CHARLOTTE, N.C. — ATM software provider Level Four Americas LLC has launched a guide to outsourcing ATM testing.
According to Level Four, financial institutions are taking greater interest in outsourcing options, as the economic environment continues to squeeze expenditures within the financial-services sector, forcing a renewed focus on operational efficiencies.
In response to the growing trend, Level Four has created a guide that draws upon the past experiences of banks and aims to provide guidance for strategies and processes required to make the outsourcing of ATM testing successful. A survey conducted by the Management Consultancy Association and the British Bankers Association found that 41 percent of financial-services managers expect to increase outsourcing because of the credit crunch. ATM testing is one area where the trend is increasing.
As the complexity of ATM systems increases, the headcount costs associated with manually testing ATM functionality also has increased. By outsourcing, banks can potentially make significant financial savings, Level Four says. The MCA and BBA study found that only 24 percent of financial-services managers said they adequately understand the off-shoring industry, demonstrating a lack of understanding for how to get the most value from outsourcing. "While outsourcing can generate significant cost and efficiency gains, a number of points need to be considered in order for banks to get the process right," said Ian Kerr, chief executive of Level Four. "There is a tendency for banks to repeat past mistakes. For example, it is often assumed that banks should outsource areas where they do not have expertise. In fact, the reverse is true. It is crucial that banks only outsource what they know, giving banks increased control over the process through effective internal management. There is a lack of much needed guidance on issues such as this, which may in part explain why outsourcing has generated mixed results in the past." For a copy of the guide, visit Level Four's Web site.
