Core Banking with Microsoft Technology White Paper

Published: February 2008

For the latest information, please see

www.microsoft.com/industry/financialservices/banking/about.mspx#EEG

Abstract

This paper looks at the latest trends in the market with respect to core system replacement

and outlines Microsoft’s strategy for larger banks that are considering a service-oriented

architecture (SOA)–based approach to migrating their legacy core systems from mainframe

and midrange platforms to a new generation of commodity hardware platforms that run the

Windows Server® operating system and that are capable of supporting the largest core

banking operations.

1

Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Market Trends: Growing Momentum ................................................................................................................... 2

Trends for Smaller Banks ...................................................................................................................................... 2

Trends for Larger Banks ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Vendors Recognize Relevance of SOA ............................................................................................................ 6

Trends for the Future ............................................................................................................................................. 7

Business Drivers: Moving Toward Agility ............................................................................................................ 9

Core Banking Systems Face Challenges ......................................................................................................... 9

Using Agility to Resolve Issues ......................................................................................................................... 10

Core Banking Redefined .......................................................................................................................................... 12

Uncovering the ―Core‖ of Core Banking ...................................................................................................... 12

Vision for the Future: A Transformation Roadmap .................................................................................. 14

Surrounding Core Banking Systems .................................................................................................................... 15

Mission Critical: A New Perception ...................................................................................................................... 16

SAP ............................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Itanium Solutions Alliance ................................................................................................................................. 18

Mainframe Migration Alliance ......................................................................................................................... 19

Mission Critical Program .................................................................................................................................... 21

Service-Oriented Architecture ......................................................................................................................... 24

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Resources ....................................................................................................................................................................... 33

1 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 1

Introduction

After years of debate about the need for core system replacement, there is finally evidence of

growing momentum both in the market of smaller banks (dominated by package vendors) and

in in-house projects of larger banks.

For the larger banks, the approach to core system replacement is typically based on an overall

service-oriented architecture (SOA) strategy and likely to combine elements of three different

approaches: legacy code migration, core banking package implementation, and the

introduction of re-usable ―banking enterprise services‖ alongside traditional in-house

development.

Clearly, the main business driver for legacy core system replacement is ―agility‖ and as a result

there is a growing focus on incorporating workflow and business process management (BPM)

technologies into the target architecture.

Having long had a strong association with traditional ―surround‖ strategies aimed at

overcoming the constraints of legacy core systems—strategies such as customer relationship

management (CRM) and multi-channel integration that are strengthened by collaborative

technologies—Microsoft now has a clear vision for the future architecture of core banking

platforms.

Microsoft is positioned to support the emergence of a new generation of agile banking

platforms with flexible product definition, customizable workflow, and integrated multi-

channel distribution capabilities, built on SOA principles and using industry-standard

communication protocols and vocabularies.

The necessary mission-critical infrastructure based on Microsoft® technologies has been in

place for some time and is continuously being strengthened by new product releases, including

the 2008 launch of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system and SQL Server® 2008

database software. Combined with the availability of highly scalable commodity hardware and

leading independent service vendors (ISVs) who offer their core banking solutions on the

Windows® platform, this is leading to a gradual change in perception among senior banking

executives. They are starting to recognize that Microsoft can offer a more cost-effective and

agile alternative to legacy mainframe and midrange platforms traditionally used for core

banking, without sacrificing important mission-critical requirements such as scalability, security,

reliability, high availability, and manageability.

Microsoft has also recognized this trend and is supporting it by means of the Mission Critical

Program and membership in the important alliances such as the Itanium Solutions Alliance and

the Mainframe Migration Alliance.

A ―real-world‖ roadmap towards an SOA-based next-generation core banking platform

requires a combination of an end-state vision, an ISV ecosystem that is closely aligned with this

vision, and supporting technologies.

Microsoft is well-placed to assist its customers with delivering on this vision.

2 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 2

Market Trends: Growing Momentum

The industry has—understandably—been predicting an increase of activity in legacy core

system replacement for many years. Ample evidence exists for the assertion that there are

strong business imperatives for addressing some of the constraints imposed by a generation of

core banking systems that in many cases has its architectural origins in the 1970s and 1980s.

Yet it has often proved difficult to discern actual momentum, especially when it comes to the

largest retail banks and the systems that serve their domestic markets.

Trends for Smaller Banks

Because the market for core banking systems for smaller banks is much easier to understand,

its trends can be more easily tracked. This market is served by a group of software vendors who

specialize in more or less packaged core banking applications.

The International Banking Systems Journal has been covering this market for many years and

publishes a series of what it calls ―back-office systems and suppliers guides‖ that provide a

profile of the vendors active in this market and a history of their product offerings. In addition,

International Banking Systems (IBS) publishes an annual ―sales league table‖ that reports the

number of ―new-name‖ sales achieved by each vendor and ranks them accordingly.

The most recently published IBS sales league table covers 2006. The editor‘s opening comment

is: ―Our annual analysis of core banking system selections shows 2006 to be verging on a

bumper year, with heightened activity across the board.‖1 The comment suggests that in this

market at least there is growing momentum.

The editor then goes on to say, ―There is no doubt, having analyzed all of the core banking

system sales for 2006, that there is ever more activity, in almost all parts of the globe and

within all sectors. Most suppliers had a good year in terms of new name business, as recorded

in the tables—indeed, almost all of the leading systems in each category gained more deals in

2006 than in 2005.

In compiling the sales league table below, IBS only looks at vendors who are active in more

than one territory. This means that the numbers exclude major markets that are dominated by

domestic players such as the United States and Russia.

1 “The IBS Sales League Table 2006.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. 2006.

(http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=SLT&action=view&id=10109)

3 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 3

Figure 1. Global breakdown of 2006 deals Source: IBS Journal; The IBS Sales League Table 2006

Analysts hold a broad consensus that the core banking market in the United States—perhaps

contrary to the rest of the world—is not showing much sign of growth. This market has been

dominated for some time by a relatively small group of vendors. Many of the smaller banks use

outsourced services provided by these vendors as an alternative to the traditional on-site

package implementations. A large proportion of the significant number of core banking deals

in the United States each year is typically associated with ―churn,‖ that is to say, banks moving

between vendors, with another sizeable segment going to ―de novo‖ start-ups.

