LONDON — Level Four Software Ltd., provider of open standards-based ATM software, today announced the results of its survey of delegates at the annual ATM Industry Association European ATM show, which reveal that combating network downtime continues to top banks' lists of ATM priorities for the next 12-18 months.
According to a news release, the issue also topped the list in Level Four's survey at the same event in April 2008, highlighting the ongoing challenge banks face when it comes to maintaining their ATMs. By reducing downtime, banks can maximize the quality of service, brand value and revenue potential of this frequent customer touchpoint.
While quality of service remains uncompromised, cost pressures on self-service banking projects are inevitably increasing, in light of the global economic situation. The majority of respondents (61 percent) say that tighter control of budgets was the biggest change in priorities since the onset of the financial crisis. Banks must now balance the need to maximize their budgets against the requirement for a complete end-to-end testing strategy that tackles the true complexity of the ATM.
With the migration to Windows-based networks and the need to integrate a continuous stream of software releases and functionality upgrades, banks are faced with an increasing number of scenarios to test. Failure to address this fundamental testing paradigm shift will compromise banks' ability to deliver on their intention to reduce network downtime.
More than half (53 percent) of banks in the United Kingdom do not currently outsource their testing function, highlighting the potential that this market still holds for specialist test outsourcers, particularly the large India-based providers.
"Banks clearly recognize the importance of ATM availability, but the results show that the issue is far from resolved," said Martin Macmillan, business development director at Level Four. "The increased emphasis on costs, the move away from introducing new services and the shift to integrating the ATM with their multi-channel strategy suggests that resources are being focused more intently on the core basics — namely, maintaining quality of service through the ATM and ensuring it is effectively integrated with the rest of their operations."
