IBM Rolls Out Systems For Financial Community

IBM on Monday unveiled new systems aimed at financial-services companies, as part of its new integration and vertical-market strategy. The products include systems for banking (wholesale payments, branch transformation, retail banking, risk management), insurance (claims management, underwriting, policy management), and securities firms (trade and order management, front office, and information interchange).

The approach combines a common set of data and integration capabilities with applications from independent software vendors. It addresses business issues for which IBM "can provide a predefined recipe of middleware and consulting assistance," says Paraic Sweeney, IBM's VP of marketing and industry solutions.

Sweeney says IBM recognizes the need for a holistic approach toward addressing business-technology issues. In branch transformation, for example, it's insufficient to simply install an application server; also needed are connectivity to the bank's back-office applications, "access technologies" such as portals to provide a flexible user interface and application integration, and information security.