Sierra(r) solution suite gains market share at financial institutions of all sizes

Alogent Corp., a leading provider of enterprise deposit automation technologies for global financial institutions and processors, announced it has reached an important company milestone by signing its 1,000th customer. This company milestone coincides with the important industry milestone of 1,000 days having passed since the October 28, 2004 effective date of The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21).

Alogent identified Everett, Wash.-based Frontier Bank as its 1,000th customer. The bank has selected Alogent's Sierra Xpedite(r) Remote Deposit(tm) solution to provide business customers with a cost-effective and convenient method of making deposits without taking paper checks to the bank.

Ross Maynard, EVP at Frontier Bank, believes the bank and its customers will be served well by the Alogent solution. "We are proud to be the 1000th customer. Using the Alogent solution helps us in our mission to be recognized as a premier provider of financial services within the communities we serve. Alogent's solution not only automates and streamlines the deposit workflow, it allows us to deliver the latest available technology to our customers and save them time, cost and effort in the process."

Beyond Frontier Bank, sales for Alogent's Sierra(r) software platform for banks and credit unions have grown to record levels, and are projected to continue throughout 2007 and beyond. In the 1,000 days since October 2004, the company has lead the industry in Check 21 distributed capture solutions with a combination of over 70,000 seats sold for branch, ATM, and remote deposit automation.

"Our strategic corporate goals are squarely focused on innovation as represented by our real-time deposit automation and straight through check processing solutions," said Brian Geisel, founder and CEO of Alogent Corporation. "This innovation - combined with clear benefits enabled by Check 21 - are key components in driving a rapid migration to electronic payment processing. It's exciting to see our corporate mission translate into payments transformation driving significant cost reduction, geographic expansion, and deposit growth for our customers."

As Check 21 took effect in the fall of 2004, opinions and predictions varied widely around the law's future  implications. Despite availability of image-enabled systems, many financial institutions that had been using traditional methods for processing paper checks were ready to reduce the risk of being affected by  transportation issues, such as those caused by 9/11. Electronic clearing options enabled by Check 21 were soon developed and went into live production, expediting the transition to paperless processing that continues today.

In June 2004, Corporate One was one of the first financial institutions to implement remote deposit automation as part of its nationwide effort to provide value-added services to credit unions. "Alogent's technology allows us to reduce costs and processing time, and to offer image-enabled technologies that appeal to our members," said Lee Butke, president and CEO of Corporate One. "Even more compelling is our ability to eliminate the geographical constraints around offering service to credit unions anywhere in the country."

The developments in the first 1,000 days of Check 21 have solidified the business case for real-time deposit automation. As noted by BearingPoint, the four pillars of reengineering in response to Check 21 include: enhancements to the customer experience, new revenue opportunities, cost reductions and risk management.

"As a proven leader in the deposit automation space, we remain dedicated to driving continued innovation and customer satisfaction for our first customer, our 1,000th, and every customer in between," said Paul Citarella, Alogent's executive vice president. "In forming partnerships with financial institutions, we learn their operational challenges in depth. This practice is extremely valuable in formulating our product vision, and we will continue with it for our next 1,000 customers and beyond," he said.

About Alogent
Founded in 1995, Alogent Corporation is a leading global provider of enterprise-wide deposit automation technologies that enable financial institutions and processors to leverage the conversion of paper to electronic processing. The company's Sierra suite of solutions automates deposit processes at every point of presentment (including branches, ATMs, merchants, corporations and cash vaults), while optimizing electronic data and image processing and settlement. As the deposit automation market leader, Alogent's platform processes billions of payments annually, with more than 70,000 seats sold to date. The company counts KeyCorp, Lloyds TSB and SunTrust among its 1,000 financial institution customers. For more information, visit http://www.alogent.com/ or call 888.333.6030.

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Insurers can now easily access data residing within the industry’s leading policy production system and quickly generate reports

 Skywire Software, a leading provider of software and services for the insurance industry, announced the availability of a new reporting tool for PPS, its industry-leading policy production system for Managing General Agencies (MGAs) and wholesalers. Using Skywire Software’s reporting tool insurers can easily extract data residing within the smart archive of PPS to create Lloyd’s Bordereau and other reports. 

Skywire Software’s powerful new reporting tool for PPS reflects the company’s continued commitment to innovation for the insurance industry and enabling its customer to solve business challenges.  Companies can save hundreds of hours in work by avoiding duplicate data entry and additional report verification by using the tool to access policy production data and quickly generate reports. 

One customer using the Skywire Software’s PPS reporting tool was able to extract data and create a report in one hour, which previously took six months to prepare.  “The reporting tool works like a charm,” said Lauri Klotz, assistant vice president, Continental Special Risks. “The data pulls from PPS easily, and it’s quite easy to put together a report – much easier than any other product I’ve used.”

Skywire Software’s reporting tool for PPS is easy to install, set up and integrate within the existing PPS system. Strong export and import capabilities enable unlimited data exporting, flexibility in data exporting to Excel, Access, XML format, as well as visual mapping of forms and fields to data columns for simple report creation.

“Skywire Software is committed to investing in our offerings for the industry and the wholesale insurance market,” said Wendy Gibson, chief marketing officer, Skywire Software.  “We continually listen to our customers and direct development of our market-leading software based on helping them meets their business needs.” 

