Under the agreement, Chordiant will supply the technical framework to unify and manage customer communications and business processes across all of the bank's channels, including lloydstsb.com, WAP and digital TV banking services, and Lloyds TSB branches and call centers.

Lloyds TSB Group IT Director Igor Andronov says: "A large retail bank like ours has extreme requirements when it comes to CRM. Using Chordiant as the overall eCRM infrastructure means that technical staff only have to learn one set of tools and applications, so new business initiatives, such as the addition of a new channel or the integration of a new call centre to meet time-to-market and business objectives, are implemented rapidly."

When fully deployed, the Chordiant eCRM infrastructure will serve as the underlying integration framework enabling current and historical customer information to be shared between the bank's branches, call centres and Internet, WAP and interactive TV banking services. As a result, the bank will be able to conduct knowledgeable interactions with each of its 16 million customers, whether face to face, by letter, by phone or via e-mails to customers' PCs, TVs or WAP (wireless application protocol) phones.

Andersen Consulting assisted Lloyds TSB in the selection process. Flexibility was a key attribute, says Andronov. The Chordiant rules engine will be expected to reflect Lloyds TSB business processes, meaning that all automated customer communications will follow the same set of in-house rules and processes. In the event of a business process changing or a new one being added (for example a promotional offer), it should be easily modified or added in the Chordiant software. Individual business divisions will also be able to use their own choice of front-end "point" CRM applications, with key customer data and processes coordinated by the Chordiant infrastructure.

The Chordiant implementation will play an important part in the bank's e-commerce strategy as new customer channels are brought onstream. Lloyds TSB plans to roll out its WAP and interactive TV banking services to customers by the end of the year.

Phase one of the Chordiant implementation is expected in the first quarter of 2001.