Additional Banking Applications
[ From chapter-22 of the book "Information Technology in Banking" written by Abul Kashem Md. Shirin and Nusrat Tamanna Prianka and published by Institute of Bankers, Bangladesh (IBB) ]
1. ERP Software
1.1. What is ERP System?
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and
external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials,
and human resources. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information
between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and
manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database
and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all
business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.
An ERP
system can either reside on a centralized server or be distributed across
modular hardware and software units that provide "services" and
communicate on a local area network. The distributed design allows a business
to assemble modules from different vendors without the need for the placement
of multiple copies of complex and expensive computer systems in areas which
will not use their full capacity.
To be
considered an ERP system, a software package should have the following traits:
·
Should be integrated and
operate in real time with no periodic batch updates.
·
All applications should access
one database to prevent redundant data and multiple data definitions.
·
All modules should have the
same look and feel.
·
Users should be able to access
any information in the system without needing integration work on the part of
the IS department.
1.2. Components / Modules of an ERP Software:
·
Transactional Backbone
o
Financials
o
Distribution
o
Human Resources
o
Product lifecycle management
·
Advanced Applications
o
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
o
Supply chain management
software
§
Purchasing
§
Manufacturing
§
Distribution
o
Warehouse Management System
·
Management Portal/Dashboard
o
Decision Support System
In a
Bank, the following modules may be useful:
·
Human Resources Management
(HRM)
·
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
·
Supply chain management
o
Purchasing
o
Distribution
·
Warehouse Management (Asset
Management)
1.3. Components of an ERP System
1. Manufacturing:
Engineering, bills of material, work orders, scheduling, capacity, workflow
management, quality control, cost management, manufacturing process,
manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow.
2. Supply chain management:
Order to cash, inventory, order entry, purchasing, product configurator,
supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim
processing, commission calculation
3. Financials:
General ledger, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
fixed assets
4. Project management:
Costing, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management
5. Human resources:
Human resources, payroll, training, time and attendance, rostering,
benefits
6. Customer relationship management:
Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact, call-center
support
7. Data services:
Various "self-service" interfaces for customers, suppliers and/or
employees
8. Access control:
Management of user privileges for various processes
1.4. ERP advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
·
Allows easier global
integration (barriers of currency exchange rates, language, and culture can be
bridged automatically)
·
Updates only need to be done
once to implemented company-wide
·
Provides real-time information,
reducing the possibility of redundancy errors
·
May create a more efficient
work environment for employees
·
Vendors have past knowledge and
expertise on how to best build and implement a system
Disadvantages
·
Locked into relationship by
contract and manageability with vendor - a contract can hold a company to the
vendor until it expires and it can be unprofitable to switch vendors if
switching costs are too high
·
Inflexibility - vendor packages
may not fit a company's business model exactly and customization can be
expensive
·
Return on Investment may take
too long to be profitable
·
Implementations have a risk of
project failure
1.5. Renowned ERP Software:
1.5.1. SAP ERP from SAP
SAP (Systems Analysis and Program development) is a German software corporation
that provides enterprise software applications and support to businesses of all
sizes globally. Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany,
with regional offices around the world, SAP is the largest enterprise software
company in the world (as of 2009). It is also the largest software company in
Europe and the fourth largest globally. The company's best known products are
its SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP
ERP) and SAP Business Objects software.
The SAP
ERP application is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP)
software manufactured by SAP AG that targets business software requirements of
midsize and large organizations in all industries and sectors. It allows for
open communication within and between all company functions.
SAP's
ERP solution includes several modules that support key functional areas,
including:
·
SAP ERP Financials
·
SAP ERP Operations
·
SAP ERP Human Capital
Management
1.5.2. PeopleSoft ERP from Oracle
Oracle
Corporation is an American multinational computer technology
corporation that specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software
products — particularly database management systems. Headquartered in Redwood
Shores, California, United States, Oracle employs 105,000 people worldwide as
of 1 July 2010. It has enlarged
its share of the software market through organic growth and through a number of
high-profile acquisitions. By 2007 Oracle had the third-largest software
revenue, after Microsoft and IBM.
The
corporation has arguably become best-known for its flagship product, the Oracle
Database. The company also builds tools for database development and systems of
middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning software (ERP), customer
relationship management software (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) software.
As of
2010,
Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle Corporation, has served as Oracle's CEO
throughout its history. Ellison also served as the Chairman of the Board until
his replacement by Jeffrey O. Henley in 2004. Ellison retains his role as CEO.
On August 22, 2008 the Associated Press ranked founder Larry Ellison as the
top-paid chief executive in the world.
PeopleSoft,
Inc. was a company that provided human resource management
systems (HRMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) software, as well as
software solutions for manufacturing, financials, enterprise performance
management, and student administration to large corporations, governments, and
organizations. It existed as an independent corporation until its acquisition
by Oracle Corporation in 2005. The PeopleSoft name and product line are now
marketed by Oracle.