With hundreds of sites installed, Skywire Software’s PPS is the industry leader with one of the largest customer bases of all policy production systems, producing a substantial percentage of all policies produced each year.  According to a recent NAPSLO survey, almost 70 percent of its general agent members and with more than 60 percent of it broker members using PPS to issue policies. 

The number of wholesale insurance companies using Skywire Software’s market-leading PPS for policy issuance continues to grow.  More than 100 customers have purchased the policy issuance system and related offerings during the past year. 

Skywire Software’s PPS is a powerful application that enables efficient and economical policy issuance, including any user-defined transaction such as new policies, quotes, endorsements, cancellations and renewals, for all lines of business.  By using Skywire Software’ PPS companies can cut policy issuance time by up to 70 percent and also cut policy issuance costs by up to 69 percent, all while handling more volume with existing staff. 

Skywire Software serves more than 1,600 customers worldwide.  More than 1,000 insurance companies, including hundreds of MGAs and eight of the top ten wholesalers, use Skywire Software’s insurance business applications and enterprise Customer Communications Management (CCM) software, professional services, and Business Process Outsourcing facilities.  

About Skywire Software

Skywire Software is a leading software company serving the insurance, health care, utility, and financial services industries.  The Company develops industry-specific software products that help companies integrate processes, people and information.  With products and services that span a range of key functions, including rating, rules, underwriting, business intelligence, online management, data movement, and enterprise-wide document automation, Skywire Software is dedicated to providing an unparalleled customer experience to more than 1,600 customers worldwide.  For more information, contact Skywire Software at 1-800-735-6620 or visit www.skywiresoftware.com.

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Bank extends contract for six years

Vidalia, Ga.–based Darby Bank renewed its contract with Open Solutions Inc.®’s for core data processing. The bank uses The Complete Banking Solution®, a relational core data processing platform for community banks, to address its data processing needs. Open Solutions Inc. is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial institutions in the United States, Canada and other international markets. The bank has relied on Open Solutions to meet its enterprise-wide core processing needs since 1999.

“After going through a competitive evaluation, we found that none of Open Solutions’ competitors could meet our current or future needs,” said John Tyson, SVP and COO. “After a thorough investigation process, we determined Open Solutions continues to offer the most sophisticated solution and the most capable for addressing our growth and long term goals.” 

Open Solutions’ real-time processing was another deciding factor in Darby Banks’ decision to renew its contract.  “Open Solutions’ real time processing is more technologically advanced than any other system we evaluated,” said Tyson. “We will continue to leverage technology to further improve and streamline our operational procedures. Relying on Open Solutions’ platform, we have a complete view of our customers and as a result, we are able to proactively respond to their needs and quickly offer competitive products and services.”

Built on a powerful Oracle® relational database, The Complete Banking Solution’s open architecture and customer-centric platform is designed to help financial institutions streamline both the front- and back-office applications with a focus on customer service. The Open Solutions core platform offers banks a centralized view of its specific relationships with customers, employees and business partners.

In addition to The Complete Banking Solution data processing platform, Darby Bank will be implementing Open Solutions’ Image System Check processing software. “We used ISCheck before they were acquired by Open Solutions. We feel the integration will only get better now that they are part of the Open Solutions family. Our facility will have the best in checking and core processing.” 

Louis Hernandez, Jr., Open Solutions chairman and CEO, said, “Open Solutions’ primary objective is to offer a complete, enterprise-wide data processing and complementary product solutions that enable service–oriented institutions like Darby Bank to efficiently offer innovative products and services, deliver outstanding customer service and be competitive in their market. We are deeply involved in the banking industry and understand the need for flexible solutions that are capable of evolving alongside with the institution’s needs. This commitment and knowledge of the industry, coupled with sophisticated technology solutions positions Open Solutions as a leader in the data processing industry. We are very pleased to have once again earned Darby Bank’s trust as demonstrated by their renewing this valued partnership. We look forward to helping Darby Bank continue to achieve its business goals well into the future and to contributing to its success.”

About Open Solutions Inc.
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting tools, imaging, digital documents, Check 21, interactive voice response, network services, Web hosting and design, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.

For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.

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Insurance Services Office, Inc., is pleased to announce that it is working with United States Department of Agriculture/Rural Development in a joint endeavor to provide communities with information regarding the Community Loan and Grant Programs that are available through USDA/Rural Development and the Rural Housing Service.

The Community Loan and Grant Programs provide funds that may be used to improve municipal public safety systems. Grant funds are awarded to economically feasible projects in financially needy communities with populations of fewer than 20,000 people.

ISO has established a working relationship with USDA/Rural Development to deliver information on the Community Loan and Grant Programs to the 45,500 fire-protection districts within the United States. As part of the ISO Public Protection Classification (PPC™) program, ISO evaluates each community’s fire-protection system according to a uniform set of criteria, incorporating nationally recognized standards developed by the American Water Works Association and the National Fire Protection Association. This information may be utilized by insurance carriers when determining insurance premiums for a property within that community.

