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More and more organizations around the world are choosing to install generic servers over big name brands, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker report. Generic hardware comes in the form of the ODM (original design manufacturer) market, which is up 44.2 percent over the last four quarters and now commands nearly 9 percent of total sales in the server market. Hewlett-Packard's conventional x86-based ProLiant servers keep them at the top of server heap with 26% market share, while IBM remains in second place even after selling its x86 server business to Lenovo. Dell has kept a solid 17 percent sales stake, with Cisco in fourth place with 6%.
HP has introduced the HP Elite Folio line of business laptops which they claim are the industry’s thinnest and lightest business-class notebooks. The 15.7 mm thin HP EliteBook Folio 1020 weighs in at 2.68 lbs., and the similarly sized HP EliteBook 1020 Special Edition (SE) weighs in in at only 2.2 lbs. thanks to its magnesium-lithium alloy/carbon fiber construction. The HP EliteBook Folio 1020 notebooks are ruggedized to withstand physical impact and feature 9 hours of battery life.
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Hardware Section Sponsored by
MVi |
Software Updates
VMTurbo is a company that specializes in analyzing virtual environments. Their data center management solution uses dynamic workload placement and resource allocation decisions to help keep the virtual environment healthy. They state that 80% of their customers improve utilization and VM densities by more than 20%. Before buying more hardware to increase capacity, they recommend first optimizing your existing environments.
All major PC makers are expected to support Windows 10 when it is released early next year and they are busy customizing drivers and products for the new OS. According to a Dell spokesperson, they have found that Windows 10 provides a consistent user experience and solves usability issues plaguing Windows 8 users. The upcoming OS will let users run the same programs on mobile and desktop devices. That solves a Windows 8 problem, which prevented a large number of programs from working across devices. Another Windows 10 feature that has been well-received is the return of the Start button, which was not included in Windows 8.
Wise Data Recovery is a free, lightweight tool that helps recover deleted files. The program features a simple and intuitive interface. The interface displays a search field, a Scan button, a Recover button. Wise Data Recovery will also show you the difficulty level of the recovery by indicating the data as "Good", "Poor", "Very Poor", or "Lost" in the scan result.
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Software Section Sponsored by
Raddon Financial Group (RFG) |
Wincor Nixdorf has released new omnichannel ATM software called ProFlex4 which enables banks to introduce a host of new functions at ATMs and other self-service systems. The software supports multivendor operations and banks can use it to add up-to-date new offers to their ATMs themselves and design individual user interfaces. The company says that new service concepts – such as cash withdrawals using a smart phone instead of a card, or personalized user interfaces – are easy to implement with ProFlex4.
Security vendor Kaspersky released their latest Security Bulletin and in it they are predicting that 2015 will bring sophisticated ATM attacks. They are predicting more targeted attacks directly against FIs that will allow the cyber-thieves to:
• remotely command ATMs to dispense cash
• perform SWIFT transfers from accountholders
• manipulate online banking systems to perform transfers in the background
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ATMs/Kiosks Sponsored by
Heritage Industries |
Juniper Research's latest report states that mobile phone and tablet users will make 195 billion mobile commerce transactions annually by 2019, up from 72 billion this year. According to the report, Mobile Commerce Markets: Key Sector Strategies, Opportunities & Forecasts 2014-2019, the highest growth rates are expected in the NFC sector. Here, usage is expected to be buoyed by the launch of Apple Pay, together with a host of anticipated deployments by FIs using solutions based on HCE (Host Card Emulation) technology.
Many institutions have concerns about mobile RDC (remote deposit capture) fraud when they initially roll out the service. However some observers believe that these fears are overblown and can hurt a mobile RDC program's success. They cite the example of one institution that set their mobile remote deposit capture limits very low and received high abandonment rates and low adoption levels. Once they increased their RDC deposit limits, usage jumped by 50%.
Barclays is deploying wireless in-branch beacon technology to alert staff to the presence of customers with disabilities. Customers can choose to opt-in to the service by pre-registering their information through an app. These customers can share information about their accessibility needs and even a photo of themselves, so they can be identified as soon as the app senses the Beacon and sends a notification to branch staff equipped with tablets.
