CR2 will become a strategic software partner of TCS. TCS and CR2 will jointly supply IT channel management and ATM solutions to banks worldwide. This partnership will also extend to other channel solutions such as Internet banking and mobile phone banking on a case-by-case basis.

"Banks are now beginning to realise that channel management is a vital part of their business strategy," said N Ganapathy Subramaniam, Head of TCS Banking Practice. "By partnering with CR2, TCS will be able to offer a complete channel management solution and thereby deliver a robust banking platform to our customers".

A recent CR2 survey found that 65% of respondents believe that multi channel management is the single most important technology for the bank in the next 12 months. CRM, the second most important, lies at 27%.

Implementing a channel management strategy provides banks with an enterprise banking platform that enables banks to tie their multiple front and back office systems together. This platform provides a consistent experience for customers and offers the capability to deliver innovative services such as utility bill presentment or mobile top up.

Channel management is an enabler for CRM as it consolidates information from the channels and host systems into one single view as well as providing the delivery platform for targeted content back out to the channels which can help turn these channels into effective sales tools. Implementing a Channel Management solution also allows banks to bring new channels such as mobile or kiosk banking online very quickly and easily.

"We believe that the combination of CR2's solutions and the solution space expertise of TCS means that banks will be able to implement Channel Manager, ATM and other new channel solutions in a speedy, cost efficient manner," said Cian Kinsella, CR2 CEO. "Our services resources are hugely extended by the addition of TCS' 60,000+ person years of experience dedicated to the financial services industry. Ultimately, this is excellent news for the industry."