TowerGroup estimates that, ―on average, 200-300 banks consider replacing their core system in

a typical year [in the U.S.]. Vendors also benefit from licensing to the 100-200 de novo banks

opening each year, although many of these opt for a service bureau solution.‖2

According to IBS: ―IBS Publishing estimates there were 875 new wins [in 2006] among all types

of financial institutions—banks, thrifts, and credit unions. ... Thus, expect about four-to-five per

cent of US financial institutions to decide to convert their core retail banking systems in 2007,

with most activity occurring among community banks and credit unions, and little (or no)

activity at the top-tier banks.‖3

2 Robert Hunt. ―In-House Core Processing for Community Banks: Vendor Consolidation Continues, But Choices Get Better.‖ TowerGroup.

December 2003. p. 7. 3 ―The IBS Sales League Table 2006.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. 2006.

(http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=SLT&action=view&id=10109)

4 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 4

The total number of international deals reported by IBS for 2006, given these constraints, was

441, compared with 334 in 2005 and 306 in 2004—a fairly significant shift in annual growth

from 9 percent in 2005 to 32 percent in 2006. It is important to understand that these numbers

include all the different classifications of ―core system‖ that IBS uses, that is to say, not only

retail/private banking (64), but also universal (179), wholesale (145), and a newly introduced

category of specialized lending systems (53). Many of the ―wholesale‖ banking systems focus

on treasury and capital markets‘ operational requirements. Therefore one could argue that the

real number of interest here—if we are focusing primarily on universal/private/retail banking

activities—is in fact 296. It remains to be seen how the market fared in 2007, but it is fair to

assume, given interim reports from the leading vendors, that the growth trend will continue.

Trends for Larger Banks

Unfortunately, it is not easy to derive clear numbers for what is happening in the larger banks.

Datamonitor analyzes the top spending priorities in retail banking worldwide and concludes:

―Top projects in 2007 will remain focused on compliance and branch, but shift towards core

systems.‖4

Figure 2. Datamonitor; Retail Banking Technology Business Trends Survey, December 2006

4 ―Retail Banking Technology Business Trends Survey.‖ Datamonitor. December 2006.

5 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 5

When summarizing the situation for markets in the Asia Pacific region, Datamonitor comments,

―Strong growth in the developing banking markets of Asia Pacific is prompting many upper tier

banks to invest significant capital to expand into these markets. With the rise of foreign

entrants, incumbents are developing new strategies [to] compete effectively, and technology

applications, particularly for channels and core systems, can help level the playing field.‖5

Forrester has been carrying out a survey of some 50 European banks for a few years running,

seeking to establish how many of them have core system replacement initiatives in place. In its

most recent survey, Forrester asks, ―Is your company working on a major renewal initiative

regarding its financial services application landscape (e.g. banking platform)?‖6

The results indicate that 53 percent of respondent banks were already executing such a

strategy and 27 percent were planning to do so, while 9 percent reported already having

completed such a renewal. This suggests that—at least in Europe—legacy core system

replacement is now firmly on the agenda of a significant proportion of larger banks.

The same study also asks respondents the following question: ―Are you already using service-

oriented architecture (SOA)?‖ Here, 56 percent of respondents reported already using SOA and

31 percent were planning to do so.

Figure 3. Forrester; European Financial Services Architecture Strategy Survey 2007

5 ―Emerging Asia Pacific Markets Play Catch-up—Retail Banking Technology.‖ Datamonitor. December 2006. 6 Jost Hoppermann. ―European Financial Services Architecture Strategy Survey 2007.‖ Forrester. 2007.

6 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 6

Figure 4. Forrester; European Financial Services Architecture Strategy Survey 2007

It seems fair to conclude that there may be a link between these two trends and that—at least

in the larger banks in Europe—SOA is seen as an appropriate strategy to tackle the long-

standing issue of legacy core system replacement.

Vendors Recognize Relevance of SOA

Even the vendors who supply packaged banking applications clearly recognize that SOA is

relevant. In many cases these vendors themselves face a similar issue to the one faced by the

larger banks, that is, the architecture of many of the most widely installed core banking

packages date back to the 1970s and 1980s.

One important segment of vendors is of particular interest. These vendors have chosen certain

strategies for migrating their installed user bases towards a new generation of core banking

systems. These strategies may give some insight into the question as to what options are open

to larger banks facing a similar challenge with an in-house system.

The segment in question is the installed base of IBM iSeries–based packages from such vendors

as Misys (Midas and Equation), Fiserv (ICBS), Datapro (IBS), Eri Bancaire (Olympic), Fidelity

(ACBS), Financial Objects (IBIS/S2), and Temenos (following the recent acquisition of Actis—the

new owners of Paba/Q). This segment is affected by the steady decline in iSeries revenues

reported on a quarterly basis by IBM and the resulting market perception of a platform in

retreat.

According to the IBS Sales League Table7, the combined installed base of these and a few other

regional vendors amounts to some 1426 systems sold. In reality this number will be smaller as a

7 ―The IBS Sales League Table 2006.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. 2006.

(http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=SLT&action=view&id=10109)

7 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 7

result of mergers and acquisitions over time and also because many of these sites are or have

become branches and subsidiaries of the large international banks.

Almost without exception, each of these vendors has announced plans that herald a new

version of the system and the possibility of a move away from the IBM iSeries platform. The

vendor with the largest installed base, Misys, serves as a useful example. Misys faced a

particular challenge in that it had to find a way forward for two legacy systems—Midas and

Equation. Initially it attempted re-writes for both towards Java. Then, following the acquisition

of a small ―breakaway‖—Trapedza—who had built a new banking application development

platform, Mysis announced a new strategy.

IBS reported at the time of the Mysis announcement:

Where it is taken on top of existing back office systems, it could be used at the outset

purely for tying together silos and disparate front office layers for tasks such as

channel-based fees (different charges depending on the channel used) or product

bundling. The underlying banking functionality within BankFusion could then be used

to gradually replace the underlying processing systems. ―Facade, enhance, replace‖ is

the Misys rallying cry.8

Fiserv, having addressed its front-end requirements for ICBS through collaboration with

Portrait that resulted in the Aperio offering, instead opted for migrating the core ICBS legacy

code as a first possible step away from the IBM iSeries. It used a set of tools from code

migration specialists PKS and initially targeted Linux through a conversion to C. In addition

Fiserv has made a number of acquisitions that have added specialized services, such as an anti-

money-laundering service through the acquisition of NetEconomy.

