Salzburger Banken Software: When did you come up with the idea of developing a FIDUCIA independent self-service platform?

Bruns: At the end of 2001 we came up with the idea of developing an independent self service solution using jbf (Java Banking Framework of FIDUCIA). Prior to that, we analyzed in detail a number of existent and solutions under development. We decided to develop our own self-service solution based on the FIDUCIA jbf platform because the existing solutions did not sufficiently meet the requirements. In addition, at that time FIDUCIA had at its disposal a huge amount of existing architectural elements. -The goal of the project was an integrated solution for all self-service terminals, which allows FIDUCIA to offer flexible services on the terminal and to incorporate them in standards on the market such as J2EE, application server, etc. During the project all decentralized BNM servers will be replaced by a cluster of central application servers. This means that only the self-service terminals will be installed in the bank, all other parts of the self-service solutions run in the computing center of FIDUCIA.

Salzburger Banken Software: What are the advantages for the banks associated with FIDUCIA through agree SB?

Bruns: On the one hand, by replacing decentralized BNM servers with central application servers we save on costs. On the other hand, the architecture of agree SB provides a simple mechanism to configure and upgrade transactions, which enables us to offer each customer his own transaction flow.

This functionality is not fully used in existing releases, because the replacement of the older system based on OS/2 took priority. However, in the future releases of agree SB various products can be integrated in self-service transactions by simple means.

A further big step is the complete integration of the terminal management and the monitoring in agree SB Operator. Apart from the order of a terminal by the bank, additional initialization and configuration of the terminal is done automatically. After the installation new terminals log themselves on the central servers and receive the required configuration data and software updates. The bank can define which transactions should be offered on particular terminals, whereas automatically is checked, whether the terminal meets the technical requirements for the particular transaction. The addition of new transactions to agree SB Operator is done at the end of the transaction‘s development by passing a XML file to agree SB Operator. The file describes the transaction’s hardware requirements and the parameters that can be configured by the central system management and the employees at the bank. So a new transaction can be offered to the customer; at the best with the next customer transaction.

Salzburger Banken Software: How do the banks respond to agree SB solutions?

Bruns: The first presentation of the project plan and the piloting of the first terminals were greatly supported by the banks. But as soon as the first thousand terminals were in the production process and some problems occurred, the banks were not as euphoric as at the beginning. Nevertheless, with the input of different experts from particular departments we realized the needed improvements and carried on with the planed rollout. At the end of October of 2005 more than 10.000 self service terminals were already running under agree SB. We are aware of the fact that, with the first releases of agree SB we can offer a very extensive, but well known spectrum of self-service transactions. The agree SB solution provides us with the basic requirements that enable us to cope with new challenges of the self-service distribution channel.

Salzburger Banken Software: How would you characterize the role of Salzburer Banken Software (SBS) in the project?

Bruns: At the beginning of the project we decided in favour of the KIX products from SBS because they convinced us of their capabilities to develop an independent multivendor solution. The fact that agree SB supports more than 130 different terminal models from three different leading manufacturers supplies evidence for their capability. As in agree SB the most modern technologies were applied, we as well as SBS gained a lot of experience from the current project. Under these circumstances it is very important to have flexible partners and to consistently strive for a common goal.

Salzburger Banken Software: What are the future plans for agree SB?

Bruns: agree SB Release 2.0 will also support the cash in and cash-recycling systems (CRS). As a result all the important transactions are then available for the customers. At the same time, forward-looking innovations are on the agenda such as a direct interconnection with the extensive FIDUCIA CRM systems and a personalized interaction with the customer. At the end of the next year a new, important milestone will be achieved by the final extension of about 23.000 agree SB self-service terminals. In such a way, FIDUCIA can present a forward-looking solution that brings us a remarkable technological advantage on the market.

Salzburger Banken Software: Thank you for the interview, Mr. Bruns!