History of PeopleSoft:
·
1987: PeopleSoft, Inc. founded
by David Duffield and Ken Morris in Walnut Creek, CA, USA.
·
1988: PeopleSoft HRMS released.
·
1994: Public distribution of
Distribution and Financials modules.
·
1995: Launch of Student
Administration System.
·
1996: Releases Manufacturing
·
1996: Releases PeopleSoft 6, their first ERP package.
·
2005: Acquired by Oracle
Corporation.
·
2009: PeopleSoft HCM 9.1 is
released.(October 2009)
·
2009: PeopleSoft FMS 9.1 is
released.(November 2009)
2. CRM Software
2.1. What is CRM?
CRM (Customer relationship management) is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions
with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to
organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales
activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical
support.
The
overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has,
entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and
client service. Customer relationship management describes a company-wide
business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other
departments
The
three phases in which CRM support the relationship between a business and its
customers are to:
·
Acquire: CRM can help a business
acquire new customers through contact management, selling, and fulfillment.
·
Enhance: web-enabled CRM
combined with customer service tools offers customers service from a team of
sales and service specialists, which offers customers the convenience of
one-stop shopping.
·
Retain: CRM software and
databases enable a business to identify and reward its loyal customers and
further develop its targeted marketing and relationship marketing initiatives
2.2. Fields of application:
2.2.1. Sales force automation
Sales
force automation (SFA) involves using software to streamline all phases of the
sales process, minimizing the time that sales representatives need to spend on
each phase. This allows sales representatives to pursue more clients in a
shorter amount of time than would otherwise be possible. At the heart of SFA is
a contact management system for tracking and recording every stage in the sales
process for each prospective client, from initial contact to final disposition.
Many SFA applications also include insights into opportunities, territories,
sales forecasts and workflow automation, quote generation, and product
knowledge. Modules for Web 2.0 e-commerce and pricing are new, emerging
interests in SFA.[1]
2.2.2. Marketing
CRM
systems for marketing help the enterprise identify and target potential clients
and generate leads for the sales team. A key marketing capability is tracking
and measuring multichannel campaigns, including email, search, social media,
telephone and direct mail. Metrics monitored include clicks, responses, leads,
deals, and revenue. This has been superseded by marketing automation and
Prospect Relationship Management (PRM) solutions which track customer behaviour
and nurture them from first contact to sale, often cutting out the active sales
process altogether.
2.2.3. Customer service and support
Recognizing
that service is an important factor in attracting and retaining customers,
organizations are increasingly turning to technology to help them improve their
clients’ experience while aiming to increase efficiency and minimize costs.
Even so, a 2009 study revealed that only 39% of corporate executives believe
their employees have the right tools and authority to solve client problems.
The core for these applications has been and still is comprehensive call center
solutions, including such features as intelligent call routing, computer
telephone integration (CTI), and escalation capabilities.
2.2.4. Analytics
Relevant
analytics capabilities are often interwoven into applications for sales,
marketing, and service. These features can be complemented and augmented with
links to separate, purpose-built applications for analytics and business
intelligence. Sales analytics let companies monitor and understand client
actions and preferences, through sales forecasting and data quality.
Marketing
applications generally come with predictive analytics to improve segmentation
and targeting, and features for measuring the effectiveness of online, offline,
and search marketing campaign. Web analytics have evolved significantly from
their starting point of merely tracking mouse clicks on Web sites. By
evaluating “buy signals,” marketers can see which prospects are most likely to
transact and also identify those who are bogged down in a sales process and
need assistance. Marketing and finance personnel also use analytics to assess
the value of multi-faceted programs as a whole.
These
types of analytics are increasing in popularity as companies demand greater
visibility into the performance of call centers and other service and support
channels,[6]
in order to correct problems before they affect satisfaction levels.
Support-focused applications typically include dashboards similar to those for
sales, plus capabilities to measure and analyze response times, service
quality, agent performance, and the frequency of various issues.
2.2.5. Integrated/Collaborative
Departments
within enterprises — especially large enterprises — tend to function with
little collaboration. More recently, the development and adoption of these
tools and services have fostered greater fluidity and cooperation among sales,
service, and marketing. This finds expression in the concept of collaborative
systems which uses technology to build bridges between departments. For
example, feedback from a technical support center can enlighten marketers about
specific services and product features clients are asking for. Reps, in their
turn, want to be able to pursue these opportunities without the burden of
re-entering records and contact data into a separate SFA system. Owing to these
factors, many of the top-rated and most popular products come as integrated
suites.
