Level Four BRIDGE is an integrated suite of open ATM software products that has been developed to address the needs of ATM deployers seeking to maximise their investment in the ATM channel. It is targeted at banks and ATM deployers who are running, or seeking to run, a modern ATM network based on the industry-wide CEN/XFS open standard.

The BRIDGE family consists of five interoperable product components, which can be used individually or combined together to meet various aspects of the business challenges facing ATM deployers. As a component suite, BRIDGE can be deployed either alongside manufacturer-provided solutions or as a holistic solution for all ATM software needs. The components are:

• BRIDGE:test - Level Four's established market-leading products for the comprehensive and fully-automated testing of ATM software applications
• BRIDGE:author - Innovative design and creation of ATM applications
• BRIDGE:install - ATM application configuration builder and repository
• BRIDGE:deploy - The run-time execution environment for distributed ATM applications
• BRIDGE:control - For independent monitoring and control of Windows-based ATM networks

BRIDGE enables ATM applications to be run from network servers rather than on individual machines, creating a platform upon which new, personalised and dynamic services can be integrated into the network quickly and cost-effectively without taking ATMs out of service. This is supported by integrated graphical tools that replace unstructured coding, simplifying and accelerating the implementation of new ATM services. BRIDGE also provides automated migration from NDC/912-based applications to enable the delivery of new services and providing ATM deployers with the opportunity to realise their investment in the ATM channel and competitively differentiate the services they offer customers.

As a true holistic offering, BRIDGE also recognises the needs of deployers in the areas of installation, testing and moninitoring as well as run-time ATM software. BRIDGE:test is a renamed and updated version of Level Four's award-winning ATM TrueTest platform which is used to automate regression testing of ATM applications. By providing independent automated testing, Level Four is also supporting banks that wish to implement a multi-vendor hardware and software ATM strategy. Additionally, BRIDGE:control enables banks to gain maximum control of their networks through its complete ATM monitoring package. This allows banks to minimise network downtime as BRIDGE:control facilitates the precise remote monitoring of individual ATM machines.

Nigel Walsh, Executive Chairman of Level Four, said: "Having established ourselves as the leading supplier of automated testing solutions it has been a natural evolution to extend our product suite to address the total needs of the ATM software market. The move away from ATM manufacturers towards more innovative independent software suppliers is gathering momentum within the industry. It is independent software suppliers who are driving this pace of change and Level Four has taken the ATM software market a long way forwards with BRIDGE, a product suite that demonstrates a real breakthrough with its completely new ground-up designed distributed architecture."