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Dell SonicPoint AC Series wireless access points combine high performance 802.11ac wireless technology with next-generation firewalls. SonicPoint Ace models feature dual radios, six external removable antennas, 802.11ac support and power through either an 802.3at Power over Ethernet (PoE) Injector or an AC adapter. Meanwhile, the SonicPoint ACi models come with internally housed antennas, dual radios, 802.11ac support, and are run via PoE.
Laptops no longer come with serial ports, but many enterprise network devices require that you perform the initial IP address setup via a serial console. The RN-240 Firefly Bluetooth serial adapter from Roving Networks is a handy device that solves this problem. You plug this device into a switch, router, etc and then you can work comfortably outside the telco closet or across the room.
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Hardware Section Sponsored by
MVi |
Software Updates
Paragon Software Partition Manager is a bootable CD tool. Partition Manager 14 Professional runs $79 and allows you to re-partition your virtual hard drives without booting your virtual machine. It can also be used to clone a drive in a laptop before it goes to repair, plus this software is able to resize and combine partitions onto larger drives.
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is a no cost tool that features an easy-to-use interface that makes it simple to find and select duplicate files you want to delete. Just make sure that when you install the software that you uncheck the "Free Search Offer by Spigot" option.
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Software Section Sponsored by
Raddon Financial Group (RFG) |
Blue Ridge Networks offers their AppGuard solution for ATM deployers. The company says that their system prevents exploits from known and unknown threats using patented isolation and containment technologies. According to the company, AppGuard prevents unauthorized scripts or malware from executing a first-stage attack on the ATM or running malware from a USB stick or CD-ROM used for maintenance. They recently formed a partnership with NuSource Financial to incorporate AppGuard security on ATMs.
The ATM Connectivity Coalition was recently formed by founding organizers Contour Networks, The DPL Group and OptConnect. These three ATM wireless technology providers formed the organization in order to form standards in security, connectivity and stability for wirelessly connected ATMs. The founders envision that the new coalition will engage with ATM and related hardware manufacturers, additional wireless network providers, host ATM processors and others.
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ATMs/Kiosks Sponsored by
Heritage Industries |
The wearable computing trend is expected to explode in the near future, as global wearable device shipments will increase more than 400 percent by 2017, reaching 116 million units, according to Juniper Research. PayPal is one company that is prepared - they have aggressively ramped up their adoption of wearable devices, especially the fast-growing range of smartwatches. It supports the Pebble, Android Wear and Samsung Gear smartwatch platforms. A company spokesperson said "ultimately, the ability to pay or be paid can be embedded everywhere."
According to a Bain and Company survey, consumers now handle more of their banking interactions, on average, via smartphones and tablets than through any other channel. Their survey of 83,000 consumers in 22 countries found that mobile is the most used banking channel in 13 countries and accounts for around 30% of all interactions worldwide. The share of consumers using a using a FI’s mobile app rose 19 percentage points during 2014, with strong increases across all age groups in most markets.
Acuity Market Intelligence is predicting that there will be an intensifying consumer demand for smart phones, tablets, and wearable mobile devices that incorporate biometrics in the years ahead. They forecast a global market of 2.5 billion users with nearly 4.8 billion biometric devices by 2020. Acuity projects that embedded fingerprint sensors will initially dominate the market becoming standard in smart phones and tablets by 2017. The research firm also believes that emerging biometric sensors that rely on an individual’s pulse, skin texture, or other yet unknown metrics will evolve rapidly, especially on wearables.
Doors.NET is Keri's software application to manage various access control hardware platforms, such as wireless locks from Assa Abloy and Allegion/Schlage. The company says that organizations can use their Keri electronic access control system to instantly lock down their facility to stop or minimize the damage caused by any troublemakers. The system can be configured to react in the following modes:
• Global Lock - All doors lock, but authorized credentials/cards are still allowed access, and egress is permitted.
• Lockout - All doors are immediately locked, authorized cards no longer work, but egress is still permitted.
• Lockdown - All doors lock, cards no longer gain access, and egress is not allowed except where a mechanical exit device such as a crash bar exists.
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 |
TriggerMail provides software that helps marketers implement automated and personalized behavior-based triggered email campaigns. The company’s motto is "It's not about more email, it's about better email." In action, their software plugs into your website via JavaScript. They offer numerous email "recipes" that represent best email practices, and each recipe represents a different customer touchpoint, based on the category, brand or prices of products your customer engages with. Their recipes include Window Shopping, Category Clustering, Brand Clustering and many more. Once set up, TriggerMail then automates the process of creating and distributing emails, dynamically reacting to customer behaviors.
Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Although the shift to EMV chip-and-PIN cards next fall will help secure retailers against fraudsters, some observers are worried that financial institutions will become more significant targets. Javelin Strategy & Research analyst Al Pascual envisions increased threats focused on new account opening and account takeover fraud. Additionally, many experts are convinced that online, card-not-present fraud will grow due to the fact that EMV does not help in protecting online purchases.
Although investment in Bitcoin has grown substantially since 2012, an Aite Group analyst says that the crypto-currency is “solving a commerce problem that the vast majority of consumers simply don’t have.” Although Bitcoin boasts ease of use, it is no easier than credit cards and offers none of plastic's consumer safeguards. Aite Group analyst Nathalie Reinelt cites considerable consumer risks inherent in the virtual currency, including a lack of asset insurance that makes users vulnerable to risk of loss. She contends that the best use Bitcoin case for consumers is for cross-border remittances.
There are basically three ways to virtualize networks and networking devices:
1) Network Virtualization (NV)
2) Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)
3) Software-Defined Networking (SDN)
Network Virtualization is the ability to simulate a hardware platform - in this case a network appliance - in software, while Network Functions Virtualization is NV on steroids. Rather than control a network platform, NFV controls network functions such as network address translation, firewall, and intrusion detection. Software-Defined Networking is the next evolution in that it controls the entire network. Network Functions Virtualization is highly complementary to Software Defined Networking, but not dependent on it or vice-versa, although the two concepts and solutions can be combined.
AT&T is working with Cisco on a cloud-based, video collaboration service that will be available for almost any device. Meanwhile, Sprint announced a cloud-based audio conference service called UberConference from Switch Communications, which is run by a group of former Google employees, including the principle creator of Google Voice.
More than 2.1 million people work in U.S. call centers, and increasingly more and more of them are working from home. Remote workers must enjoy working alone and be able to manage their time well. In general, the at-home agent model attracts more educated and experienced individuals, but contact center experts recommend that recruiters also look for technically savvy people. That is because Virtual agents don’t have the benefit of supervisors, peers and technical support staff right around the corner. Virtual chat rooms can help bridge the gap when near real-time communication is required, but that may not be adequate in some circumstances, so these agents must be able to effectively troubleshoot technical problems themselves.
