business practices, which will blunt their competitive edge, according to a local computer expert.

Mr. John McAleavy, who has recently joined systems integrator and service company Business Systems Limited (BSL), has spent the last two months making presentations to local companies about the financial benefits of reviewing their information management techniques.

As other jurisdictions compete more aggressively with Bermuda, Mr. McAleavy predicts the best way to stay ahead is to throw out outdated technology and provide impeccable service.

Mr. Ian MacIntyre, retail manager at The Computer Centre, a division of Bermuda Computer Services, said the recently arrived, highly capitalised reinsurers are "very technology orientated'', and will provide a catalyst for local organisations to update their own technology.

Service staff should be given a complete view of customer and company information from a workstation, said Mr. McAleavy, and answer enquiries immediately.

"In the US and Europe, service is the battleground,'' said Mr. McAleavy, who is an information technology consultant at BSL.

Most senior managers in Bermuda "see the writing on the wall'', but middle managers in charge of the day-to-day operations are not so progressive, he said.

"The worldwide growth of financial markets will make it difficult for Bermuda-based financial services organisations to differentiate themselves on a product basis,'' said Mr. McAleavy.

The way to retain competitive advantage is to provide top-notch customer service, high quality and low costs, he said.

Companies operating in the financial services industry in Bermuda are most enthusiastic about adopting technology.

"Historically the financial services industry has been characterised by paper-drive, and factory-style work flow,'' said Mr. McAleavy. "This is labour intensive, inefficient, and will not meet the financial objectives of the competitive financial services market.'' In Bermuda's local businesses, the task of recording and reacting to business activities is done mainly by shuffling paper, according to Mr. McAleavy.

"There are procedures, that observed by me as an outsider, don't make commercial sense. As the pool of employees is limited in Bermuda, Mr. McAleavy said, it makes sense for employers to make technology work more efficiently for them. Many existing systems in Bermuda have evolved over many years and, therefore, tend to be inflexible and difficult to adapt to the changing business environment, he said.

"Operating procedures and support systems that worked well in the 70s and 80s are now one of the main constraints to efficiency, quality and customer service,'' he said.

"There is more bureaucracy in Bermuda than there needs to be, and the technology exists to speed up business procedures. The best way to achieve competitive advantage is by reworking the business process, and investing in key technologies, which automate repetitive clerical activity.'' Mr. MacIntyre said Bermuda was held back by bureaucracy, and urged the use of document imaging technology, which provides instant access to information on screen, and also electronic mail.

Upper management, as well as middle management, are displaying indiscriminate buying habits, said Mr. Rick Wynn, account executive at business systems and communications company BusyComm, although top managers are analysing how to get the most for their money, said Mr. Wynn.

Another trend is purchasing inferior quality, low price brands, which later develop problems, he said.

"Businesses have to purchase equipment that can be updated and has expansion capability,'' said Mr. Wynn.

Mr. Ian MacIntyre.