“We are including information about USDA’s grant fund program in all of our direct communications with community fire officials,” said Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of ISO. “We’re very pleased to be working with USDA on this effort. Many communities may qualify for these funds and use them to improve the fire-protection and rescue services they offer their citizens. Improved facilities or equipment — including expanding the water services available for firefighting in a community — may improve their PPC rating, as well,” he added.

“This arrangement is a win-win for both organizations,” stated Thomas Dorr, Under-Secretary for USDA/Rural Development. “Increasing fire-protection and rescue services benefits communities, and through ISO, we can make sure that communities are recognized for making improvements that may change and/or improve their Public Protection Classification.”

USDA/Rural Development loan funds may be used to construct, enlarge, or improve public safety facilities, such as fire stations and buildings to house fire and/or rescue equipment. Funds may also be used to purchase fire trucks, ambulances, or emergency communications equipment; to buy or build fire and rescue multiservice centers; and to pay necessary costs connected with those facilities.

USDA/Rural Development also administers water and wastewater loan and grant programs to improve quality of life and promote economic development in rural America. This assistance is available through Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Programs. Open to municipalities, counties, special-purpose districts, and Native American tribes, funds are available to cities and towns with a population of fewer than 10,000 to restore deteriorating water supplies or to improve, enlarge, or modify a facility or an inadequate waste facility.

Information and applications can be obtained from any USDA/Rural Development Office. Applications should be made to the USDA/Rural Development State Office. The Community and Business Programs staff of the USDA/Rural Development Office will be glad to discuss services available from the agency and explain how to prepare a written application. For information on all programs administered by USDA/Rural Development, visit the national office website at www.RURDEV.USDA.gov.

About USDA/Rural Development

USDA/Rural Development is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. Financial programs support such essential public facilities and services as water and sewer systems, housing, health clinics, emergency service facilities, and electric and telephone service. It promotes economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools. USDA/Rural Development offers technical assistance and information to help agricultural and other cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their member services. Technical assistance to help communities undertake empowerment programs is also provided.

USDA/Rural Development has an $86 billion portfolio of loans and administers nearly $16 billion in program loans, loan guarantees, and grants. Rural Development achieves its mission by helping rural individuals, communities, and businesses obtain the financial and technical assistance needed to address their diverse and unique needs. Rural Development works to make sure that rural citizens can participate fully in the global economy.

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Bankers’ Bank Northeast looks to enhance client banks’ competitive positions

LendingTools.com, a leading application service provider (ASP) for correspondent and community financial institutions, announced that Bankers’ Bank Northeast licensed the rights to become a Community Host for the OnWe Network^® created by LendingTools.com.

“As a Community Host for the OnWe Network in New England and New York, Bankers’ Bank Northeast enables our client banks to present and receive items to and from local banks,” commented Pete Sposito, President and CEO of Bankers’ Bank Northeast. “Our significant cash letter volume growth indicates that banks and check processors have found us to be an efficient and widely accepted means to settle transit items using our bank-to-bank communications software, STARS™.  Since the OnWe Network can process check images on STARS, which most of our client banks already use, they do not need to invest in new software.  While the existing national image clearing networks concentrate on large bank presentations, OnWe focuses on large volumes from local banks ‘across the street’.  OnWe combined with STARS provides a platform to combine the benefits of both check volume sources to enhance availability and to reduce clearing costs.”

"We went after Bankers’ Bank Northeast because of their large presence in the correspondent banking market.  They are a trusted partner for community banks.” said Eric Goering, President and CEO of LendingTools.com. "Bankers’ Bank Northeast has a particular expertise in settling cash letters and has already established working relationships with some of the best item processors in the Northeast. The OnWe Network is a perfect solution for community bank image exchange, even for banks not image enabled. For national banks needing to reach these community banks, the OnWe Network is the last mile for image exchange."

The OnWe Network is a solution for providing image services to respondent institutions and their customers. The solution aggregates the image cash letter activity of respondent institutions and provides multiple choices for routing the items, including the OnWe Network, for clearing and settlement of items between customers of Bankers’ Bank Northeast.

About LendingTools.com

LendingTools.com, Inc. specializes in the design and delivery of web-based applications for the financial services industry and delivers them through correspondent processing organizations. Its OnWe Network provides a low cost option for community bank image exchange through a series of OnWe Network Community Hosts. Over 25 per cent of the nations’ banks utilize one or more LendingTools.com services daily to originate and process ACH, wire, and imaged check transactions valued in excess of one billion dollars. The last mile for image exchange is a registered service mark of LendingTools.com. A privately-held corporation, LendingTools.com was founded by and is operated by bankers. Please visit www.OnWe.com and www.LendingTools.com for more information.

About Bankers’ Bank Northeast

Bankers’ Bank Northeast is based in Glastonbury, Conn., and serves 165 community banks throughout New England and New York. The Bank is a state-chartered institution that is FDIC insured and a member of both the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. Bankers’ Bank Northeast not only meets competitive challenges but is also vigilant about issues in the financial services industry that might help (or hurt) the banks that rely on it to provide the best and latest in products and services.

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Credit union selects relational core system to meet long-term business goals

Redstone Federal Credit Union announced it has selected Open Solutions Inc.’s The Complete Credit Union Solution®, a relational core data processing platform for credit unions, to address its enterprise-wide data processing needs. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and other international markets.

