Making ATMs speak can be a complex process — but one that will become essential to all ATM operators, according to Timothy Hoyle, a senior consultant with IRB Consulting Group.
IRB is assisting a large Mid-Atlantic- and New England-area bank with its rollout of audio-enabled ATMs. Hoyle expects most of the bank's 1,000 ATMs will "speak" by spring 2005 — at roughly the same time MasterCard has mandated that all ATMs must be capable of running Triple DES encryption.
After discussions with advocacy groups for the visually impaired, the bank agreed to pilot 32 audio-enabled ATMs in late 2002. Shortly afterward, Hoyle said, IRB was asked to develop a plan to mitigate the costs of a larger audio rollout.
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The bank also decided to make some infrastructure changes, from which it expects to reap financial benefits, chiefly an upgrade to an Internet Protocol network at its branches, again timed to coincide with Triple DES deadlines. The switch will save his client "millions of dollars" a year, Hoyle said.
Evaluating the technological big picture while trying to keep costs to a minimum was crucial, said Hoyle, who estimated that the upgrade's final cost will be more than $10 million.
With a project this costly, Hoyle said it was essential that his client be able to leverage the impact of the changes. One benefit that resulted from audio implementation was a streamlining of ATM transaction sets. Working with Concord EFS, which drives its ATMs, Hoyle said the bank reduced its possible screen configurations from more than 100 to roughly a dozen.
The logistics
Upgrades for both audio and Triple DES present a major logistical challenge. One of the biggest challenges of rolling out the audio ATMs was updating site information, including which make and model of ATM was deployed at each location. "What we had on file wasn't always accurate," Hoyle noted.
"Maintaining accurate asset information is a difficult task for any deployer," agreed Thomas Meurer, president of e-Classic Systems.
Customers can benefit by using the solution to track their ATM configurations as part of a centralized channel management system. They are then able to integrate this information with other aspects of the channel and save significant time and money during the upgrade process.
Channel management software can also be used to minimize ATM downtime and impact to customers during upgrades. "Each site has a unique transaction pattern. In order to effectively complete these upgrades, deployers can analyze their transaction statistics of each location to determine the optimal time to schedule upgrades," Meurer said.