According to the 2014 Cyberthreat Defense Report, more than 60% of organizations fell victim to one or more successful cyberattacks last year. Some security experts are calling for a zero-trust model (ZTM) to replace what they are calling ineffective perimeter defenses. Here are some features of the ZTM:
- access control is on a need-to-know basis and strictly enforced
- there must be minimal employee access privileges
- systems must always verify and never trust
- all traffic is inspected, logged, and reviewed
- network security monitors every piece of data possible
Unfortunately, ZTM will generate enormous volumes of real-time data (log files, vulnerability scan reports, alerts, reports, etc.), so big data analytics will be needed in order to give IT managers a comprehensive view of their security landscape.
According to Akamai’s security group, the Yummba webinject is being used in conjunction with other malware to present online banking popups, send credentials to command and control servers, pilfer information about account balances and automatically transfer funds to accounts controlled by cyber-criminals. While the initial attack is old news, the automation of the funds transfer is new and represents another level of sophistication.
The newest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, PCI DSS 3.0, is going into effect on January 1. The new PCI standard has been expanded to include systems that might not actually store data, but would allow someone to look at data which is going to make for more complex compliance assessments. Plus penetration test are now recommended to be run quarterly not annually. In addition, the new standard provides more information about what a penetration test should actually include.
Core Systems:
Using Core Systems to Enable Superior Financial Performance
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Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network -http://www.bpinetwork.org
Read Dave Murray's comments: http://www.banktt.com/BPI.pdf |
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VSoft Corporation - http://www.vsoftcorp.com
Read Dan Barnard's comments: http://www.banktt.com/VSoft.pdf |
Some banks offered specials on Black Friday ala retailers, but Capital One took it one step further with a built-in calendar link to remind consumers to come to their website. By supporting Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCal, they made very easy for readers to quickly load a reminder into their favorite calendar. Some marketers believe that calendar integration has great potential for:
- loan payment reminders
- application deadlines
- sweepstakes
- time sensitive offers
- webinars or seminars
Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Ascendantfx, a provider of foreign exchange services, offers some advice on when to use international wires versus the relatively new international ACH. Wires are preferred when 3 conditions are met: 1) a great deal of reference information must be included; 2) an international payment must be sent in US dollars; and 3) delivery timing is critical. Meanwhile, ACH may be a better choice when cost is a major factor, or the amount is a low-value payment.
Celent has released a new report, titled, Noncash Payments: Global Trends and Forecasts, 2014 Edition, and in it they estimate that there were 345.7 billion noncash transactions in 2013, and the number is expected to rise to 411.2 billion by 2017. Checks continue their downward trend, and debit cards are consolidating their position as second only to cash. In 2013 Americans wrote nearly 60% of all checks in circulation in the world.
VerifyValid Mobile Checkbook lets businesses and consumers write, approve, sign, receive and deposit checks directly from their Android phone or other Android-based device. The user can send a VerifyValid e-check directly via the Internet to any recipient with a valid email address, even if the recipient is not a VerifyValid user.
Radware's Attack Mitigation Service is designed to help organizations become more resilient to cyber-attacks. The subscription service integrates on-premise detection and mitigation with cloud-based volumetric attack scrubbing. The company states that their on-premise defense component ensures that the datacenter is constantly protected by providing accurate real time detection and mitigation of multi-vector DDoS attacks, which is not possible using only a cloud-based DDoS solution. The service includes active monitoring and health checks on the protected service or application, pipe saturation monitoring and customer notification pre-saturation.
What should you look for in a VoIP provider? One nice feature is the ability to allow you to make changes on your own through a Web-based interface. Another is a commitment to working with your broadband provider, your IT team or both to track down any root cause communications that are not the fault of the VoIP provider. Finally, a top VoIP provider should offer a product portfolio that includes SIP Trunks, Hosted PBX, Conferencing Services and Wholesale SMS.
A good Interactive Voice Response (IVR) experience is the exception, not the rule, according to J.D. Power and Associates. When compared to a callers’ experience with an agent, IVR was a better experience only 7% of the time. Plus, their research showed that 33% of overall caller satisfaction is determined by the IVR experience. Overly complicated menu structures is one problem - the general consensus suggests the best number of options is 3 or 4 at most.
