an app that really speeds the process up for many people traveling in and out of the country, and fittingly it’s called Mobile Passport. The service allows American citizens and our Canadian counterparts to quickly move through the screening process through pre-registration…rumor has it that folks are getting through customs in under a minute.
Mobile Passport is not a replacement for your original travel documentation–there will certainly be someone around checking for that, don’t you worry–but the app is live in 27 of the country’s largest airports and 4 major cruise ports, and I for one look forward to wasting less of my life standing around in a glorified bus terminal waiting in line to wait in line.
An Audience With Angela Adams
If you’re not familiar with Angela Adams, you might have some homework to do. She is the undisputed queen of all agency management system consulting and accounting…we should all be so lucky to benefit from a bit of her insight.
Fortunately, I’m exactly that lucky.That’s right, Angela is having a customer connect educational get together in sunny Orlando this February, and I am honored to be a part of the event…click here for more information!
Roaming Data
I know many of you are still using a data center for your hosting needs. TAM On-line is just one example of a high profile management system who will host your information in a data center (either one they own directly or a colocation or “Colo” facility). There are many IT providers that hold clients data hostage and make it difficult to leave.
According to a recent poll in this piece by Gartner, 80 percent of enterprises surveyed had plans to close their data centers and transition to a cloud service by 2025…even Apple, an 800-pound gorilla in any industry it touches, has abandoned the data center in favor of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
That’s what we call a consensus.
The Last Word
Right then, I’ve got a packed agenda this week as the Western world shakes off the slack and dives into the first full week of 2020! I promise not to type “2020” anywhere near as much next week, but thanks as always for making time in this ten-year period for another inspired installment of “Brad’s Blog!” I hope to be back in your best inbox next week–not the one you ignore, the one with 4,186 “new messages”–and if you want to chat before then, just shoot me an email.
2020!