Although it is always important to keep Windows up-to-date, actually delivering the latest software to far-flung end-users isn’t necessarily simple. But ING Investment Management has found that combining Microsoft SMS (Systems Management Server) 2003 with a remote wakeup product from 1E provides an easy solution for its current Windows XP installation.

“We want to get as close as possible to being a 100 percent Microsoft shop,” says Richard Peterson, senior desktop engineer in ING Investment Management’s Information Technology (IT) Department.

Like increasing numbers of other financial firms throughout the globe, Edinburgh, Scotland-based Xchange Business has turned to a Windows-based grid computer system as an alternative to a mainframe for scaling its business outward and upward.

Why? Economics is the most compelling driver, according to officials of this major player in the international foreign currency exchange and money transfer markets.

If you don’t know where you are going, even the best technology will have a hard time getting you there. North Shore Credit Union’s Fred Cook understands this well, and the CIO, recognized as a top innovator last year, has made it his business to be clear-sighted about where the business is headed.

At Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union (CCFCU), the migration away from paper is an ongoing process. In 1999, CCFCU implemented an image-based item-processing platform with the help of Atlanta-based VSoft and so far has seen returns in increased efficiency and better customer service. Every year it takes advantage of new features and functions to yield further improvements.

With more than $1.8 billion in assets, CCFCU is a wholesale financial institution that provides investment and correspondent services to about 200 credit unions in the US, mainly in Connecticut.

With turmoil continuing in financial markets, innovative development perhaps takes on new significance with its promise of differentiation and indeed cost savings.

Banks, brokerage firms, and insurers understand that the only way forward is figuring out, before their competitors do, how to achieve a clear, real-time view of their relationship with their customers across multiple products and channels. The institutions able to keep the attention of investment and Web-savvy millennial customers are those that offer personalized, high-quality service including on their Web site.

American Family Insurance is hoping to reduce the risks presented by teen drivers, who disproportionately account for driving fatalities. While young drivers make up around one-tenth of the population of countries, they account for more than a quarter of drivers killed on roads, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The United States ranks second on the number of deaths and injuries caused by driving.

Insurance claims processing has a reputation for being both time consuming and error-prone with countless manual steps. But through a series of initiatives using .NET technology, CUNA Mutual Group (CMG) has been progressively automating this process, resulting in better accuracy, faster claims decisions, and now, integration between the claims process and new call centers.

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, CUNA is a leading financial services provider to credit unions and their members around the world. With assets of more than $10 billion, CUNA holds relationships with 5,000 credit unions and 40 million credit union members.

While Microsoft has long been a key provider for financial services companies, it has only recently shifted its strategy to take more of a leadership role in that community.

“We have come to understand how important our enterprise customer is to us,” says financial services GM Tracy Issel. “We are moving from being a provider in this industry to being a true partner to being a real player, helping to define the future of the financial services industry.”

Growing business in volatile times requires a client-centric approach

Between recession predictions, the credit crunch, volatile markets, regula- tory fines, scandals, and massive write-downs, recent financial headlines have been predominantly negative and fear-inducing, eroding confidence in the economic health of the nation—and of its citizens and businesses.

It’s no coincidence that hand-in-hand with these headlines have come others that indicate a loss of trust in the institutions that provide financial services to the country’s businesses, citizens, and institutions. For many financial services providers, it feels like being kicked when they are down—they are unsure how to grapple with a crisis of trust in addition to their current economic woes.

The Basel II Accord may reduce risks for banks, but the regulation is complicated and time consuming. In search of a global compliance solution, The Bank of New York partnered with Financial Architects (FinArch) based in Belgium.

For nearly two decades, banks have had to set aside 8 percent of risk-weighted assets to offset credit risk to meet the requirements of the Basel Accord. The regulations have been revised a couple of times to include minimum regulatory capital requirements to offset market risk. Now, the measurement of operational risk adds a new level of complexity to the regulation.

A decade of acquisitions has transformed Towergate Partnership into Europe’s largest independently owned insurance intermediary. That path to growth, however, has brought with it a medley of legacy technology, with Towergate Underwriting – the organization’s underwriting division – amassing some 30 different administration systems. As its data was all over the place, it could not get a clear view of how well the organization was actually doing. It was time to consolidate.

Microsoft’s Insurance Value Chain has evolved since it was launched almost seven years ago as an integration concept and prescriptive guidance for integration techniques and product usage using Microsoft technology. It has assembled a vast network of Microsoft partners and has been leveraging new technology to simplify integration between partner and in-house solutions.

Typically, the IT department is the main protagonist driving the take-up of technology within an organization. Not so with MAAKL MUTUAL Berhad, winner of this year’s Windows in Financial Services Developer Award – given to innovative solutions developed on the Microsoft platform – for its Home Office application. Rather, the Home Office project has been championed from the start by chief executive Boon Choy Wong.

