ABA Banking Journal - April 2008 - (Page 38)

COVER STORY TECHNOLOGY effect, partial web page refreshes. So, a user can be in the middle of an internet banking task and have a screen pop up that asks for more information instead of a time-consuming “side” navigation to another section of the site, or worse yet, a log out and call in to a customer service rep to confirm something like a password revision, new payee information, or something else, in which case the original task would have been broadly interrupted. Likewise, what makes richness a boon to bankers is that it can support motion graphics (i.e., Flash), news feeds, asset allocation gadgets and mash-ups (applications that are derived from several distinct source applications and blended). The beauty of AJAX and other RIA approaches is that code execution for tasks like refilling values into tables doesn’t need to take place “long distance” between client and server computers, with all the lag time that implies. Accenture’s Blair Jones, senior executive, technology architecture group, who is based in Sophia Antipolis, France, agrees that client-side coding can make video and other streaming content or other navigational features feasible. “Websites can look sharper and deliver something compelling both in terms of promotional content or workflow experience for existing customers.” Bankers in the know seem to agree. In recent research Jones worked on, 70% of financial services clients who characterized themselves as innovators indicated plans to adopt RIA technologies over the next year or said they had pilots in the works. Jones, who agrees that the graphical richness of RIAs is unmatched in anything Web 1.0 offered, stresses other dimensions to RIA, including how it can aid in the design of guided selling experiences. “The user can input information, but it won’t feel like they are filling out a digital form or taking part in a survey, because of the rapid screen refresh and the fact that sections of the screen operate independently of each other. The experience feels more interactive as a result.” Jones, who works with many finan- A NASDAQ dashboard, deceptively passive in this screen shot, can actually show daily value variations during previous hours with a mouse click on a graphical slider. Check it out at http://www.adobe.com/products/air. cial services clients in the evaluation of portal technologies, says that two good consumer examples are what Google and Yahoo offer on their financial pages. “Both companies feature customizable feeds and let users create a digital portfolio report view,” he says. “So you can see what your investments look like graphically and you can read about them and find research to help with key portfolio management decisions.” How two banks use RIA Interestingly though, RIAs (which keep what’s known as the “state” of the program as well as the data the program requires back at the client) have been brewing, in various incarnations, over several years as developers have gotten beyond static HTML for web presentation. “Internet banking has evolved from basic transaction history presentations to an increasingly two-way communication device,” says Chip Greenlee, director financial services, Adobe. “With imbedded logic in the presentation layer banks can finally get past their green screen looking billpay capabilities and do more online.” Scott Morris, application development manager, UMB Bank, Kansas City, Mo., says his $9.3 billion assets organization has been making incremental upgrades that incorporate AJAX and other Web 2.0 “concepts,” as he refers to them since the adoption of a content management system from Oracle two years ago. “Now, content loading and approval, which used to be a pretty manual process, is more automated. Our business users can take control of it themselves.” One example of an RIA site enhancement Morris gives is a billpay feature that he refers to as “modal dialogue”—the use of a pop-out box and simultaneous “gray out” of the screen when some additional information must be input, such as the address of a new payee. Another example: a digital Rolodex for the company’s intranet site. “We exposed phone number information as a service and have AJAX call ups pulling the data into the intranet. This way, the information stays accurate and reflects personnel changes retained in backend systems.” Although Peter Johnson, senior vice-president, enterprise architecture and web services, The Bank of New York Mellon, spent less time discussing the presentation layer, or aesthetic aspects of what RIAs can deliver, he did admit that appearances count for cus- 38 APRIL 2008/ABA BANKING JOURNAL Subscribe at www.ababj.com http://www.adobe.com/products/air http://www.accenture.com/home/default.htm http://www.adobe.com http://www.bnymellon.com http://www.bnymellon.com https://www.umb.com 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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