2.3. Software for CRM
SAP,
Oracle, Salesforce.com, Microsoft and Amdocs are the best selling software for
2006-2008 period published in Gartner (www.gartner.com) studies. The following
table shows that the market grew by 12.5 percent in 2008, from revenue of $8.13
billion in 2007 to $9.15 billion in 2008:
Vendor
|
2008 Revenue
|
2008 Share (%)
|
2007 Revenue
|
2007 Share (%)
|
2006 Revenue
|
2006 Share (%)
|
SAP
|
2,055
|
22.5 (-2.8)
|
2,050.8
|
25.3
|
1,681.7
|
26.6
|
Oracle
|
1,475
|
16.1
|
1,319.8
|
16.3
|
1,016.8
|
15.5
|
Salesforce.com
|
965
|
10.6
|
676.5
|
8.3
|
451.7
|
6.9
|
Microsoft
|
581
|
6.4
|
332.1
|
4.1
|
176.1
|
2.7
|
Amdocs
|
451
|
4.9
|
421.0
|
5.2
|
365.9
|
5.6
|
Others
|
3,620
|
39.6
|
3,289.1
|
40.6
|
2,881.6
|
43.7
|
Total
|
9,147
|
100
|
8,089.3
|
100
|
6,573.8
|
100
|
Note: Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm
headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Founded in 1979, Gartner has over
4,400 employees, including 1,200 in R&D.
3. E-mail software
3.1. What is e-mail?
Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-mail, is
a method of exchanging digital messages across the Internet or other computer
networks.
In the manual systems of sending mail within an
office, the mails are passed through persons from one department to another. It
takes mush time and it is risky also .This leads the inconsistency of
information. So we need a system which is both quick and accurate. This can be
achieved by mailing system.
Electronic mailing system sends the mails
spontaneously without requiring the parties be available at the same instant.
Furthermore mails can be send to more people at the same time. It also leaves a
written copy of the sending mails that can be filed away. It is much cheaper
than the manual system.
3.2. Operation
Overview:
The diagram below shows a typical sequence of events
that takes place when Alice composes a message using her mail user agent (MUA).
She enters the email address of her correspondent, and hits the
"send" button.
1.
Alice’s MUA formats the message in email format and uses the Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send the message to the local mail transfer
agent (MTA), in this case
smtp.a.org, run by Alice's internet service provider (ISP).
2.
The MTA looks at the
destination address provided in the SMTP protocol (not from the message
header), in this case bob@b.org. An Internet email address is a string of the
form localpart@exampledomain. The part before the @ sign is the local part
of the address, often the username of the recipient, and the part after the @
sign is a domain name or a fully qualified domain name. The MTA resolves a domain name to determine the fully
qualified domain name of the mail exchange server in the Domain Name System
(DNS).
3.
The DNS server for the b.org domain, ns.b.org, responds with any MX
records listing the mail exchange servers for that domain, in this case
mx.b.org, a server run by Bob's ISP.
4.
smtp.a.org sends the message to mx.b.org using SMTP, which delivers it
to the mailbox of the user bob.
5.
Bob presses the "get mail" button in his MUA, which picks up
the message using the Post Office Protocol (POP3).
3.3. Components
in a messaging system:
E-mail Architecture addresses those technologies
used to enable the electronic delivery of messages and documents to one or more
recipients. The following provides a list of open source and commercially
available software for use as different components like Mail Transfer Agents,
Mail User Agents and Gateways:
1. Mail
Transfer Agents:
A.
Open Source: Sendmail E-mail Application Server
Qmail E-mail
Application Server
B. Commercial: MS
Exchange E-mail Application Server
Lotus
Domino E-mail Application Server
2. Mail
User Agents:
A.
Commercial: Lotus Notes E-mail
Client
Outlook E-mail
Client
Outlook Express
E-mail Client
Eudora E-mail
Client
3. Gateways:
A.
Commercial: Lotus Message Switch
E-mail Gateway
Outlook Web
Access E-mail Gateway
3.4. Popular
E-mail System:
3.4.1. Sendmail:
Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email
routing facility that supports many kinds of mail-transfer and -delivery
methods, including the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) used for email
transport over the Internet.
3.4.2. Qmail:.
qmail is a mail transfer agent (MTA) that runs on Unix. It was written, starting
December 1995, by Daniel J. Bernstein as a more secure replacement for the
popular Sendmail program. qmail's source code is in the public domain, making
qmail free software.
3.4.3. Microsoft
Exchange Server:
Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a
client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is
part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by
enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products. Exchange's major features
consist of electronic mail, calendaring, contacts and tasks; support for mobile
and web-based access to information; and support for data storage.
3.4.4. Lotus
Domino:
IBM Lotus Domino software is a
world class platform for critical business, collaboration, and messaging
applications.
