Profitably attracting and retaining customers: Customers demand quick and easy access to services, with aggregated access to the multiple channels that comprise their accounts. The challenge lies in providing high levels of service through connected channels while maintaining a profitable customer relationship.

Lowering the increase in costs incurred with multiple channels: As the banking industry has added new channels, it has incurred a sharp increase in the costs required to add, support, and integrate these channels.

Integrating disparate, disconnected systems: The biggest challenge with the proliferation of channels is the many disparate, disconnected systems that have made it virtually impossible to integrate customer and transactional information. Finding technology solutions that easily integrate systems and that are easy for your people to adopt is critical.

Provide better customer insight. Your employees will have better customer insight based on integrated systems and aggregated channels, and will be empowered to match service quality to the value of the relationship.

Lower costs of deployment and support. Taking advantage of your existing technology investments and connecting systems leads to lower costs of support and maintenance. Reusable business components lower costs for deployment of future channels.

Deliver reusable business services that can be used across all channels. Microsoft works with its broad ecosystem of partners to build reusable business services that can be used to renew channels efficiently and that set the stage for cross-channel consistency.

Connect disparate systems. Microsoft partner-led solutions integrate disparate systems, transforming them into an integrated, multi-channel model and giving your people instant access to integrated information.

Banco Popular
The intranet site launched by Banco Popular, Bancopopular-e.com, enabled commercial staff to increase efficiencies. The site has led to many other benefits as well. For example, it has helped staff improve the quality of their service and, as a result, boost customer loyalty. Faster access to information, greater efficiency through the use of a sales scheduler, and greater security of information are a few of the other benefits the site has provided the staff.

Bank of Montreal
To improve communication and knowledge sharing, Bank of Montreal (BMO) created a Web portal in which employees can share information, ideas, documents, and knowledge. The use of the portal has led to a 23-percent increase in the bank's productivity, improved customer service and loyalty, and a reduction in intranet administration costs. As a result of these benefits, BMO has realized an immediate investment impact.

Bank One
Bank One, now part of JPMorgan Chase, was able to reduce operational costs by 50 percent by implementing a customer solution based on Microsoft Windows 2000 platform. Customers enjoy a more comprehensive, faster Internet banking solution, and the bank now has a single channel through which it can strengthen its relationship with customers, introducing them to the other products and services offered by the bank.

ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank achieved an enterprise-wide integrated view of processing for its multi-channel banking operations by implementing Microsoft BizTalk Server. Benefits included improved monitoring and report capabilities, reduced development for forms and reports, and reduced transaction maintenance. The bank can now model more complex orchestrations and has the scalability to handle volume growth.

Build profitable customer relationships.
Provide your people with better customer insight by giving them instant access to integrated information. The resulting ability to deliver an improved customer experience helps you differentiate your business, and attract and retain customers more profitably.

Lower costs.
Lower your total cost of ownership (TCO) through speed of development, speed of integration, and the ability to leverage existing technology investments. The familiar Microsoft user interface lessens your training burden and increases employee adoption. Giving employees technology that is familiar and easy to use means they can spend more time doing their jobs with less administrative overhead.

Build the groundwork for new channels.
Lay the groundwork for new channels through a wide range of solutions that integrate disparate information silos internally and externally through familiar products and existing enterprise infrastructure assets. This approach transforms these assets into an integrated, multi-channel model.

Increase business agility.
Make your business more agile by deploying new products and services more easily, improving operational efficiency, and better managing risk.