Temenos, on the other hand, having recently acquired Actis and its Paba system, which is

installed in a large number of smaller banks in Germany, was reported by IBS as saying:

Temenos will support current clients of Actis.BSP‘s Paba/Q (an iSeries-based universal

banking solution used mainly by international operations) and BSP Trade (a securities

system). However, Temenos will look to move the clients to its own T24.9

To summarize, the approaches range from code migration to front-end replacement and

gradual or more aggressive replacement with a new core banking system, with the possibility

of integrating some entirely new and typically externally acquired capabilities.

Trends for the Future

Datamonitor, in a study carried out in the U.S. market, asked the following question: ―Which of

the following best describes your approach to core systems IT development?‖ It offered the

following alternatives (the order indicates the preferences for this market at the time of the

study.):

Maintain existing system going forward

Wrap existing core systems to enable greater integration

Migrate to a new packaged core system (in-progress or planned)10

8 Whybrow, Martin (editor-in-chief). ―Misys Unveils Product Strategy.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. Issue 16.7, April 2007.

(http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=view&id=10140) 9 Whybrow, Martin (editor-in-chief). ―Temenos Gains German Presence with Actis.BSP Deal.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. Issue

16.7, April 2007. (http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=view&id=10143)

8 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 8

One option missing from this list is the one perhaps that may prove of most interest for larger

banks in the future: the gradual replacement of legacy core systems using an SOA-based

approach, one ―service‖ at a time, and using business process management (BPM) technologies

to achieve a more dynamic core banking platform.

An indication that some of the international vendors are starting to think in this direction can

be found in their announcements about the adoption of BPM.

I-Flex is one of the leading vendors in the IBS Sales League Table and earlier acquired by

Oracle. When it announced in 2006 that it was unveiling a ―process framework for banking,‖

based on the Oracle Business Process Architect (derived from IDS Scheer‘s ARIS), it triggered

the start of a race for other vendors to look at their offerings in terms of services that could be

orchestrated by a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) engine.

One of the vendors, Temenos, (I-Flex‘s main rival at the head of the IBS Sales League Table)

reacted and duly was reported by IBS in 2007 as using the same set of tools in a project with a

bank in Lebanon, which clearly indicates its intentions: ―While Temenos has a layer within T24

to expose processes and enquiries as web services ... the BPEL engine will orchestrate the flows

vertically, within T24, but also horizontally, across other systems.‖11

One of the most recent and perhaps most significant signs of a growing trend towards

specialization of services—this time by a much larger bank—came with the Microsoft press

announcement in 2007 at Sibos (the annual SWIFT convention): Spain‘s Grupo Santander plans

to use Microsoft technology to upgrade and consolidate payments systems across its

international business operations. Santander will use a number of Microsoft products to

consolidate individual payments systems from multiple mainframe computers into one

homogeneous IT infrastructure.

10 ―Core Systems in U.S. Retail Banking.‖ U.S. Financial Services Technology Survey. Datamonitor. January 23, 2004. 11 Whybrow, Martin (editor-in-chief). ―BLF to Pioneer Oracle Tools with Temenos' T24.‖ International Banking Systems Journal. Issue

17.3, November 2007. (http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=view&id=11213)

9 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 9

Business Drivers: Moving Toward Agility

If legacy core banking migration is gaining momentum, then it is important to understand the

business drivers that are making it possible for CIOs to gain approval from business managers

to undertake these typically expensive and high-risk projects.

In their 2005 survey of 147 senior executives in 17 countries, SAP and Accenture reported

―flexibility‖ as the biggest single issue with legacy core banking systems, followed by ―cost‖ and

―integration.‖

Figure 5. Percentage of Executives Citing Area as Problem Source: “Redefining Core Banking.” Accenture and SAP Core Banking Survey 2005

Core Banking Systems Face Challenges

For a long time, the strategy of CIOs has been to ―surround‖ legacy core banking systems in an

attempt to overcome some of the highest priority issues faced by the business. These issues

have typically been associated with giving customer-facing staff access to a consolidated

picture of the relationship with the customer in order to improve customer service and to

realize the opportunity for cross-sales. Banks also wanted to give a more consistent customer

experience across the different channels to market.

10 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 10

As a result, the implementation of CRM and multi-channel integration architectures has been a

popular way to surround legacy core banking systems. Unfortunately, these approaches are

unable to overcome some of the more fundamental issues that legacy core systems face, such

as the presence of a lot of batch processing, which makes 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week

availability—a priority requirement in a multi-channel world—prone to inconsistencies

between channels.

Another typical issue that limits what banks can achieve with a surround strategy is the time it

takes to bring new products to market. Legacy core systems were not typically designed with

the concept of parameterized product definition in mind, which means that the introduction of

any new products or even product variants results in a significant amount of changes to the

core system code. Given the risks this entails and the resulting testing effort, it is not

uncommon for banks to only be able to manage one or two new core system releases each

year—something that in turn limits their ability to launch new products.

In a similar way, legacy core systems place significant constraints on optimizing processes

because these processes are typically written into the code and any process optimization again

results in extensive code changes and the associated regression testing cycles.

The inability to change processes in a more dynamic way can also have a clear impact on the

way banks address regulatory compliance, when changes to a number of different systems are

required every time a new regulation is introduced or an existing one modified.

Overall, this means that the constraints of legacy core systems affect each of the key

dimensions by which banks establish competitive advantage:

Customer relationships and service

Product innovation

Operational efficiency and price

Worse, it likely has a negative effect on the bank‘s ability to respond to regulatory

requirements in a cost-effective way. Given that compliance-related investments are non-

discretionary, the resulting costs can have a negative impact on the bank‘s overall cost/income

ratio.

Using Agility to Resolve Issues

The term that ties together many of these issues and has become closely associated with

legacy core banking system replacement is ―agility.‖

―Agility‖ in this context refers to how a business looks for a way to implement a new-

generation core banking platform that makes it possible to bring new products to market more

quickly, make them available simultaneously across a multitude of distribution channels, and

fine-tune processes on a continuous basis as the bank‘s people learn or regulators impose new

ways of managing risk and improving customer service.

