As part of the new Web-based strategy, the company plans to design either a mirrored IBM Corp. AS/400 system to handle the inquiries when its other AS/400 is offline doing backups and batches, or a SAN (storage area network), Burchill says. "We are looking at SANs because even if the servers aren't manned, you need Internet connectivity to them," he says.

Aside from offering its insurance customers Web access to check the status of their own claims, HB Group also is considering letting them make minor changes online to their policies, such as updating an address or adding an endorsement. Also in the works is a portal for HB Group's insurance companies. Still, HB Group has been cautious about its Internet strategy; the third-party call center, for instance, will continue to access account information after-hours over a dedicated frame relay connection rather than over an Internet link.

"To some extent, I've resisted the Internet for security [reasons]," Burchill says. "I wanted to make sure we had the right architecture and infrastructure first."

HB Group's dilemma resembles that of other former SNA shops that have had to adjust to the cultural change from the closed-domain world of the private SNA network--where it was simpler to control access--to the open IP world. But security breaches from the Internet aren't really an issue yet because the insurance company's Web server is hosted at a third-party site and isn't directly connected to the backbone.

Meanwhile, HB Group plans for its AS/400 midrange systems to run with a Web platform. Its three AS/400s all talk IP today, and its Novell NetWare 4.11 servers are being phased out in favor of the more IP-friendly NetWare 5. The trade-off with the multiprotocol backbone is that it requires specialized configurations to be set up, tested and maintained, Burchill says.

Still, juggling IP and IPX hasn't been too much of a hassle for the HB Group, Burchill says. "It's mostly just a matter of us cleaning up the protocols," he says of the network overhaul.

VoIP (voice over IP) may be on the horizon for HB Group. "I can see some cost savings down the road for that," Burchill says. However, Burchill has some reservations about how to guarantee the quality of a voice call, and the company won't test VoIP until the technology is more well-established.