Banking on Reusable Services

When you've invested a lot of time and money in a computer system, the last thing you want to hear is that you need to invest more time and money in a new one. Yet with the fast pace of technology, that's exactly what happens to many banking institutions. As newer, more user-friendly technologies such as banking cards with smart chips or cash cards with radio frequency identification transceivers become available, bankers and financial services organizations are hard-pressed to ignore the potential for customers.

At the same time, integrating these new technologies with existing computer systems is a clear problem. Some banks are turning to service-oriented architecture (SOA) to resolve the issue and leverage existing systems for continued use.

The industry has large investments in legacy applications and computer systems, so the idea of dumping those in favor of every new technology that comes along causes a lot of heartburn for bankers. Plus, the number of mergers and acquisitions throughout the industry continues to cause integration problems as computer systems, records, and processes are combined. SOA — and its ability to make existing applications available to other types of applications — is a huge relief for the industry.

The bonus is that SOA makes it possible for banks to improve customer service and increase up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. As an example, with SOA, a teller can see all accounts a customer has with the institution in a single window or take an address change and send it instantly to all the banking accounts and products a customer holds.

SOA uses programming languages such as Extensible Markup Language (XML) that are recognized on multiple types of platforms and in various applications. The use of common, universally recognized languages lets organizations reuse SOA services almost anywhere. A mobile banking platform, for instance, can be developed by reusing existing SOA services instead of building a completely new platform.

The IT skills and specialties required to support SOA in the financial industry are diverse. Enterprise architects, data architects, security specialists, developers, process modelers and analysts are all involved in the process. It's a fast-growing field, and those with a thirst for innovation are at the top of the required talent list.

Do you have the skills the financial industry needs? Contact Vinay Singh, Director of Financial Service Staffing at The Connors Group, at vinay@theconnorsgroup.com or 201-537-0032 to put your skills to work!