A further dimension of agility is the organization‘s ability to work with partners. As many banks

grow, their business focuses increasingly (where regulators allow it) towards a ―universal

financial services‖ model that includes other offerings such as insurance and investment

products and services, alongside traditional banking products. With this new model, the ability

to accommodate products sourced from partners within the core banking platform and multi-

channel architecture becomes ever more important.

11 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 11

As the differentiation becomes sharper between those who specialize in the manufacturing of

products and those who focus on distribution, and as the concept of outsourcing elements of

the value chain (something that has already been in existence for some time in areas such as

card processing and trade finance) becomes more widely accepted, agility can also refer to the

way that banks are able to make frequent changes in the choice of partners that they

collaborate with in order to deliver products and services.

12 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 12

Core Banking Redefined

Before setting out a future vision for a core banking platform that can meet the competitive

demands of the business, it is important to first define what is meant by a legacy core banking

system.

Uncovering the “Core” of Core Banking

SAP and Accenture collaborated (under the auspices of EFMA, the European Financial

Management and Marketing Association) on a worldwide survey of legacy core banking

platform renewal in 2005. In the survey, they state:12

The survey explicitly defined core banking as the sum of all IT components that allow a

banking institution to develop, process, and manage its basic financial products and

services effectively. These include:

Basic client data

Deposit accounts

Loans and mortgages

Payments

Cards

They may also include:

Complementary products and services, including those from external providers

Securities (in some countries)

Workflow and business enablement systems

The survey offers a fairly broad definition of core banking that recognizes that what is

considered ―core‖ may differ from organization to organization and may reflect the main focus

of the business. For banks with a wholesale banking focus, the emphasis may be different than

for retail banks.

By comparison, Datamonitor, reflecting a typical retail focus, formally defines ―core system‖ as

follows:

Core system includes the deposit processing system, the loan accounting and servicing

system, the general ledger system, the customer information system and the reporting

tools.13

A typical example of a class of back-office systems that is not mentioned by earlier definitions

of core banking is the class of systems that process domestic and international payments. Yet

this is an area that is receiving particular attention as a result of regulatory changes in Europe

under the Single European Payments Area directive (SEPA).

12 Balgheim, Thomas and Jean-Marc Olagnier. ―Redefining Core Banking: Worldwide Survey.‖ EFMA, SAP, Accenture. July 2005. p. 5. 13 ―Core System IT Spending in North American Retail Banking (Databook).‖ Datamonitor. May 2006. p. 8.

13 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 13

The International Banking Systems Journal offers an even broader perspective when it tracks

international software vendors for its Sales League Table and Back Office Systems and Suppliers

Guide. The league table is subdivided into products classified as systems for universal,

retail/private, and wholesale banking, with a recently added class for lending systems.

This is how Temenos, one of the leading vendors in the IBS Sales League Table, describes its

product T24 in functional terms:

Core Functions Retail Banking Private Banking Treasury Corporate/

Wholesale

Customer

Relationship

Manager

Market Risk

Credit Risk

Accounting and

General Ledger

Multi-company,

Multi-currency,

and Multi-

language

Management

Information and

Profitability

Document and

Image

Management

Payments

Nostro

Reconciliations

Confirmation

Matching

Workflow

Collateral

Equities and

Bonds

Cash Deposits

and Accounts

Asset

Management:

Discretionary and

Advisory

Portfolio

Rebalancing

Performance

Reporting

Portfolio

Management and

Accounting

Execution-Only

Transaction

Alternative

Instruments

Structured

Products

Third-Party

Commissions and

Trailer Fees

Securities

Portfolio

Management

Portfolio

Modeling and Re-

Balancing

Portfolio

Reporting

Including

Performance

Fiduciaries

Intermediary

(Agent)

Compensation

and Commissions

Money Market

Foreign Exchange

Derivatives

Securities

Repos

Futures and

Options

Commercial

Lending

Syndicated

Lending

Letters of Credit

Documentary

Collections

Bills

Guarantees and

Standbys

Leasing

Cash

Management

Source: Temenos (www.temenos.com)

Microsoft considers all back-office systems as potentially being within the scope of a legacy

core banking systems renewal strategy.

14 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 14

Vision for the Future: A Transformation Roadmap

Having reviewed how banks and software vendors define core banking, it makes sense now to

have a look into the future to try to determine what the end-state looks like for a legacy core

system transformation roadmap.

Microsoft‘s vision for Core Banking can be summarized as the emergence of a new generation

of agile banking platforms with flexible product definition, customizable workflow, and

integrated multi-channel distribution capabilities, built on SOA principles and using industry-

standard communication protocols and vocabularies.

Figure 6. Financial Services Reference Architecture

At the heart of this vision lies the belief that the vendors of packaged core banking

applications and the larger banks who continue to build in house will evolve the architecture of

their banking platforms towards a collection of reusable ―banking enterprise services‖

organized around a clear differentiation between the manufacturing and distribution of

banking products.

Such services are likely to include highly configurable functions to support such things as

relationship-based pricing, production of customer documents, limit monitoring, or the

generation of accounting entries.

15 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 15

Surrounding Core Banking Systems

Microsoft looks at technology from a ―People Ready‖ perspective—recognizing that it is people

who develop customer relationships, improve operations, build partner connections, and drive

innovation.

As a result, Microsoft technologies have often been used in the past to ―surround‖ legacy core

banking systems.

Historically, this trend started in retail bank branches, where, during communications outages,

the need to continue to serve customers and then process in ―off-line mode‖ mandated the use

of low-cost decentralized processing capacity. A similar requirement existed (and still does) in

another distribution channel, the automated teller machine (ATM).

With the advent of the Internet and mobile devices as important distribution channels for the

financial services industry and the availability of a single development environment that can

address all of these different channels, the Microsoft Visual Studio® development system and

Microsoft .NET have increasingly been chosen more often for multi-channel integration

projects.

The European Financial Management and Marketing Association, in its annual Banking

Advisory Council report on distribution strategies, comments: ―A change in the role of the

branch, from being transaction oriented to advice oriented, brings with it a change in the role

of key people in the branch.‖14

It is precisely this need for a people-centric approach where Microsoft plays an increasingly

prominent role in surrounding core banking ―manufacturing‖ systems with ―distribution‖

systems that incorporate collaborative and unified communications technologies.

