Why COSS?

We are Different...
The COSS method of product development is simple—we listen. Clear communication between our associates and our clients drives our success year-round, but especially during two annual collaborative conferences:

... Our annual Partners' Roundtable provides a forum for high-level discussions with a cross-section of COSS clients. As a privately held company, we consider this roundtable to be our annual Board of Directors' meeting. The Partners’ Roundtable creates a forum for our clients to freely discuss among themselves any organizational or technical improvements COSS could make. We then built on these suggestions in our strategic and tactical planning.

... We invite all of our clients to participate in our annual COSSConference, featuring a full agenda of presentations, hands-on workshops, group discussions and industry speakers. At each COSSConference, we unveil our newest product releases and enhancements, which are often inspired by client input from the previous year's Conference and Roundtable. The format of the two to three-day Conference and the on-site availability of the entire COSS sales and development team allow for significant relationship building and attention to individual client needs.

Our People…
COSS is staffed with experienced software developers, business analysts, product specialists and actuaries. We're not just software designers; we are financial services professionals just like you. Our associates hold titles like MCSD, MCSE, CFP(r), CLU, ChFC, ASA, CPCU, CPA and FLMI. We make it our business to understand your business.

Our Process…
Our proven development strategy makes our products easier to control, update and deploy throughout your organization. Our modular software components, coupled with smart applications that share elements, let you bring products to the marketplace quickly and at lower cost. We’re so confident in our process we invite you to monitor the development of your project via our Web-based tracking system.

Our Tools…
COSS builds state-of-the-art co-development tools that enable you to modify your systems quickly and easily. Let our staff train your staff to customize your systems on their own.

Our Technology…
The COSS Internet system is scalable, reliable and secure. COSS Web applications are designed for a multi-tiered environment, with presentation, business logic, data and business integration layers. This "N-tier architecture" minimizes the impact of software development when there is a change in one tier, and provides the flexibility to add new components to each tier.

Our Research and Development Commitment…
As technology continues to evolve, so does the financial services industry. COSS is committed to helping financial services companies successfully navigate the technology curve. We invest more than $1 million every year in research and development, and we constantly explore new technologies and frameworks from the software industry.

COSS’ research and development not only results in innovative products, it saves you money. We invested $1.3 million in 2003, for example, to create, program and launch our .NET solution suite. This extensive accomplishment allows us to migrate your entire portfolio of term, universal life, whole life, annuities, disability income and worksite marketing at significantly lower cost to you than it would take to repurchase an entire new technology platform. COSS R&D lets you take full advantage of the opportunities offered by .NET and other mobile technologies.