ATLANTA - S1 Corp., provider of customer-interaction software for financial and payment services, and IBM Corp. announced Nov. 13 their joint solution for deploying a "branch in a box." According to a news release, the solution eliminates the need to run individual PCs at each teller station within a bank branch.
With the solution, financial institutions leverage an IBM server running VMware ESXn on which virtual PCs operate. The virtual PCs run S1 Enterprise Teller, a smart-client teller application.
S1 Enterprise Teller is accessed using a ClearCube I/Port, which is located at the teller station to communicate to the virtual PC via the branch LAN. The iPort serves as the hub for the keyboard, display, mouse, scanner, printer and any other device typically associated with a teller station.
"Our partnership with S1 provides an ideal opportunity to offer banks the critical technology needed to improve overall efficiencies and service within the branch," said Michael Mohrman, FSS banking alliance manager for IBM.
An FI can eliminate individual PCs and rely on a server that lasts nearly twice as long as a traditional server in the banking environment.
"Financial institutions are faced with increasing expenses while trying to streamline efficiencies and offer more services to their customers," said Drew Lamparello, director of product management for S1's full-service banking division. "The S1-IBM Branch in a Box solution will allow a bank's IT organization to minimize the hardware required at each teller station, automate fail-over should a server fail, and reduce the headcount required to operate and maintain the branch network."