The EFMA report also comments: ―A major issue is transforming and training branch staff to

take on and excel at an advisory and sales role.‖

This report reflects the opinions of the members of the EFMA banking advisory council (all of

whom are senior business decision makers from leading financial services organizations across

Europe). It strongly indicates that as branch transformation programs progress towards more

focus on customer relationship management and sales, so also the need to support the people

in branches with collaborative and communications technologies is increasingly being

recognized.

Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM business software is rapidly gaining momentum in the financial

services industry because it addresses some of this requirement by bringing easily accessible

CRM technology to people who are making the transition from a transaction-centric role to a

customer relationship, advice, and sales role.

Another area where Microsoft technology is providing the basis for solutions that surround

legacy core banking systems is in formalized document management and workflow—an

increasingly important requirement for compliance purposes—based on Microsoft SharePoint®

technology.

14 ―The Future Role of the ‗Bank Store‘ and Its Interconnectivity with Other Channels.‖ EFMA (European Financial Management and

Marketing Association). 2007. p. 5.

16 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 16

Mission Critical: A New Perception

Any technology platform which is positioned to support core banking operations, needs to

address a set of mission-critical criteria, including:

Reliability

Scalability

Availability

Manageability

Security

Microsoft believes that it is important to add these:

Enhanceability

Timeliness

Recent years have seen a significant shift in the way Microsoft technology is perceived when it

comes to mission-critical operations.

This change in perception has been based on a combination of three things: the launch of a

64-bit Datacenter Edition of the Windows Server 2003 operating system complemented by

SQL Server 2005 database software, the number of hardware vendors who now provide a

highly scalable (up to 64-way) platform for this operating system and database combination,

and the number of ISVs who now offer packaged core-banking applications based on

Microsoft technology.

SAP

For example, SAP has seen a significant change in the platform of choice for new SAP

implementations (Figure 7).

17 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 17

28

SQL and Windows – The Platform Of Choice For New SAP Implementations

• 65% of all new SAP installations based on Windows

• 42% of all new SAP installations on SQL Server

Figure 7. Percentage of SAP installations on Windows and on SQL Server Source: SAP

In response, a benchmark exercise was carried out with HP in December 2005 (Figure 8). The

highlights of this benchmark exercise showed beyond doubt that the transaction volumes that

can be processed on the Windows platform can address the needs of the largest retail banks

worldwide.

The benchmark reported throughput of 2,300 transactions per second and end-of-day batch

processing capacity of 4,270,000 balanced accounts per hour.

18 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 18

Figure 8. SAP Standard Application Benchmarks Source: SAP

Itanium Solutions Alliance

The Itanium Solutions Alliance brings together some of the most trusted names in high-end

computing and is aimed at driving coordinated development and support for Itanium-based

solutions. Members include Bull, Fujitsu, Siemens, Hitachi, HP, NEC, Unisys, and, of course, Intel.

One of the resources offered by the alliance is a global network of centers to facilitate remote

porting and testing of applications.

On January 26, 2006, the Founding Sponsors of the Itanium Solutions Alliance publicly

committed to investing $10 billion in Itanium-based solutions over the remainder of

this decade. That investment will continue to drive advances at every level, from

processor and systems development to ongoing application porting—and it does not

include the parallel investments that will be made by many smaller platform vendors

19 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 19

and by leading software and solution providers in support of Itanium-based

solutions.15

Microsoft is a member of the Itanium Solutions Alliance.

In 2006, IDC reported on the availability of scalable servers running the Windows operation

system:

The process of IT transformation built on a new generation of hardware and software

products will result in both scale-up and scale-out server deployments. In some cases,

customers will choose to link multiple servers with clustering or grid software to

support a given workload. In others, the processing power of larger, scalable servers

will be needed to support large single system image (SSI) databases or to ensure the

highest levels of availability and manageability for mission-critical applications.

IDC worldwide server data shows that servers using Windows generated about U.S.$16

billion in customer revenue in 2004. Based on IDC‘s latest annual forecast, the

Windows-based server segment is expected to grow to $23 billion in 2009 and to

become the largest single operating system–defined segment of the worldwide server

market. Windows technology now runs on servers across all three categories of the

worldwide server market, as follows:

Millions of units are sold annually in the volume server market, which comprises

servers priced at less than $25,000. Most of these units are 1-way or 2-way

systems.

Tens of thousands of units are sold annually in the midrange and enterprise server

market, which comprises servers priced from $25,000 to $499,999. Most of these

units are 2-way to 8-way servers.

Many hundreds of units are sold in the high-end enterprise server market, which

comprises servers priced at $500,000 or more. Most of these units are larger than

8-way servers.

With the entire computing ecosystem in the worldwide server market moving to 64-bit

and multi-core processor technologies, the capabilities of underlying server hardware

based on new processor technology to support mission-critical enterprise workloads

have improved, and this improvement in turn has brought Windows workloads to a

new level of capability within the enterprise data center. As a result, servers running

Windows are now available to take on enterprise workloads that traditionally have

been assigned to midrange and high-end servers based on RISC and CISC architectures

and running a variety of operating systems other than Microsoft Windows.16

Mainframe Migration Alliance

The Mainframe Migration Alliance (MMA) is a group of companies that are working together

to help customers migrate workloads from the mainframe and to the Windows platform. The

MMA represents a group of companies that have their interests aligned in making mainframe

migrations easier and more efficient for customers.

15 ―The End of the Proprietary Era: Itanium 2–Based Solutions Are Changing the Economics of Business-Critical Computing,‖ Intel. April

2006, p. 11. 16 Bozman, Jean S. and Matthew Eastwood. ―Scalable Windows Servers for the Datacenter.‖ IDC. March 2006.

(http://www.itaniumsolutionsalliance.org/news/whitepapers_brochures/IDC_Scalable_Windows_Servers_for_the_Data_Center.pdf)

20 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 20

21 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 21

Figure 9. Members of the Mainframe Migration Alliance

Mission Critical Program

In recognition of the growing adoption of Microsoft software for truly mission-critical

applications such as core banking, Microsoft Services has created the Mission Critical Program.

