Three hundred and twenty customers, including 86 of the top 500 U.S. banks and 24 of the top 100 U.S. retailers, use ACI Worldwide's BASE24 transaction processing software. Internationally, 17 percent of the world's top 500 banks are BASE24 users.
According to ACI, no competing software firm can touch its market share. Its closest competitors have fewer than 10 customers that are among the top 500 financial institutions.
ACI's biggest competition, said Jeff Hale, the company's chief marketing officer, is banks with IT staffs that write their own software - which he estimates is approximately 40 percent of the world's top 500 banks.
|
With IBM expected to end support for its OS/2 operating system in 2006, banks are switching to ATMs running Microsoft Windows. The move to Windows offers the possibility of better integrating ATMs into an enterprise strategy - but it will require a broad technology refresh, including a move to IP-based telecommunications.
"ES" for enhanced services
ACI continues to update BASE24, which was introduced in 1982 and is now in its sixth release. But in late 2002 the company launched a new object-oriented architecture called BASE24-es. The "es" stands for "enhanced services."
"The only thing the same is the name," Hale said. "BASE24-es uses C++ and Java rather than the proprietary programming language used in BASE24."
The use of standard languages like Java gives BASE24-es the ability to run on multiple platforms, including IBM zSeries and Sun Solaris. It also runs on HP NonStop, the only platform currently used with BASE24.
Based on early response, it appears as if the timing was right for BASE24-es. It's been licensed 20 times by clients such as Visa Europe and BB&T Bank.
"The two product lines will converge over time," Hale said about BASE24 and the es version. "We want to give users the opportunity to switch in the way that works best for them - all at once or slowly over time."
BASE24-es licensees are employing different approaches, Hale said. Metavante is using it on an existing NonStop platform to implement Triple DES, while BB&T will use BASE24-es on a new IBM zSeries platform to drive its ATMs.
A new scripting engine allows users to easily modify their authorization processes which, according to Hale, accounts for 80 percent of classic BASE24's customization.
BASE24-es employs a graphical user interface, so it is no longer necessary to rewrite source code each time a change is made, Hale said.
In combination with new XFS-based ATM software like Diebold's Agilis and NCR's APTRA Edge, Hale said the BASE24-es's scripting feature makes it possible to create a specialized transaction script for each cardholder. So, for example, banks can constantly update marketing messages and avoid showing a promotion to a customer who has already responded to an offer.
