The future is in the palm of your hand

By David Picton, Motorola

Recent years have seen the financial services industry put the customer at the centre of everything it does. Customers demanded 24-hour cash withdrawal, telephone banking, Internet banking – and the industry responded. But the increased trend of bringing services to customers, rather than asking customers to come to financial organisations, places a growing pressure on information systems.

Delivering money to ATMs in shops, offices and leisure outlets represents an expensive and high risk supply chain for banks. When claim assessors or personal bankers meet with customers on their own premises, they are separated from their corporate networks and technology tools. Removing cash handling desks and meeting customers face to face in the retail banking environment severs contact with fixed customer records.

To remain differentiated in the market, organisations have to address these challenges, but at what cost? Vast amounts of time can be wasted by transcribing information generated by mobile activities, and still more is expended trying to understand and protect cash movements.

Leading-edge organisations in a wide range of vertical markets have often seen “Enterprise Mobility” solutions as key to expanding their networks and connecting employees on the move. Retailers, logistics companies, manufacturers, healthcare teams and the public sector have transformed their processes through barcode and wireless technology, with the financial sector making the most of developments in other industries to make very quick progress.

With wireless networks, handheld mobile computers and barcode scanners, organisations can capture information accurately and control its dissemination across the enterprise. At the same time, employees can connect to corporate applications and communicate through voice and data services, allowing financial services organisations to drive information across their businesses, empowering employees with the data they need to do their jobs better.

In real terms, this means that financial service organsisations can improve:

Accuracy – information captured on mobile devices eliminates errors created by manual data transfer from paper forms, such as loan applications or insurance claims. Improved accuracy and visibility can also be achieved in the cash supply chain by barcoding consignments and cash boxes, for subsequent tracking right through the system.

Productivity – Giving mobile employees secure and managed access to IT systems empowers them to make informed decisions instantly, serve customers more effectively and move quickly in a fast-moving world.

Security – Modern security-enabled wireless networks are often safer than their wired counterparts. As well as offering top-level encryption and authentication, as required for Payment Card Industry compliance, wireless networks can offer intrusion-detection functionality that is unavailable in a cabled infrastructure. Outside the four walls of the office, the latest virtual private network (VPN) technology allows employees on the road to access office applications such as email, calendar and contacts.

Customer satisfaction – Linking staff in real-time to critical information lifts the burden from customers of updating staff and allows for personal treatment. Furthermore, with connected tools at their disposal, value-added services such as personal cash delivery or in-person loan services can be offered.

Liffe, the international derivatives business of NYSE Euronext, is one company that has been quick to adopt enterprise mobility technologies in partnership with Motorola. Liffe tracks the commodities in which it trades as it puts them through quality analysis. Group 4 Securities has also adopted enterprise mobility solutions to track its cash deliveries, with automatic system updates over its wireless network throughout the delivery process. As a result, its processes are more agile, accurate and responsive than ever before.

At a time when you’re more likely to hear the words “credit crunch” than “internal investment” these companies have the vision to see that their success relies on using technology to out-innovate the competition and offer services to customers that they can’t get elsewhere. Having already trodden the path to bring their services to the customer, the businesses that will succeed in the 21 st Century are those that can take one step further and automate everything from the customer back to their head offices.

David Picton is the head of Motorola’s Industry Solutions Group in EMEA. He is responsible for developing vertical strategies and customer-focused Enterprise Mobility solutions to be delivered by Motorola’s field sales teams and partner network. His primary focus is on the Financial Services, Transport and Logistics, Retail, Manufacturing, Field Mobility and Healthcare sectors.