Based in Huntsville, Ala., Redstone Federal Credit Union has assets of more than $2 billion, 18 branches and serves more than 280,000 members. As one of the largest financial institutions in the area, Redstone is in a uniquely competitive environment.

“We are a large credit union in a relatively small market,” said Stephen White, vice president of technology for Redstone Federal Credit Union. “We are competing with community and regional banks as well as other credit unions in the area. To continue our current momentum and maintain our aggressive growth strategy, we realized the need for a more sophisticated core processing platform. I’ve been in the industry for more than 37 years and have been through a number of core conversions. Considering the size of the credit union and our long-term business goals, it was critical to find a solution we knew could grow with us into the future.”

After a thorough evaluation period, Redstone selected Open Solutions for its relational database and open architecture design.

“We felt the combination of Open Solutions’ sophisticated underlying technology and the member-centric design of the platform would position Redstone to meet our immediate goals, but more importantly to accomplish the long-term goals we have established,” said White. “Other systems we evaluated were limited in terms of functionality and meeting our growth strategy because of the underlying legacy technology. We were looking for an advanced platform, built on progressive technology, which we found in Open Solutions.”

The Complete Credit Union Solution is built on a powerful, centralized Oracle^Ò relational database designed to be an open architecture application, creating the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. It helps credit unions streamline both front and back office processes and creates a centralized view of members, employees and business partners. Open Solutions provides credit unions with a fully featured strategic product platform, integrating relationship-based core data processing with strategic applications such as Internet banking, business intelligence, financial accounting applications, electronic imaging, payment and interactive voice response solutions.

“Having a complete view of our members will not only reduce transaction times for our members and drive internal operational efficiencies, it will also help us more quickly deploy products and services our members are demanding,” said White. “Combined with the seamless flow of information between the front and back offices, we expect to gain even more of an edge over our competition, helping us remain one of the largest financial institutions in the area, while improving one-on-one member relationships.”

In addition to The Complete Credit Union Solution data processing platform, Redstone Federal Credit Union is also implementing Open Solutions’ integrated solutions including cView™  (CRM/business intelligence), safe deposit box module, channel management center (CMC), interaction management center (IMC), speech telephony services, premium overdraft protection, positive pay and collections applications.

“Open Solutions realizes credit unions are facing intense competition in the market,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., Open Solutions’ chairman and CEO. “We designed our platform to help credit unions of all sizes, including those as large as Redstone, maintain superior member relationships, while meeting growth objectives. We continue to build and enhance technology solutions to help financial institutions effectively implement strategies focused on increasing perceived member value. We look forward to a long-standing relationship with Redstone.”

About Open Solutions Inc.
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting tools, imaging, digital documents, Check 21, interactive voice response, network services, Web hosting and design, and payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.

For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com or by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.

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Banks continue to expand services and improve customer service

Open Solutions, a leading provider of integrated, enterprise-wide data processing technologies for banks and credit unions throughout the United States, Canada and other international markets, announced four contract renewals for its TotalPlus® outsourced core data processing platform.

The renewing banks include Columbia Bank in Fair Lawn, N.J. ($4.1 billion); OceanFirst Bank in Toms River, N.J. ($2 billion); Pentucket Bank in Haverhill, Mass. ($500 million); and Ridgewood Savings Bank in Ridgewood, N.Y. ($4 billion).

Joe Fagliarone, SVP of Columbia Bank said, “Columbia Bank is known for the outstanding service and competitive products we offer to both our customers within the community, as well as our commercial business accounts. As we continue to grow and expand, Open Solutions’ core processing platform has enabled us to maintain the one-on-one relationships with our customers, from which we built our reputation. Our success depends on the ability to quickly deploy new products and we’ve been able to do this successfully through BISYS and subsequently Open Solutions. Renewing our contract was an easy decision to make.”

Joseph Iantosca, first SVP/chief administrative officer of OceanFirst Bank also cites the ability to provide outstanding customer service along with quick product deployment and flexible on-demand reporting as the primary reasons for the bank’s contract renewal. “As a long time client, OceanFirst has been able to maximize the capabilities of the Open Solutions’ system to provide high quality products and services to the bank’s customers in an effective, efficient delivery mode.  As the Jersey shore communities that we serve continue to grow, we must be able to adapt to our customer’s changing needs. By relying on Open Solutions we’ve gained a more centralized view of our customer’s relationships. The bank’s management has the ability to analyze complex, custom reports generated locally and quickly through the use of the OnDemand Data Warehouse.”

Open Solutions’ product offerings are designed to help commercial banks, savings banks and thrifts of all sizes streamline both the front- and back-office applications. Combining the control and access of an in-house system, this solution offers a reliable core processing platform in an outsourced environment.

Diane Galvin, SVP of Pentucket Bank, said, “Open Solutions’ platform not only supports our overall growth strategy, but enables us to remain competitive and implement strategic initiatives to better serve our customers. We wanted to remain in an outsourced environment and maintain the flexibility to integrate with third parties. We are pleased to continue our relationship with Open Solutions to meet these objectives.”

“Ridgewood Savings Bank is committed to the community we serve by providing the necessary tools needed to help our customers’ achieve their goals,” said Richard Cirincione, SVP of Ridgewood Savings Bank. “We’ve found this same commitment and dedication in the employees of Open Solutions. We look forward to continuing to work with the knowledgeable team at Open Solutions and anticipate the sophistication of Open Solutions’ core processing platform will continue to help us accomplish both our long-term and short-term business objectives.”