Its mission is outlined as follows:

The Microsoft Mission Critical Program (MCP) is a set of premium enterprise, solution-

level service and support offerings that address enterprise customer needs for high

availability, performance, and supportability for their Microsoft-based mission-critical

applications. Delivered with qualified MCP partners, the MCP helps ensure that

22 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 22

mission-critical applications that are based on Windows are architected, designed,

developed, implemented, operated, and supported to increase the quality and

maintainability of the solution for the life of the solution. The MCP delivers the

confidence that data center class systems will achieve target levels of availability and

performance based on Microsoft and industry best practices. The MCP is a shared

commitment and contribution to customer success from Microsoft for mission-critical

IT systems.17

MCP engagements are available on a case-by-case basis, depending on requirements, and the

service is custom priced. Engagements are designed for continuity across the development life

cycle.

Figure 10. MCP covers the complete solution life cycle of mission-critical projects. Source: “Mission Critical Program: Introduction and Overview.” October 17, 2007.

The MCP Components are:

Solution Management

o Continuity throughout the solution life cycle and Microsoft accountability for

system success

Architecture Services

o Architectural and design guidance and validation by Microsoft solution and

product group experts

Operations Services

o Help ensure the system is operated using industry best practices to meet or

exceed required service levels

Proactive Support

o A regimen of guidance, testing, and change management, designed to

prevent downtime

17 Mission Critical Program: Introduction and Overview.‖ Microsoft. October 17, 2007, p. 1.

23 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 23

Incident Management

o 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week solution-level support and optimized

escalation process into the product groups

Windows Server and SQL Server

The growing market acceptance of Microsoft technology for mission-critical operations such as

core banking is based on the very substantial investments made by Microsoft in server

operating system, database, and systems management technologies.

The long-awaited launch of Windows Server 2008 (formerly code-named ―Longhorn‖) will take

place in 2008.

The following from the Windows Server 2008 Web site provides a preview of how the new

releases of Windows Server and SQL Server will build on what has been achieved with previous

versions.

Windows Server 2008 is the most advanced Windows Server operating system yet,

designed to power the next-generation of networks, applications, and Web services.

With Windows Server 2008, the IT team can develop, deliver, and manage rich user

experiences and applications, provide a secure network infrastructure, and increase

technological efficiency and value within the organization.

Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of its Windows Server

predecessors while delivering valuable new functionality and powerful improvements

to the base operating system. New Web tools, virtualization technologies, security

enhancements, and management utilities help save time, reduce costs, and provide a

solid foundation for the organization‘s information technology (IT) infrastructure.

Windows Server 2008 is the most secure Windows Server yet. The operating system

has been hardened to protect against failure and several new technologies help

prevent unauthorized connections to networks, servers, data, and user accounts.

Network Access Protection (NAP) helps ensure that computers that try to connect to

the organization‘s network comply with its security policy. Technology integration and

several enhancements make the Active Directory® service a potent, unified, and

integrated Identify and Access (IDA) solution.

Windows Server 2008 provides a solid foundation for all server workload and

application requirements while being easy to deploy and manage. The all-new Server

Manager provides a unified management console that simplifies and streamlines server

setup, configuration, and ongoing management. Windows PowerShell™, is a new

command-line interface that administrators can use to automate routine system

administration tasks across multiple servers. Windows Deployment Services provides a

simplified, secure means of rapidly deploying the operating system via network-based

installations. And Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering wizards, and full IPv6

support plus consolidated management of Network Load Balancing, make high

availability easy to implement, even by IT generalists. Finally, the new Server Core

installation option of Windows Server 2008 allows for installation of server roles with

only the necessary components and subsystems without a graphical user interface.

Fewer roles and features means minimizing disk and service footprints while reducing

24 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 24

attack surfaces. It also enables IT staff to specialize according to the server roles they

need to support.

Core banking is a typical mission-critical environment that combines the need for highly

scalable, Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) capabilities with an important element of large-

volume batch processing and transaction history warehousing, within an overall context of 24-

hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week availability.

In terms of mission-critical OLTP support, SQL Server 2008 builds on the momentum of SQL

Server 2005:

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 provides a database platform that is optimized for today‘s

applications and that can scale for any size of business. It drives cost-efficiencies by

dramatically reducing downtime and enabling dynamic and proactive management

that significantly reduces administrative overhead. Finally, SQL Server 2008 provides a

highly secure platform that you can trust with your organization‘s sensitive, business-

critical data.

SQL Server 2008 focuses on four key areas to meet today‘s OLTP database needs:

Scale and Performance. SQL Server 2008 enables companies to build a database

solution with the performance and scalability capabilities that are required by

today‘s applications.

High Availability. SQL Server 2008 provides a database application with always-

on capabilities, while minimizing the management and performance overhead of

high-availability solutions.

Security. SQL Server 2008 provides an enhanced, secure data platform by

encrypting valuable data, auditing changes to data and metadata, incorporating

external cryptographic keys, and encrypting and signing data in backup files.

Manageability. SQL Server 2008 helps companies to reduce the time and cost of

managing their data infrastructure by providing innovative and automated policy-

based administration and improved tools for performance monitoring,

troubleshooting, and tuning.18

Service-Oriented Architecture

It is clear from an analysis of market trends that many large banks see SOA as the correct

architectural approach to modernizing and replacing legacy core systems in a gradual way.

Microsoft advocates a ―real-world‖ approach to SOA, which aligns well with the desire of larger

banks to approach the migration away from legacy core systems in this way.

This real-world approach stands in stark contrast to a potentially disruptive ―rip and replace‖

approach associated with the implementation of a complete core banking solution, and it is

likely to be more appropriate for larger banks.

On the other hand, a real-world approach also tries to avoid a pure top-down approach that

does not take into account the existing IT infrastructure. As a result, it can take a very long time

to be implemented, by which time business requirements are likely to have changed.

18 ―Online Transaction Processing in SQL Server 2008.‖ Microsoft. August 2007, summary and p. 1.

(http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/whitepapers/sql_2008_oltp.mspx)

25 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 25

At the same time, a real-world approach tries to avoid a pure bottom-up approach that leaves

the initiative entirely to developers to create small-scale services on an ad-hoc basis.

