ABA Banking Journal - April 2008 - (Page 35)

COVER STORY year of rich internet apps? 2008: the T he new web, also called Web 2.0, became a crowd pleaser in the last few years for its collaborative and social nature: wikis, MySpace, blogs, and other concepts such as user-supplied content and the “wisdom of crowds,” have people flocking online, as if to tap into a new form of lingua franca. But there is another aspect of 2.0 getting less consumer press attention: rich internet applications, which can be thought of as the codes and programming strategies that make for a more immersive, more engaging website. And yet, RIAs offer the promise of a web environment with easier-to-place links, buttons, tables, and pop-out dialogue boxes among other such features, which can engage customers with their sheer niftiness, not to mention, their utility. The improvements don’t have to be enterprise sized to make their mark. Vivek Mehra, managing director, global financial services, for Boston-based Keane Consulting, now a division of Caritor, points out that the ability to glide a mouse over a link and have a cascading list or dialogue box appear with useful information about banking transactions are the sorts of little details that can make a big difference to the average consumer and offer a big lift in website use. Because of this, Mehra believes more banks will begin to adopt RIA and modernize the web channel yet again. “There isn’t a point where you say the project is finished,” he says of the web. “It will be a work in progress. The biggest financial services firms are introducing features and small navigational improvements on a 90-day cycle.” A prominent web developer’s journal noted that 2008 will be known as an important year for RIAs, which will show up in more RFPs and more deployments over the next six months and beyond. RIA’s time has come By Lauren Bielski, senior editor Subscribe at www.ababj.com Of course, the peaks and valleys of technology adoption are tough to chart, with anecdotal evidence easier to come by than meaningful stats. Certainly, many tech conferABA BANKING JOURNAL/APRIL 2008 35 http://www.keane.com/index.html http://www.ababj.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - April 2008

ABA Banking Journal - April 2008 Contents Editor's Column You Can't Beat Wal-Mart: Or Can You? Snapshot: Non-Interest Income Shoulders More Weight ABA National Conference for Community Bankers Report 100th Anniversary: Then & Now ABA Resources ABA Chairman's Position Banks Plus Insurance: How to Make It Work Pass the Aspirin 2008: Year of Rich Internet Apps? Tough Time For That IPO Your Audience Needs to Know Who You Are Telepresence: Costly But Very Cool Webnotes Better Websites Mean Tougher Compliance Mailbox Banker's Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers The Economy

ABA Banking Journal - April 2008

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