3.5. Licensing
of commercial product:
3.5.1. Exchange
Server:
Exchange Server is licensed in the Server / Client
Access License (CAL) model. A
license must be assigned for each instance of the server software that is being
run. Exchange also requires a CAL for each user or
device that accesses the server software. There are two types of CALs for
Exchange:
·
Standard CAL: designed to help users be
more productive from virtually any platform, browser, or mobile device, with
new features in Exchange Server 2010 that help manage communications overload
and lower helpdesk costs.
·
Enterprise CAL: designed to allow
organizations to reduce the costs and complexity of meeting compliance
requirements with new integrated archiving functionality and information
protection capabilities, while also helping users cut costs by replacing legacy
voice mail systems with Unified Messaging.
Users also require license for Server Software,
Microsoft Outlook and Forefront Online Security.
3.5.2. Lotus
Domino:
IBM offers users three ways to
license IBM Lotus Notes and Domino
software to match their buying preferences and let them pay according to the
function and flexibility they need.
If users prefer client and server licensing, they
can acquire IBM Lotus Domino
server licenses determined by the total processor value units associated with
their server machine(s) plus individual Client Access Licenses for each user.
If users prefer per user licensing, they pay a per
user charge based on the size of their environment, and have the flexibility to
deploy any combination of specified types of IBM
Lotus Domino server and client access options.
If users wish to host collaborative applications for
access both outside and inside their company, but do not need mail and
calendar, processor value unit licensing may be the most cost effective for
them.
In both cases, if users are willing to deploy
additional component like email security appliance, then this will add
additional licensing cost to the overall system.
4. Anti-Virus software
4.1. What is antivirus software?
Antivirus software is a
computer program that detects, prevents, and takes action to disarm or remove
malicious software programs, such as viruses and worms. You can help protect
your computer against viruses by using antivirus software.
Computer viruses are software
programs that are deliberately designed to interfere with computer operation,
record, corrupt, or delete data, or spread themselves to other computers and
throughout the Internet.
In the past, PCs were mainly
under threat from viruses and worms. The main purpose of these programs was to
spread; however, some programs were also designed to cause damage to files and
PCs. Such malicious software, or “malware”, could be described as ‘cyber
vandalism’. In the majority of cases, the goal of viruses and worms was to
spread as much as possible, with a high infection rate leading to fame for that
program.
But in recent years, the
situation has changed drastically. Today, the biggest threat faced by computers
is crime ware. This malicious software is written by cybercriminals with the
purpose of making money illegally. Crime ware may take the form of viruses,
worms, Trojans or other malicious programs.
To help prevent the most
current viruses, we must update our antivirus software regularly. Now a day, we
can set up most types of antivirus software to update automatically.
4.2. How Antivirus works?
Antivirus uses number of
techniques to identify viruses.
4.2.1. Signature based detection:
This is also known as
dictionary approach. Each virus has its own way of attack. Signatures of the
attacks are stored in antivirus database.
To identify viruses, antivirus software compares the contents of a file
to a dictionary of virus signatures. If a piece of code in the file matches any
virus identified in the dictionary, the anti-virus software can then either
delete the file, quarantine it so that the file is inaccessible to other
programs and its virus is unable to spread, or attempt to repair the file by
removing the virus itself from the file. For signature based detection
antivirus software need to be updated with current virus signature database.
Antivirus can take update from internet or by installing latest patches
provided by the antivirus company.
4.2.2. Behavior Based Detection:
Antivirus identifies abnormal or unusual
behavior (anomalies) on a host or PC. The basic idea comes from the assumption
that attacks are different from “normal” (legitimate) activity of a file and
therefore detect intrusions by identifying these differences. If one program
tries to write data to an executable program, for example, this is flagged as
suspicious behavior and the user is alerted to this, and asked what to do.
Antivirus can be installed and
maintained only on client PC and take updates from internet. Moreover in LAN
environment antivirus clients are installed on client PCs and managed from
server-end. For this case server takes update from internet and distribute
updates to client PCs.
4.3. Licensing:
Most of the commercial
antivirus software end-user license agreements include one year subscription.
User is asked for renewal 30 to 60 days before the license expiration.
Purchasers provide bill for new license and get new activation code or serial
number from the antivirus company. Antivirus fails to update the virus
signature database if license is not renewed and computer security becomes
compromised against new attack. Some antivirus programs are free to download
but not effective as other commercial antivirus.
4.4. Popular Antivirus
programs:
There are number of popular
antiviruses available in the market such as Mcafee, Kaspersky, NOD32, Avsat,
AVG etc. Some antivirus companies provide web security, email security, desktop
management, PC solution, IDS (Intrusion Detection System), firewall as part of antivirus
software package. For example, Kaspersky antivirus comes up with firewall and
email security. Sometimes extra subscription fee is charged for each new module
added to the antivirus software.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন