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Reducing Downtime is Top ATM Priority for Banks

LONDON, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Level Four Software, a leading supplier of open standards-based ATM software, today announced the results of a survey of delegates at the ATMIA European ATMs show(1), revealing that nearly a quarter of European banks will be addressing ATM downtime as their top priority in the next 12-18 months. The result highlights the pressure banks face with the ongoing maintenance of their ATMs. Level Four urges banks to 'get their house in order' through better management and control of their network with intelligent ATM monitoring.

Network availability is one of the most pressing ATM issues facing banks today as a result of recent changes to the network including the migration to the Windows operating system and the introduction of multi-vendor ATM software, designed to work across mixed ATM estates. The potential problems associated with this added complexity can be felt today as the delegate survey reveals that almost a quarter (22 per cent) of respondents still see 'reducing ATM downtime' as their top priority. Unreliable network availability resulting in downtime has a serious impact on a bank's brand and customer loyalty, which can lead to lost revenue and potential customer churn.

21 per cent of respondents state 'rolling out new customer services' as the next top priority for their ATM network, underscoring the need for a stable and reliable platform before new functionality can be added. Ensuring a highly available and reliable service for customers is critical if initiatives to add advanced functionality are to succeed. Furthermore, as banks increasingly look to manage and enhance the customer experience through multiple channels, the ATM remains a key point of customer interaction and having an available network 24/7 is a critical foundation for this approach.

Ian Kerr, CEO of Level Four Software, said: "Talk within the ATM industry has focused on visionary multi-vendor strategies and the role of the ATM in multi-channel banking, which we fully support, but our delegate survey highlights the real problem that banks face today with regards to their ATM networks. Banks are still struggling to get their basics right; if they can't successfully tackle ATM network availability, they will find it increasingly difficult to introduce any new revenue-generating services that will retain and attract new customers. It's time for banks to get their ducks in a row with regards to their ATM network, which still remain key a customer touch point."

"There is a pressing need to monitor and control all elements of ATM networks more closely to increase network reliability. Banks should implement pro-active intelligent monitoring at ATM terminals, rather than the outdated reactive central monitoring approach that is still in use today. Using this modern approach to ATM monitoring, software faults can be diagnosed and rectified remotely, and downtime due to hardware faults can be minimised through remote diagnosis and predictive maintenance. This will help protect banks from lost revenues, promote brand loyalty and customer retention, and provide a solid platform for future multi-channel activities."

The other priorities the respondents are/will be addressing in the next 12-18 months with regards to their ATM network are:

    - Pursuing/executing a multi-vendor strategy (17%)
    - Upgrading to new IT infrastructures (e.g. Windows operating platform)
      (16%)
    - Integrating the ATM channel with other banking channels (16%)
    - Other (8%), mainly security


    Notes to editor:

    - (1) Survey of 50 attendees (out of 200+ delegates) completed at the
      European ATMs show, which was jointly organised by ATMIA Europe and
      Retail Banking Research, on 14th and 15th April 2008 in London

    - In February 2008, Level Four launched a guide entitled 'Towards
      intelligent ATM monitoring', available for free download at:
      http://www.levelfour.com

About Level Four Software

Level Four's integrated BRIDGE suite of open ATM software products has been developed to address the needs of ATM deployers seeking to maximise their investment in the ATM channel. BRIDGE is targeted at banks and ATM deployers who are running, or are seeking to run, a modern ATM network based on the industry-wide CEN/XFS open standard. As a true holistic offering, BRIDGE recognises the needs of ATM deployers in the areas of installation, testing and monitoring as well as run-time ATM software.

Since 1995, Level Four has built an impressive global customer base of banks and payments processors including, Royal Bank ofScotland, Lloyds TSB, National Bank ofDubai, Rabobank, VocaLink and Standard Bank ofSouth Africa. Headquartered in Dunfermline, Level Four also has offices inDubai and Charlotte, NC.

    For more information, please visit: http://www.levelfour.com

    Contacts

    Nicola Truman / Alexandra Kedward
    Hotwire
    +44(0)20-7608-2500
    levelfour@hotwirepr.com

SOURCE Level Four Software Ltd

Tags: ,FIN,CPR,STW,SVY,Level-Four-Software

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Reducing Downtime is Top ATM Priority for Banks