Banking on RSFT

	A Bank's Perspective
	System-Wide Upgrade
	Converting Printers
	Long-Term Relationship
	Repair and Troubleshooting
	Response
	Preventive Maintenance

For the project manager of a major banking institution's computer support unit, finding a reliable vendor to provide computer maintenance and repair services in time-critical situations is akin to having peace of mind. The project manager's task is to oversee a variety of upgrade projects involving the PC-based computer networks operating at each of the bank's nearly 2,000 branches. In particular, the PC networks serve two roles that are vital to the ongoing success of the bank.

They are the platform for a company-wide sales-tracking system that keeps a running account of employees' sales activity from opening new checking and saving accounts to new credit card accounts and business loans. Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date record of these activities plays a key role in the bank's efforts to reward employees for their effectiveness.

These same PC networks also run a behind-the-scenes staff scheduling system. The system records peaks and valleys in teller activity at each branch location so that a computer model can be used to help forecast upcoming staffing needs within each branch. Using historical data assembled from each location, the system ensures that the bank can provide fast service on demand to walk-in customers at each branch. This can mean anything from cashing checks on paydays to handling the increased traffic generated by monthly mortgage payments, retiree benefit schedules or servicing weekend customers about to embark on a trip out of town.

System-Wide BIOS Upgrade

Recently, the bank's project manager completed two projects with the help of Rancho Santa Fe Technology. The first was a BIOS-upgrade project involving all of the bank's branch offices that are scattered over a 10-state service area encompassing 1,194,000 square miles -- over one-third of the total land area of the United States. This project was managed by RSFT's Communications Infrastructure Group. The BIOS upgrade was a necessary step for achieving Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance on the UNIX-based platforms, but the bank did not want the upgrade process to compromise its ability to provide a high level of customer service at the branches. According to the bank's project manager, "We are relentless in meeting our customer-service goals, and although the Y2K projects are a top priority in terms of long-term system reliability, their completion cannot override our day-to-day commitment to branch services." The project manager provided RSFT with a documented script and diskette to perform the upgrade task. Using the script and diskette, Rancho Santa Fe Technology’s technicians first checked each platform to determine the scope of work necessary for each machine and then provided the upgrade services as necessary. To carry out the assignment, RSFT duplicated the script and text, distributed them to its multi-state network of technicians, and then supervised completion of the project as technicians performed the tests and upgrades at every branch without compromising the bank's service to its customers.

The second large project assigned to RSFT was designed to reduce expenditures and increase overall operational efficiency at nearly one half (approximately 1,000) of the bank's branches. Before the project was authorized, these branches used a standalone system of PCs and printers to print cashier's checks for customers. Although the system worked flawlessly, the printers frequently stood idle for long periods and were unavailable for other tasks. To better utilize these resources, the bank decided to incorporate the printers into the teller system network as a whole and make them available for print jobs requested through the network. Over a period of  60 days, RSFT's technicians visited every affected branch (800 sites) and completed the changeover to the network-based system.

Because Rancho Santa Fe Technology's positive relationship with the bank had endured for such a long period of time, the project manager became comfortable with the idea of assigning quick-turnaround tasks to RSFT as they arose throughout the bank's service area. In addition, she began to utilize RSFT to provide assistance to various user groups within the bank if those groups were contemplating future projects. Specifically, on a number of occasions she contacted RSFT to provide cost estimates so that the bank's planning groups could establish realistic funding requirements for anticipated projects. "This is very helpful to me," she said, "and it's the result of a long relationship built on trust. When I use Rancho Santa Fe Technology, I feel confident that the work will be done right, RSFT will resolve issues in a timely way, and that they will follow-up and keep me informed about the status of a job. I don't have to constantly look over Rancho Santa Fe Technology's shoulder to manage the project and make sure they complete it according to the agreed-upon schedule."

