Is Ibanking the way forward?

The banking sector has had to modernise its banking services and incorporate a web design to its banking strategies as the world moved towards mass consumerism with the development of the internet. The competition among the banks shifted to a wider level and banks changed strategies to reap the benefits of Ibanking. This was experienced recently in Japan with Hyakugo Bank Ltd.

Hyakugo Bank, Ltd. (head office in Tsu-shi, Mie Prefecture; President Hajimu Maeda) and Nihon Unisys, Ltd. (headquartered in Koto-ku, Tokyo; President Katsuto Momii) have teamed up to develop the BankVision(R)(1) online banking system, which went online. BankVision is a next-generation open banking system developed for Microsoft Windows Server and SQL Server.

This new banking system buttresses the position of Hyakugo Bank as Japan's top regional bank. It will now be possible to offer all of
Hyakugo Bank's clients the latest high-value added services in a timely and personalized fashion.

Derived from Hyakugo Bank's long years of banking experience and Nihon Unisys's long years of technological experience building banking systems, and based on research by the S-BITS Consortium into online banking needs, BankVision is the first full banking system in the world designed for Windows Server and SQL Server.

BankVision is a cutting-edge banking system based on a software originally developed by Nihon Unisys using object-oriented design combined with a service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach. Nihon Unisys was the trailblazer in the industry in adopting these methods. With BankVision, what before could only be done on a mainframe can now be done on an open system, including instant switching for foolproof troubleshooting, and nonstop 24/365 operation.

With this new aspect of competition looming on the banking sector how do you think that banks in Asia will react in the future? How will customers adapt to the new Ibanking operations?