“Open Solutions has developed deep roots in the banking industry over the years,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., chairman and CEO of Open Solutions. “We understand that one size does not necessarily fit all and we are pleased to offer our clients a choice when it comes to their core processing needs. These recent contract renewals demonstrate our commitment to offer industry-focused solutions designed to help our clients compete and to provide superior customer service. At the end of the day, our goal remains to help financial institutions of all sizes by offering the right product to the right customer at the right time. We are pleased these four banks are continuing to place their trust in us and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with each of them to provide quality products and services that will help them to better serve their markets.”

About Open Solutions Inc.
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle® relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting tools, imaging, digital documents, Check 21, interactive voice response, network services, Web hosting and design, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.

For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.

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Aleri, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise-class complex event processing technology, announced the availability of the Aleri Streaming Platform for free evaluation via download from www.aleri.com. Unlike other complex event processing vendors, which make available “light” versions of their software, Aleri is making the complete, enterprise-class version of the Aleri Streaming Platform available under a trial license.

“As a firm that works with many application frameworks, platforms, and systems, Lab49 is continually incorporating advanced technology into the solutions we create. By making the Aleri Streaming Platform available to developers everywhere for download, Aleri empowers developers and customers to really get their hands on the technology and see for themselves what it can do,” said Daniel Chait, co-founder and Managing Director at Lab49, a financial services technology consultancy. “This will go a long way towards encouraging adoption and is a great step.”

Aleri has a strong history with over 20 years of supporting mission critical banking applications for the world’s largest banks and an experienced technology team that includes pioneers in the field of event processing. Aleri built the Aleri Streaming Platform from the ground up to provide the most robust architecture available. The Platform’s industrial strength engine combines data persistence, high-performance processing of large data sets, high-availability configurations, programmable stream operators, and built-in security features, and is designed to easily develop mission critical business applications in a more timely, scalable and cost-effective manner.

 “Until now, companies looking at complex event processing solutions have had to deal with unsubstantiated claims around performance and robustness,” said Don DeLoach, president and CEO of Aleri. “By offering the Aleri Streaming Platform as a free download, we hope companies see for themselves how our technology’s performance, versatility, scalability, high-availability and security can meet all of their needs today and tomorrow.”

 The Aleri Streaming Platform’s versatile nature supports a wide variety of real-time stream processing applications that allows users to react and respond instantly to high-volume, high-speed data, minimizing risk and increasing competitive advantage.

 About Aleri 

Aleri is a leading provider of high-performance complex event processing technology for major financial institutions around the world. Aleri’s superior Streaming Platform is backed by the company’s deep background and knowledge gained over 20 years of supporting mission critical banking applications for the world’s largest banks and close to 10 years of pioneering research in the field of event processing.  

The Aleri Platform was designed from the ground up to provide the most robust architecture available for the rapid implementation of mission critical applications within the most demanding environments. Built for high throughput with minimal latency, Aleri’s complex event processing technology allows customers to analyze and respond instantly to high-volume, high-speed data to minimize risk and increase competitive advantage. Aleri is the first to develop and deploy an enterprise-class application built on event processing technology, the Aleri Liquidity Management System, which is used by some of the largest global bank treasuries in the world.

Aleri is a global company headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit www.aleri.com.

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Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation (TSX: TOC, NYSE: TOC) and a leading provider of information, news and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community, announced an agreement with Generate Inc. to deliver people data, private company data and real-time business intelligence with integrated relationship-mapping technologies. Thomson Financial will leverage the Generate content and application to deliver advanced profiles on people, enhanced private company analysis and relationship mapping capabilities through the Thomson ONE family of products and data feeds.

Mapped to an individual’s workflow, Generate’s technology enables professionals in investment management, investment banking, wealth management, venture capital and others to identify targeted business opportunities, develop qualified leads and track competitive threats. The patented technology crawls over 75 million domains and maintains databases in real time containing information on public and private company profiles, executives and news. Relationship networking technology integrated with the company intelligence software, allows clients to leverage their personal network, detect competitive moves, identify prospects and follow the best relationship path to them.

From a Thomson ONE product, asset managers will access real time databases containing 3.5 million private and public company records, and more than 3.2 million profiles, biographies and data records.  Generate integrates this data so that financial professionals can monitor specific companies and industry segments for activity and trends, and identify how each user, and the user’s organization, connects to each company and executive.

“Our customers are looking for better private company and profile information but more importantly the linkages between companies, people and events. We were looking for added depth and breadth in our content offering as it relates to relationship capital information,” said Ed Jay, SVP Thomson ONE Product Management, Thomson Financial.  “Generate provides us with coverage required by our customers, along with real-time company intelligence software with relationship mapping technology,” said Jay.

“We’re thrilled to have Thomson Financial as a valued partner,” said Tom Aley, President and CEO of Generate.  “Our quality databases and patented technology delivered via the Thomson ONE products will provide clients with information they need for client management, competitive awareness, and prospecting and idea generation,” said Aley.