Computer equipment downtime is one of the chief enemies of the bank's nearly 2,000 branches. In particular, the branches depend on computer networks to provide bank tellers with access to customer account information, applications that support customer transactions (withdrawals, deposits, CD purchases, etc.), plus a way to print out the necessary documents furnished to customers. Any halt in these customer-based services immediately translates into noticeable inconvenience and the potential for lost banking business.

The vice president and manager of the bank's Help Desk was in charge of the bank's first line of defense in cases of computer malfunctions. Agents who staff the Help Desk, accept 1,000 calls per day from bank employees who are calling from branch locations to report problems with the operation of their computer software and hardware. Usually these calls involve the bank teller's application program that supports all teller transactions and forms the heart of the bank's branch operations.

When a call comes into the Help Desk, a bank technician provides Level 1 service - which includes basic, or first-line, assistance. For example, if a branch teller is unable to log onto the network or can't use the all-important teller application, the agent at the bank's Help Desk will try to determine (1) if the teller is making an error in using the software or (2) if there is an equipment malfunction (breakage) or a network problem. If there is breakage or a network problem, the agent escalates the response to Level 2 service, which means forwarding the problem to an in-house group or to one of the bank's maintenance vendors, such as Rancho Santa Fe Technology (RSFT).

According to the vice president/manager of the bank's Help Desk, a key measure of RSFT's credibility with the bank is Rancho Santa Fe Technology's ability to meet its service level agreement (SLA). This means responding to a problem within four to six hours for most bank locations and up to eight hours for branch offices located in remote areas. Without this assurance of fast service from RSFT, the bank's reputation for reliable customer service, a keystone of financial organizations everywhere, would be in jeopardy.

When the bank's Help Desk refers a Level 2 problem to Rancho Santa Fe Technology, the manufacturer-certified technician at RSFT must immediately determine if the bank teller's problem can be resolved over the telephone. If it can't, the RSFT technician begins asking a series of critical questions that will converge on a solution and identify the correct replacement parts to bring to the site, and all within the stipulated time requirement of the SLA. The ability of Rancho Santa Fe Technology to provide such a fast response is made possible by two key aspects of RSFT's automatic dispatch system. The first is ready access to manufacturer-warranted replacement parts. The second is the geographical dispersion of Rancho Santa Fe Technology's network of field technicians, that places a problem-solver within easy reach of even the most remote bank branch. And to document whether RSFT's field technicians have fulfilled their obligation to the bank within the strict time limits of the SLA, a time-stamped log records each step toward problem resolution. Taken together, Rancho Santa Fe Technology's response to mission-critical situations has the staff at the bank branches saying: "We're glad you showed up and not someone else."

The bank's vice president/manager explains Rancho Santa Fe Technology's popularity with the branch banks by citing RSFT's ability to respond to a stepped-up schedule to get the work done. "When circumstances demand it," says the manager/vice president, "a Rancho Santa Fe Technology technician must be able to work through the night to make sure that the branch is up and running by the next business day. And although it doesn't happen very often, we appreciate it. That kind of response is especially true when a network server goes down. Those servers are vital to the running of teller applications," he adds, "and if they remain down for any length of time, the branch is in trouble."

Although RSFT's technicians typically carry out routine maintenance tasks whenever they respond to a problem call at a bank branch, Rancho Santa Fe Technology holds a contract to provide a comprehensive program of preventive maintenance services for the bank. The program requires a yearly visit to each of the bank's branch sites that are dispersed over one of the largest geographical areas served by any major U.S. banking institution (the bank under discussion is among the nation's 15 largest banks and has branches in 10 western states). Because RSFT's field technicians have experience with a large variety of equipment from different manufacturers  including X-terminal workstations, PCs, servers, receipt printers, and laser printers, they can be counted on to properly diagnose and fix problems the first time. Consequently, bank branch operations suffer fewer disruptions and experiences less network downtime -- features that are essential to conducting customer transactions that require retrieving, distributing, and storing valuable financial information on demand.

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