BANK tech-trends News
 

January 11, 2010 - January 15, 2010

• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers

Hardware News

Lexmark has won a CES Innovations award in the Computer Peripherals category for their Platinum Pro905 Inkjet All-in-One printer. The best feature about this new printer is its incredible ink cartridge pricing: $4.99 for black ink, which equates to about $0.01 per page. The three color cartridges cost $9.99 each, so a replacement for all four cartridges will cost about $35. Meanwhile, most color inkjets that use four replacement cartridges will cost you $75-$125 to replace. The cost of the Pro905 itself is $399 retail and it comes with a five-year limited warranty.

Lenovo just introduced its IdeaCentre A300, and they claim that the new PC is the thinnest all-in-one desktop ever. The new system achieves that title with a depth of 7.3 inches for its 21.5-inch full HD LED display. It features Intel Core2 Duo processors and will be available in February for $699. Lenovo also announced the new ThinkPad Edge series, a family of 13-, 14- and 15-inch models designed and priced specifically for small and medium-sized businesses. Since the Edge line is geared toward SMBs, it also includes Lenovo’s service and support, including ThinkPad Protection from unexpected repair costs in case of accidents or spills; priority support for 24/7 tech-to-tech support; and Hard Disk Drive Retention that lets users keep their failed or damaged hard drive.

Back to Top

Back to Top

ATMs/Kiosks

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel announced new chips aimed at ATMs and kiosks. This rollout marked Intel's shift to a 32-nanometer manufacturing process that allows the chipmaker to put more transistors on an integrated circuit and create smaller, more powerful semiconductors. Plus, it includes the introduction to mainstream PCs of an Intel technology dubbed "Turbo Boost" that enables chips to automatically increase its processing power depending on the workload.

Last year, India’s entire ATM network became surcharge free to consumers from any bank, irrespective of the banks in which they have their accounts. As a result, a recent survey by Banknet India indicates that 95 percent of people now prefer the ATM channel to traditional banking with almost 60 percent of people using an ATM at least once a week.

Back to Top

Morgan Stanley's recently released Mobile Internet Report predicts that more people will connect to the Internet via mobile devices than PCs in five years. The author of the report, Mary Meeker, was also behind the firm's seminal 1995 report heralding the growth of the Internet industry. Some analysts believe that it offers fresh validation for launching new mobile startups and initiatives while boosting the claims of existing mobile businesses.

Back to Top

The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), a group formed in response to a 1998 Presidential security directive, has invited financial institutions, retailers, card processors, and businesses of all sizes to participate in its Cyber Attack against Payment Processes (CAPP) Exercise. The three-day exercise is scheduled for February 9 through 11, 2010. Participants will be expected to activate their incident response procedures in accordance with the scenario presented and to complete an anonymous survey to evaluate their organization's response.

According to McAfee, Adobe Systems' Flash and Acrobat Reader products will become the preferred targets for criminal hackers in 2010, surpassing Microsoft Office applications. Among its other predictions, McAfee expects more sophisticated attacks next year against social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. It also sees the emergence of a new vehicle for attacks in the form of HTML 5, an update to the Web markup language that will support delivery of online video and allow Web applications to run offline.

Back to Top

Security:

Managing Risk and Security Efficiently and Affordably

Cyveillance - http://www.cyveillance.com Read James Brooks' comments: http://www.banktt.com/Cyveillance.pdf

e-DMZ Security - http://www.e-dmzsecurity.com   Read Kris Zupan's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/e-DMZ.pdf

Guardian Analytics - http://www.guardiananalytics.com Read Terry Austin's comments:     http://www.banktt.com/Guardian.pdf

HEIT - http://www.goheit.com   Read Dan Holt's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Heit.pdf

Harland Financial Solutions - http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com Read Jeff Marshall's comments: http://www.banktt.com/HFS.pdf

Hyland Software - http://www.onbase.com Read Steve Comer's comments: http://www.banktt.com/Hyland.pdf

Innovative Strategic Solutions - http://www.issone.com Read Jon Rhodes' comments: http://www.banktt.com/ISS.pdf

Millennial Vision - http://www.mviusa.com Read Scott Cowan's comments: http://www.banktt.com/MVI.pdf

Network Box - http://www.networkboxusa.com   Read Pierluigi Stella's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/NetworkBox.pdf

Ongoing Operations - http://www.ongoingoperations.com   Read Kirk Drake's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/OGO.pdf

Perimeter E-Security - http://www.perimeterusa.com   Read Kevin Prince's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Perimeter.pdf

Software and Management Associates - http://www.smausa.com Read Michael W. Taylor's comments: http://www.banktt.com/SMA.pdf

Trusteer - http://www.trusteer.com   Read Rakesh Loonkar's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Trusteer.pdf

WhiteHat Security - http://www.whitehatsec.com   Read Anurag Agarwal's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/WhiteHat.pdf

Xceedium - http://www.xceedium.com   Read Cheryl Traverse's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/Xceedium.pdf

Back to Top

According to research from Gartner, too many financial institutions lack a formal innovation program which Gartner believes will severely restrict their growth potential. The research firm says innovation is becoming increasingly important because non-banking competitors, such as retailers, online firms and telcos, are making inroads into the industry with strong consumer-oriented services. Gartner recommends that financial institutions focus innovation initiatives on service improvements, as opposed to pure product development and says personalization is a critical component of new offerings. Finally, Gartner says that technology - rather than products and services - will remain the leading enabler of sustainable competitive advantage.

Back to Top

Debit cards that use a signature for verification dominate debit use in this country, accounting for 61 percent of all debit card transactions. Visa has a commanding lead in signature debit in the United States, with a 73 percent share. Meanwhile, its share of the domestic PIN debit market is smaller but growing, at 42 percent, making Visa the biggest PIN network, according to The Nilson Report. Plus, there is even more go news for debit card issuers: by some estimates, debit transactions are forecasted to overtake cash purchases by 2012.

The Boston Federal Reserve Bank released a paper last month that states that consumers now make more than half —52.9% - of their monthly payments with a payment card. Adoption of biller websites to pay bills (AKA biller-direct model) is far ahead of payments made via online banking sites, with an adoption rate of 73% compared to 52%. Meanwhile, cash and checks are not dead: better than one-third of consumer payments in a month still use these traditional methods.

Back to Top

In a major development, AT&T filed comments with the FCC in which the carrier explicitly calls for the phasing out of the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the accompanying POTS service. According to AT&T, broadband is currently available to 90% of households, and 66% of households subscribe to broadband; and over 99% of Americans live in areas with cellular phone service, and approximately 86% of Americans subscribe to a wireless service. The carrier is making detailed arguments to the FCC to support what it considers the urgency of its need to begin the process of getting out from under its requirements to deliver POTS.

Back to Top

Contact centers are gaining new labor efficiencies through the deployment of workforce management solutions, which are increasingly available via the software-as-a-service model. Monet Software is one vendor that offers an on-demand call center scheduling package called Monet WFM Live. This solution, like other WFM packages, offers capabilities that go far beyond what spreadsheets can deliver. First and foremost, they deliver advanced analytics that allow call center managers to forecast, with a high degree of accuracy, how many agents will be needed for any given shift. Plus, WFM software can do more than just improve schedule adherence and reduce shrinkage, they actually serve as short- and long-term strategic planning tools for contact centers of all sizes.

Back to Top