About Generate

Generate delivers the next generation business intelligence platform that combines real-time company intelligence with integrated relationship-mapping technology to deliver contextual information to business professionals. Generate is a privately held company, headquartered in Maynard, MA.  American City Business Journals (ACBJ) is an investor and strategic partner of Generate. For more information, please call 978-823-5260 or visit www.generateinc.com.

About Thomson Financial

Thomson Financial, with 2006 revenues of US$2 billion, is a provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing essential electronic workflow solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to professionals in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

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Technology improvements and shareholders’ return part of criteria

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading provider of information management systems and services, was selected by Business Week magazine as one of The Future of Tech 2007 Information Technology Top 100 Companies. The report appears in Business Week’s July 2, 2007 issue, with expanded content on http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/07_27/B40410727it100.htm

This is the first time Fiserv has been selected on the Top IT 100 list, ranked at 97, and the only financial services company listed this year. “This is a great honor for us to be singled out in our industry by Business Week as a technology leader. The magazine commends us and the others on the top 100 list for constantly reinventing ourselves, what we produce and how we sell it,” said Norm Balthasar, Fiserv senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Banks and financial institutions require constant innovation and the best possible technology to serve their customers. These rankings show we are providing that and helping our clients achieve best-in-class stature. This is the cornerstone of our Fiserv 2.0 mission we announced last year.”

The magazine cited Fiserv’s acquisition of NetEconomy, the global leader in financial crime management and compliance solutions, as one of the reasons why it made the list. “Fighting financial crime is one of the top concerns for many of our clients. We are looking at acquisitions and organic growth of our products to provide a wide array of solutions and keep them current,” added Balthasar.

To compile the information for the Technology 100, Business Week began with financial data from Standard & Poor’s Compustat, also a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, which has computerized information on more than 28,000 publicly traded corporations. BusinessWeek trimmed this universe to information-technology companies. Companies had to have revenues of at least $300 million. The remaining group of companies was ranked on four criteria: return on equity, shareholder return and revenue growth (which were given equal weight), and total revenues (which was weighted). The top 100 companies were then reranked as a group.

About Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 18,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4.5 billion in total revenue for 2006. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.

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Global Insurance Provider Named Leading Provider for Both Rating and Document Creation

Skywire Software announced it has been named a leading software provider for the insurance industry by independent research and advisory firm Celent, LLC.  In its latest edition of the annual Insurance Software Deal Trends, Celent named Skywire Software as a leading provider in both the rating / quoting tools and document creation categories based on the number of deals the company inked in 2005 and 2006.

This is the second consecutive year Skywire Software has been named a leading provider in the rating/quoting tools category.  According to this year’s Celent report, document management continues to be a priority for most carriers.  The research and advisory firm has cited the company’s leadership in document creation and related document management categories since it began publishing the research four years ago.

Celent also named both Skywire Software and Docucorp, which Skywire Software acquired earlier this year, as “Traction Index” leaders.  The Traction Index is a weighted score that measures the volume and types of deals that software companies made during the last two years. 

"Skywire Software continues to have a strong presence in the insurance vertical,” said Craig Weber, senior analyst and author of the report. "That gives them excellent insight into the unique needs of insurance carriers.  Leaders in our Traction Index are demonstrating strong market momentum among insurers, which gives them the kind of experience that many carriers are looking for.”

“Skywire Software is very pleased to be consistently recognized by Celent as a market-leading provider of enterprise software for the insurance industry in multiple categories,” said Wendy Gibson, Skywire Software’s chief marketing officer. “We are committed to providing the best core components that enable insurers to manage the insurance policy life cycle.  We are especially proud our offerings continue to enable our customers to solve key business challenges and adapt quickly to the changing needs in this highly competitive market.”

In keeping with the company’s commitment to investing in its products and innovation, Skywire Software recently announced availability of the InsBridge 3.8 rating, rules, and underwriting system.   InsBridge is a robust, yet easy-to-use, the Web-based rating, rules and underwriting system can integrate with any platform and operate on all major operating systems.  This makes InsBridge an ideal solution for insurers seeking to enhance their existing technology investments with rating functionality. Insurers also leverage Skywire Software’s deep domain expertise and proven success integrating InsBridge with mainframe policy administration and other legacy systems, without disrupting business operations.

The company also began shipping version 11.2 of Documaker last month.  Documaker enables companies to generate high-volume, on-demand and personalized customer communications.   Featuring more than 140 customer and market-driven enhancements, this latest power packed version of Documaker has an updated look-and-feel based on Microsoft Windows themes using icons and user interface elements found in Microsoft Vista and Office 2007. 

Skywire Software serves more than 1,600 customers worldwide, including 1,000 insurance companies.  The company provides a comprehensive platform of business and enterprise CCM applications for the insurance industry.  Customers also leverage the deep domain knowledge and expertise of Skywire Software’s professional services team and its state-of-the-art Business Process Outsourcing facilities.

Celent’s Insurance Software Deal Trends reports are based on vendor-provided and publicly available information about insurance-specific applications and infrastructure software sold to insurers in North America during 2005 and 2006.  For more information about this report visit www.celent.com.

