IBM, BCV in $460m deal

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV), one of Switzerland's top full-service banks, and IBM, have signed a $460 million, five-year services agreement for IBM to transform BCV's IT infrastructure, reports HULIQ.

The project supports the growth initiatives of the 162-year-old bank, which has expanded and diversified its business activities to become one of Switzerland's largest banking institutions.

The agreement allows the bank to concentrate on its core competencies of retail and institutional banking, while benefiting from IBM's leadership in banking application consulting and hosting.

Many bankers and experts agree there is a services-oriented architecture (SOA) skills gap among enterprise architects, and therefore a shortage of qualified professionals to lead successful SOA implementations, reports BankTech.

"SOA isn't a specific product, but rather a highly-disciplined approach for improving corporate and IT agility," explains Miko Matsumura, VP, webMethods. "As such, it needs to be learned and practised over time."

webMethods, in conjunction with ZapThink, created the SOA Master Class Online to try to close the gap. "We hope the site will be a tool for visionary architects," Matsumura says.

Banks' retail payments practices need to provide consumers with more convenient options, such as wireless, reports BankTech.

While much has been made of banks' strategic shift to a consumer-centric culture, perhaps nowhere in banking do consumers have as much influence as they do on the retail payments sector.

Increasingly, banks are under pressure to provide multiple payments options to keep customers from going to the bank down the street, or even to a non-traditional financial services provider.