IBM subsidiary Tivoli has launched a terminal manager for Wincor Nixdorf cash machines, enabling remote monitoring and management of bank ATM networks from a central location.
The Tivoli Self-Service Terminal (SST) Manager is the first result of an alliance announced between the two vendors last July. The new product provides centralised control over the specific devices within the SST and enables banks to improve and maintain availability of services, says Tivoli. Wincor Nixdorf plans to use the system to offer banks outsourced ATM management services.
"There are over one million ATMs in operation worldwide, adding functionality every day," says Richard Ptak, vice president at Hurwitz Group. "As these ATM networks and their capabilities grow more complex, the role of management software becomes increasingly important. Solutions which succeed in managing the complexity of these devices will be in great demand."
Key features of the Tivoli product include: single action software distribution; inventory management; real-time problem management; and remote command execution.
Tivoli says the solution is differentiated from competitors because it interfaces directly with the ATMs allowing for the full range of management operations to be invoked from a single console.
A multi-vendor solution based on the Windows NT platform and Extensions for Financial Services (XFS) standard is also available. Pricing is dependent upon configuration says Tivoli.