Working with the New “Middle-Out” Approach

Microsoft advocates a real-world, or ―middle-out,‖ approach in which SOA efforts are driven by

a combination of long-term strategic vision and short-term business needs and priorities. The

aim in this approach is to identify an iterative series of SOA projects, each of which is limited in

scope and delivers clear benefits in a relatively short period of time.

Figure 11. The Microsoft Middle-Out Approach to SOA

The middle-out approach is a successful hybrid of the top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Business drivers and strategic vision are first used to set clear direction and priorities. Based on

these, the organization takes multiple iterative steps to build out areas of end-to-end

capabilities, with each iteration delivering new, dynamic applications back to the business for

immediate benefit. Such a strategy results in a roadmap that can be deployed in incremental

steps.

Once the business drivers are defined, the process of implementing the technology can begin.

Based upon the clearly defined and prioritized vision, each implementation project is an

iterative one of creating (―exposing‖) new services, aggregating (―composing‖) these services

into larger processes, and making these services available for use (―consuming‖) ubiquitously.

Microsoft has successfully helped customers with their SOA efforts since 1999, when it first

announced its Web services model and followed up with the release of the Microsoft .NET

Framework together with a set of SOA tools and design approaches built into and supported

by its application platform.

Since then, Microsoft‘s real-world approach has helped organizations of all sizes optimize their

business processes and realize greater agility through the use of SOA design principles, best

practices, tools, and technologies.

Guidance for both customers and partners on how to build and implement an SOA roadmap is

available from a number of sources, including Microsoft Patterns and Practices, the Mission

Critical Program, and the Financial Services Industry team‘s initiatives such as the Banking

Integration Factory.

26 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 26

Looking at an SOA Roadmap

In order to identify which ―banking enterprise services‖ to focus on, it is worth looking at a

typical banking SOA roadmap (Figure 12).

Historically, banks have built up a number of processing silos as new product lines were added

to the original core business. That means that most banks today are likely to have separate

systems to deal with deposits, loans and mortgages, and cards. They invariably have separate

systems when it comes to the areas of corporate and investment banking. In many cases they

also have externally provided products such as insurance, which are based on collaboration

with partners.

Over time, a number of distribution channels were added, some of which may initially have

been associated with a single business line, as was often the case with call centers and credit

cards. Then, gradually the bank‘s need to serve customers across all distribution channels

resulted in a multitude of cross-connections between these channels and the different product

silos.

Internal

Product Engines

Distribution Channels

The Journey to SOA in Banking

Loan

s

Card

s

Mu

tual Fu

nd

s

Pen

sio

ns

Dep

osi

ts

Insu

ran

ce

AN

O

...

BranchCall

CentreInternet Mobile Agent ...

General Ledger

BI – Risk – Profitability – Statutory Reporting

Middleware

Service

Bus

Customer

Payment

Document

Fees

Limit

...

Process

External

InsurancePartner

Credit Bureau

ClearingHouse

Regulator

SWIFT

...

Figure 12. Microsoft SOA Roadmap for Banking

Often the first step on the SOA roadmap is to separate distribution from manufacturing by

introducing application programming interfaces (APIs) into the back-office systems and

making their functions available as services. These can then be connected to by distribution

systems through a variety of different types of ―middleware.‖ This is equivalent to the ―expose‖

part of the middle-out approach. This approach by itself can lead to a form of desktop

integration often referred to as ―composition.‖

Composite applications are a particular aspect of SOA that is an area of specific interest to

Microsoft, for the reason that composite applications are concerned with orchestrating services

at the level of the user interface. The user interface of Microsoft software is undoubtedly the

27 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 27

most widely used and familiar one in the world. As a result, it makes sense to consider how to

enable the integration of new services into an already familiar user interface. This is in effect

what Office Business Applications makes possible.

A good example of this approach comes from the world of enterprise resource planning (ERP)

and the collaboration between Microsoft and SAP that resulted in the delivery of Duet. Duet in

essence makes available common SAP enterprise services—such as booking a holiday—within

a familiar Microsoft Office user interface.

This approach was also the basis on which Microsoft added CRM capabilities to the existing,

familiar user interface of the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client and

in turn the reason why Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers specialist or vertical financial services as

well as in-house developers the ability to add capabilities on top of a largely horizontal CRM

infrastructure.

Office Business Applications make available a range of capabilities within the Microsoft Office

environment so that additional services can be added, such as transactional ones. These

capabilities include:

Business data catalog

Extensible user interface

Open XML file formats

Workflow

Search

If we apply this logic and approach to banking in general and core banking enterprise services

in particular, then it is easy to see that for those people in the bank who are already familiar

with and use the Microsoft Office user interface for the majority of their time, it makes sense to

consider adding the additional transactional services they require to this familiar user interface.

The case is most compelling for those people—such as advisors or salespeople—who deal with

customers on a day-to-day basis and use functions such as chat, e-mail, calendar, word

processing, and Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheets for much of the time. This is especially the

case where these people have a mobile role, which means that they may be working

disconnected from the network from time to time.

This approach has also been used in other specialized areas such as the call center, where the

Microsoft Customer Care Framework enables a similar desktop integration capability aimed at

making it easier for call center agents to access information from a multitude of systems.

Unfortunately, the functionality available as ―services‖ from legacy core systems has several

associated issues. First of all, the resulting services may not be of the right granularity, making

it necessary to combine too many separate service calls to achieve a single step in a process. In

addition, many back-office systems duplicate common functions, resulting in the complex

issues of keeping different systems synchronized and inconsistencies as to what data or even

what format of data is required.

For this reason, SOA roadmaps are now starting to incorporate the extraction of these common

banking enterprise services from legacy core systems as an important next step.

In a way, this is nothing new. Banks have long been accustomed to accessing external services

from service providers, such as credit bureaus and clearing houses, or the providers of specialist

28 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 28

real-time market data. The area that was often addressed first when it came to recognizing the

need for similar internal services was customer information.

It is relatively easy to make a business case for managing customer data in a more coordinated

way, and it is easy to deliver immediate business benefits from enriched customer information

and better processes for managing customer interactions (such as complaints or interactions

that result in sales leads). Many CRM initiatives resulted from this line of thinking.