About Skywire Software

Skywire Software is a leading software company serving the insurance, health care, utility, and financial services industries.  The Company develops industry-specific software products that help companies integrate processes, people and information. With products and services that span a range of key functions, including rating, rules, underwriting, business intelligence, agency management, data movement, and enterprise-wide document automation, Skywire Software is dedicated to providing an unparalleled customer experience to more than 1,600 customers worldwide.  For more information, contact Skywire Software at 1-800-735-6620 or visit www.skywiresoftware.com.

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IDX will enable leading life insurance carrier to automate real-time policy exchange and enhance productivity of its distribution network

Skywire Software, a leading global provider of software and services for the insurance industry, announced that Old Mutual Financial Network (OMFN) has selected its Insurance Data Exchange (IDX) to automate the exchange of policy data with the company's brokerage general agencies (BGAs) and independent marketing organizations (IMOs). 

Skywire Software's IDX is the largest independent life insurance centralized data hub that automates real-time data exchange between carriers, BGAs, IMOs, and service providers for life, health and annuities.  OMFN will use IDX to exchange pending policy data with its distribution network eliminating the need for its BGAs and IMOs to visit the company's Web site, check status, and then manually enter data into an agency management system. The end result is accelerated policy production and improved placement.

"Skywire Software's proven knowledge and expertise in the insurance industry was an important consideration in choosing its IDX data hub," said Bob Sweeney, assistant vice president, life and annuity operations, Old Mutual Financial Network.  "By utilizing Skywire Software's IDX to improve upon the management of data provided to our producers, we look to significantly improve communication during the application process and allow them to focus their efforts on serving the needs of our customers."

"Exchanging policy data between all parties involved can be a challenge, but it is a critical need as insurers continue to seek ways to be competitive while speed the processing of new business," said Wendy Gibson, chief marketing officer, Skywire Software.  "We are pleased to be working with Old Mutual Financial Network and look forward to enabling the company to better assist its distribution network by automating real-time data exchange through Skywire Software's IDX insurance hub."

Skywire Software serves more than 1,000 insurance companies.  Approximately 50 leading life underwriting companies, more than 50 of the largest life insurance brokerage general agencies, 7,000 agencies / agents, and the top five service providers use Skywire Software's IDX and related automated data exchange products.

About Skywire Software

Skywire Software is a leading software company serving the insurance, health care, utility, and financial services industries.  The Company develops industry-specific software products that help companies integrate processes, people and information. With products and services that span a range of key functions, including rating, rules, underwriting, business intelligence, agency management, data movement, and enterprise-wide document automation, Skywire Software is dedicated to providing an unparalleled customer experience to more than 1,600 customers worldwide.  For more information, contact Skywire Software at 1-800-735-6620 or visit www.skywiresoftware.com.

About Old Mutual Financial Network

Old Mutual Financial Network (OMFN) is the marketing name for the U.S. life insurance and annuity operations of Old Mutual plc, including OM Financial Life Insurance Company. Headquartered in London, England, Old Mutual was founded in 1845, is one of the world's largest insurers, ranks as a Fortune Global 500 company and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide. OMFN has the knowledge, expertise and resources a global powerhouse can provide and is committed to delivering innovative and balanced financial solutions. OM Financial Life Insurance Company is solely responsible for its contractual guarantees and commitments. For more information, visit www.omfn.com.

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Gives banks clear picture of all client relationships in one click

Fiserv VISION, a business unit of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading provider of information management systems and services, introduced an innovative banking application that delivers platform automation, contact management, customer relationship management and workflow solutions, all integrated and available through a secure, customizable portal. Fiserv VISION Cleartouch provides unprecedented ease of use and unparalleled cross-sale opportunities through a single point of access, enabling Fiserv VISION clients to more effectively serve their customers.

With Cleartouch, Fiserv VISION clients realize:

• Reduced teller training time through consistent browser navigation across all banking applications
• Simplified software distribution effort saves time and reduces expense
• Enhanced view of customer relationships which will allow improved cross-sell ratio
• Tight integration which eliminates manual or paper processes
• Embedded contact management for improved service and sales tracking

Fiserv VISION client Gloucester County Federal Savings, a $310 million community bank in Sewell, NJ, used Cleartouch to expand its lending activities in its branches. With Cleartouch integration to Fiserv easyLENDER loan origination, front-line staff members are able to start the loan application in Cleartouch at the same time a deposit account is opened. As the bank’s chief operating officer Tim Hand notes, “Our customer service reps and tellers can take loan applications in an environment that they’re comfortable with, and more importantly, we already have it deployed. Without this integration, we would have to set up separate passwords, user names and credentials.” In working through Cleartouch, “We anticipate initiating and closing numerous applications since we have effectively turned all of our front line tellers into level one originators. The wheels are in motion before the customer leaves the teller counter.”

Cleartouch leverages industry-leading Microsoft .NET technology and Smart Client architecture to speed training time and deliver an optimal user experience. The heart of Cleartouch is its middleware called Cleartouch Connector, which delivers integration to Fiserv solutions and other complementary products. It provides a secure communication layer using XML between client-facing applications and the high-availability transaction processing systems residing at Fiserv VISION. All of the services, functions and features available through Cleartouch are brought together using “Cleartouch Connector” middleware integration. This internal exchange of information ensures that all products and services work together to maximize efficiency and promote an institution’s financial growth. 