By Paul Allen

Today’s customers expect 24/7/365 service, and systems must be able to support STP and fast product development cycles. Old legacy systems that run on mainframes cannot keep up with these demands, and financial institutions are well aware that it will be increasingly difficult to compete when their core systems are not up to scratch. In addition, most commercial software is being developed in modern languages for a server environment, not for mainframes.

These issues are driving financial institutions to sunset their legacy systems and modernize their mainframes with the objective of lowering operating costs, gaining greater flexibility, accelerating new product development and creating competitive advantage. Modular, componentized approaches are a flexible and cost-effective way to accomplish this goal. Moreover, service-oriented architecture, Web services and EAI software are making it much easier for platforms to work well together.

To this end, firms no longer have to think in terms of being a Unix shop, a Linux shop, or a mainframe shop. They can operate a more complex environment without having a much greater support burden.

Ultimately skill set, scalability and cost are the major factors financial institutions will consider when they choose a solution. Here, six major players in mainframe modernization share their thoughts and talk about their offerings, all of which have had a significant impact on the financial services industry in the US and around the world.

Sherree DeCovny, Contributing Editor

When developers achieve the distinction of excellence, it is because they have been able to make the intangible tangible to the business. They have been able to illumine just that right bit of technology’s cutting edge so that it makes perfect sense to the organization’s core. Then they have made it happen. Every year there are a few that stand out in this regard: adopting and deploying the best of the new technology, and integrating, extending it, and tailoring it to support the enterprise.

For these impressive achievements, the following five projects have been selected as the winners of this year’s Windows in Financial Services Developer Awards. The awards were handed out at Microsoft’s Sixth Annual Financial Services Developer Conference in New York on March 13.

The insurance industry has often been criticized for being too legacy burdened to take advantage of new technology, but this is proving far from true. Insurance companies have embraced the latest technological advancements in mobility and elsewhere and have made more strides in streamlining the workflow process than many other sectors. This is critically important now as insurance companies need to add value to the customer experience while charging less than their competitors. Tapping into the Microsoft Insurance Value Chain has been a key strategy for firms to reduce costs and IT complexity and enable straight-through business processes. So what waits around the next bend and what are the critical next steps for insurers facing an increasingly competitive landscape?

• SunGard’s Common Services Architecture Enters Proof-of-Concept Stage
• SocGen Rolls out Xenomorph’s TimeScape
• Microsoft and Zend Team on Web Transaction Security
• StarCompliance Software Launches New Cutting-Edge Compliance Products
• World’s Oldest Bank Implements Microsoft-based Payments System
• Cathay Life Insurance Boosts Sales with Mobile Solution
• Ring2 Supports Windows Mobile Devices
• Raymond James Taps Blue Frog for Annuities Processing
• Digipede Network 2.0 Furthers Microsoft Integration
• Fidessa LatentZero Expands in Japan
• Reuters Selects Vhayu for Wealth Management Services
• TD Banknorth Selects CheckFree for Fraud Detection Capabilities

The mortgage technology industry assesses the opportunities the current mortgage crisis presents for re-shaping and rebuilding the industry.

There may be many culprits toward whom the finger of blame could be pointed for the mortgage crisis that has been grabbing headlines for months on end. Some blame regulators and investors who may have exhibited lax oversight; others point to overzealous borrowers and lenders, looking to take advantage of the frenzy caused by low interest rates. The soon-to-be-emeritus editor of Mortgage Technology magazine Scott Kersnar holds technology partly to blame for the subprime mortgage mess. Automation made the barrier to entry low and fostered chronic over-capacity, he wrote in a recent editorial.

It can be easy to forget that the ATM channel is the most heavily used touchpoint by consumers.  It has been deployed by financial institutions around the globe for decades to extend their footprint.  While it was the first 24/7 channel and is often viewed as a mere cash dispenser, the ATM is now evolving into a new era of increased functionality.

Many ATMs now run under Microsoft Windows which allows for all kinds of advancements, particularly in the area of the user interface.  Today, consumers enjoy a much more user-friendly graphical interface that often includes touchscreens.  The Windows environment permits much richer interfaces and content, plus the ability to personalize and streamline the screens to each user’s preference for language, withdrawal amount, etc.

• Microsoft Ushers In A New Era of Convenience and Functionality
• Integrating ATMs with Other Self-Service Channels
• Moving ATMs Toward a More Full Service Environment
• Unbundling to Lower TCO and Maximize Profitability of ATMs

Bankers around the globe are under increasing pressure to drive profits and reduce costs while still investing in technology solutions that help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finding this balance is difficult at best, but our panelists will provide some sage advice to retail bankers who are seeking to strike this balance. Plus, these experts will give us their views on what are the biggest challenges to meeting these goals, and discuss which technologies show the most promise for delivering short-term profits, as well as for long-term growth.