In the same way, regulation—at least in Europe—is driving a similar approach for payments.

Putting in place a single payments infrastructure, or service, can be the basis for achieving

significant business benefits, such as reduced transaction costs through better automation and

fewer errors. It can also provide new capabilities such as more sophisticated cash flow

projections and the timing of the release of payments.

Meanwhile, specialist software vendors are gradually beginning to address many more such

enterprise services in areas such as relationship-based pricing, origination, customer document

production, or limit monitoring.

Business Process Management

The section on Market Trends earlier in this paper discussed the announcements by leading

vendors of the implementation of BPM initiatives to start making it possible to orchestrate

core-banking services.

Microsoft defines the scope of BPM technologies as broadly encompassing the following

capabilities and products:

Technologies for defining and executing human workflows, which are processes that

connect people. Providing automated support for human-oriented processes is a

fundamental aspect of BPM, as are the graphical tools used to define those processes.

Technologies for defining and executing system workflows, which are processes that

connect software. Supporting these automated interactions among applications is

another fundamental part of BPM, and it again includes graphical tools to define those

interactions. Integration technologies are often included here as well, such as adapters

for connecting to diverse systems and tools for defining data transformations. The

ability to combine human and system workflows is also important, since many business

processes involve both.

Business rules engines (BREs). If decisions made by a business process can be expressed

as a set of rules, a BRE can frequently be used to make those decisions in software.

Doing this can help decision making be faster, cheaper, and more consistent.

Business activity monitoring (BAM). The people who rely on a business process can

often benefit from visibility into currently running instances of that process. BAM

provides this visibility, exposing relevant information about running processes in terms

that are meaningful to the information workers who use it.

Process description tools: Having a clear understanding of a business process

commonly starts with a picture of that process. Graphical tools for illustrating the

actions and relationships in a process are useful for creating this picture.

Microsoft‘s primary BPM technologies fit quite well into these five categories. Those

technologies are the following:

29 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 29

Human workflow: Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office SharePoint

Server.

System workflow: Microsoft BizTalk® Server, which provides integration services as well.

It can also be used with Windows SharePoint Services and other products to create

combined human and system workflows.

Business rules engine: The BizTalk Server BRE. Microsoft also provides a rules engine

with Windows Workflow Foundation, part of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.

Business activity monitoring: The BizTalk Server BAM, together with technologies such

as Microsoft Office Excel and Office PerformancePoint™ Server business intelligence

software for displaying BAM information.

Process description tools: Microsoft Office Visio® drawing and diagramming software.

In other words, Microsoft encompasses within BPM both human workflow and system

workflow—sometimes also referred to as process flow—and has been implementing a strategy

to unify both types of workflow into a single workflow engine: the one which is now part of the

.NET development environment.

A good example of what this means can be seen for document-centric workflows, which can be

defined by end-users through a specialized user interface that is part of workflow development

in Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer (Figure 13).

30 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 30

Figure 13. Workflow Designer user interface in Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer

In order to apply these technologies in the context of migration to a next-generation core

banking platform, a number of prerequisites need to be addressed first. Often the first step

consists of making legacy system transactions available as ―services‖ by removing their user

interface and making them accessible using a standard protocol. However, the ultimate

objective of an SOA-based approach is likely to go beyond this and start to introduce a

number of reusable ―services‖ that can be invoked without unwanted side-effects or

unnecessary duplication.

An example might be a typical branch banking transaction that involves the following standard

―services‖:

Available balance check

Credit limit check

Calculation of fees

Production of a customer document

Generation of accounting entries

31 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 31

Let‘s assume there is an existing transaction for moving funds from one account to another

that uses these services. Assuming that each of these services is available as a reusable and

flexible ―enterprise service,‖ then it would be relatively easy to introduce a new transaction—

perhaps a funds transfer between two accounts in different currencies.

This may require the addition of two services not previously used but originating in and

available from the bank‘s treasury department.

Currency conversion

Currency position update

This does mean that such enterprise services need be designed much in the same way that

software vendors design packages that must be capable of being implemented in many

different organizations in different geographies and under different regulatory regimes. In this

case, it means that the services must be aware of the need to accommodate different

currencies.

In fact, should a new requirement arise that is not currently addressed by an existing service

(for example the pricing service cannot cope with different currencies) and assuming a service-

oriented architecture has been put in place, it then becomes possible to consider whether it is

more cost-effective to enhance the existing in-house service or to buy a specialized one from a

software vendor instead.

It is also clear how—once such a set of services is available—the associated process can be

enhanced significantly by means of workflow and business rules.

Let‘s say, for example, that a regulatory requirement is introduced that mandates that funds

transfers into a foreign currency are subject to a maximum amount, beyond which they

become subject to the need for review and approval by a manager in the bank. Given that the

amount may change over time, it makes sense to implement this compliance rule using a

business rules engine so that when a change is introduced in the future, it will not be necessary

to make any code changes to implement it.

In the same way, the referral to a manager may be implemented as a human workflow so that

when the rules about who is authorized to make such a decision change over time (for

example, when a new independent compliance manager role is introduced), these changes can

again be implemented without necessitating code changes.

Another benefit from the use of this approach to building new transactions is that it becomes

possible—using Business Process Execution Language (BPEL)—to make these kinds of changes

capable of being designed by a business analyst using a graphical tool such as Microsoft Office

Visio. Conversely, banking operations manuals can be generated from the actual procedures,

ensuring that they are kept in line more easily with the latest version of the operational

systems.

32 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 32

Conclusion

As core system migration strategies gather momentum worldwide and larger banks start to

adopt SOA-based strategies to ensure they put in place an agile banking platform for the

future, Microsoft is increasingly recognized as having the mission-critical credentials to provide

the platform of choice for a new generation of banking enterprise services that will

complement its multi-channel collaborative and communications technologies and help ensure

that banks realize a ―People Ready‖ vision.

33 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 33

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EFMA, SAP, Accenture. July 2005.

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Datamonitor. ―Core Systems in U.S. Retail Banking.‖ U.S. Financial Services Technology Survey.

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(http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/whitepapers/sql_2008_oltp.mspx)

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International Banking Systems Journal. Issue 16.7, April 2007.

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(http://www.ibspublishing.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=view&id=11213)

34 Core Banking with Microsoft Technology 34

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