The Cleartouch modules are centralized, which means that after initial installation, future updates are pushed out to desktops from a central server, which translates to simplified maintenance for the IT staff. Rick Larson, chief operating officer of West Bend Savings Bank, a $427 million Fiserv VISION client located in West Bend, WI notes, “Our IT staff loves the auto updates. We don’t have to send our techs out to the branches for updates. That resulted in time out of the office, mileage expense, etc. One update could cost us in excess of $700 and that is just to update our system. Today, there is no traveling and the time spent having my IT staff on the road is now used for more productive time. They love it, the bank loves it.”

According to Randy Lee, vice president of information technology at $1.3 billion asset Encore Bank, based in Houston, TX, Cleartouch delivers benefits across the bank’s multi-state organization. “We’re constantly looking for ways to effectively and efficiently serve our customers at all points of contact and ensure our staff has the tools to succeed. The flexibility of the Cleartouch desktop allows us the ability to customize the desktop and provide access to all we need, with just a single click. We only have to enter our customer’s name once for a clear picture of their entire relationship with us. That means we can answer our customer’s questions quickly, completely, identify new relationship opportunities, and they can be on their way. With Cleartouch, we get the benefit of integration for multiple Fiserv solutions, ease of use throughout our enterprise and a holistic view of our customer relationships.”

Tom Knapp, Fiserv VISION’s senior vice president of product development, said the service oriented architecture (SOA) which provides a complete framework for the Cleartouch product suite, drives several key benefits not found in other offerings. “SOA enables us to get products to our clients quickly. It provides us with flexibility and agility in product development to increase responsiveness to our client’s needs, and simplifies the integration that’s key to Cleartouch client efficiency. And SOA lays the foundation for straight through processing, enabling us to leverage our real-time capabilities.”

Cleartouch provides a complete view of customer relationships, delivers a single point of access for customer and transaction information, and brings together key account and relationship details through industry-leading business intelligence tools.   

About Fiserv VISION

Fiserv VISION provides community and commercial banks with a complete online banking solution, web hosting, and internet banking services. Fiserv VISION services more than 850 financial institutions nationwide and provides core processing services to more than 350 clients.  Fiserv VISION is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., with offices in Glastonbury, Conn., Tampa and Orlando, Fla.

About Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 18,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4.5 billion in total revenue for 2006. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.

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Digipede Technologies Honored as Partner of the Year for ISV/Software Solutions, Innovation at 2007 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Program Awards

Leading grid software provider Digipede Technologies announced it has won the Partner of the Year Award for ISV/Software Solutions, Innovation at the 2007 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Program Awards. Digipede was chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft Partners as delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology. The awards were distributed at a ceremony on July 11 in Denver, CO at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

"We're delighted to receive this award from Microsoft. Innovation is a core value at Digipede -- we innovate to help our customers improve application performance and business performance. With this award, Microsoft recognizes the value of our .NET-based distributed computing solution. Digipede continues to work closely with multiple groups within Microsoft to deliver even greater innovations for more customers in the coming year," said John Powers, CEO of Digipede.

Awards were presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 1,800 entrants worldwide. Digipede Technologies was recognized for superior technology and innovation in ISV/Software Solutions, Innovation. The ISV/Software Solutions Innovation Partner of the Year recognizes an ISV who has developed an innovative, new approach to solving a new or existing business or consumer need utilizing Microsoft's latest server or client technologies. The winning partner demonstrated leadership in the areas of innovation, market potential, media/analyst buzz, investor value creation and customer adoption with a least three active business customers or 1,000 consumers.

"Microsoft's judges noted that Digipede's entry combines the power of distributed computing and .NET with their innovative technology to distribute processing across existing Windows computers. Their winning solution takes grid computing to new levels by dynamically allocating the computer power of both dedicated and idle resources to achieve dramatic improvements in application performance," said Robert Deshaies, vice president, U.S. Partner Group, Microsoft Corp.

The Microsoft Partner Program Awards recognize Microsoft Partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the last year.

The Digipede Network is an affordable distributed computing solution built entirely on Microsoft .NET that dramatically improves the speed and performance of demanding real-world business applications. Integrated with Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, and other Windows Server products, the Digipede Network is radically easier to buy, install and use than other grid- computing solutions. Using the Digipede Network, businesses can easily achieve the benefits of grid computing, including improved IT agility and increased application scalability. Developers can write .NET or COM applications that will take advantage of hundreds or thousands of computers, bringing the power of grid computing to the Windows platform.

Availability and Pricing
The Digipede Network is available directly from Digipede Technologies. The Digipede Network Professional Edition starts at $4,000 per year, including the Digipede Server and five Digipede Agent Processor Licenses. Additional Agents work can be licensed for $199 each per year. The Digipede Network includes the acclaimed Digipede Framework SDK at no additional charge, providing unprecedented flexibility for grid-enabling enterprise applications. For additional information about pricing and configuration options, visit Digipede's online store at www.digipede.net, or contact Digipede at sales@digipede. net .

About Digipede Technologies
Digipede Technologies is the leading software provider of grid computing solutions for the Microsoft .NET platform. Digipede is led by a proven team of technology visionaries who have developed best-in-class Windows applications for more than 15 years. Digipede is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Digipede is expanding rapidly. For more information visit www.digipede.net.

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