Automated Windows and Desktop Management: M&T Bank
Success Story
Every bank requires a secure ATM network to safeguard data and offer customers easy access to their accounts. M&T Bank selected Novell® ZENworks® to automate the management of its Microsoft* Windows* ATM environment for a savings of millions of dollars in maintenance costs.
Overview
Headquartered in western New York, M&T Bank is a regional bank recognized for its financial strength, sound management and superior customer service. Its parent company, M&T Bank Corporation, has more than $52 billion in assets and is one of the 20 largest bank holding companies in the U.S.
Challenge: Windows ATM and Desktop Management
M&T Bank has a sizable ATM network of more than 2,000 locations. The bank recently moved its NCR and Diebold ATM machines from an OS/2 operating system to Microsoft Windows XP. However, manually distributing updates to each ATM proved time-consuming, costing the bank nearly $500 per machine to dispatch technicians to each location. Automating ATM management became a critical IT goal for M&T Bank.
Not only did they want to automate the management of their ATMs, the bank also wanted to automate desktop management and reduce the amount of IT time spent physically visiting individual desktops. Above all, the bank's highest concern for its ATMs and desktops is to maintain tight security that will protect customer data, increase uptime and help the bank comply with privacy requirements.
Novell solution: Automated Management with Novell ZENworks
"Novell ZENworks outperformed the other products and gave us all the features we needed. We also liked its integration with Novell eDirectory so we can manage our desktops based on a user's identity."
Robert Nichols
Assistant VP for Network Computing Systems
M&T Bank
To manage its Windows ATM environment, M&T Bank evaluated 10 different software vendors including Microsoft SMS, Altiris, LANDesk and others, before narrowing its search to Novell ZENworks and CA Unicenter*. After an in-house evaluation, M&T bank selected Novell ZENworks to manage its ATMs, as well as more than 15,000 desktops. ZENworks Desktop Management provided a winning combination of features.
"Novell ZENworks outperformed the other products and gave us all the features we needed," said Robert Nichols, assistant VP for Network Computing Systems at M&T Bank. "We also liked its integration with Novell eDirectory so we can manage our desktops based on a user's identity."
Using ZENworks, the IT staff at M&T can remotely manage its ATMs from a central location, without having to dispatch technicians to each site. The IT staff can schedule the distribution of patches and updates when the bank is closed, minimizing disturbance for customers during regular banking hours.
"The security of our ATMs is critical because our machines need to be functioning at all hours," said Nichols. "It is easy for us to calculate how much revenue we are losing if we experience even minutes of downtime. Novell ZENworks makes it automatic for us to keep our ATMs secure with the latest patches and updates."
Automated ATM management has also helped M&T take advantage of marketing opportunities such as personalizing its ATMs by region, or creating a holiday look-and-feel for its screens.
"In the past, each ATM was an island and we had to dispatch technicians every time we wanted to make any change to a screen," said Wendy Quinn, vice president of Network Computing Services at M&T Bank. "Remote management with ZENworks gives us the flexibility to react to market changes without spending a small fortune on service calls."
Novell ZENworks helps M&T Bank manage its 15,000 desktops with the ability to automatically distribute applications across its enterprise. With Novell ZENworks tied into Novell eDirectory™, M&T can give its users identity-based access to resources to safeguard corporate security.
"Novell eDirectory is enormously important to us," said Quinn. "We have a rich user directory that is the basis of our user and application access on the M&T network and the key to our centralized IT philosophy."
Novell Identity Manager helps M&T Bank synchronize user identities across multiple applications including its human resources and business applications. A new teller application with identity-based access will significantly reduce the amount of paperwork in branch offices.
M&T Bank also runs a large messaging infrastructure that includes Novell GroupWise® and is so efficient that it only requires two people to run it.
"Each time we do an acquisition of a company with another e-mail platform, such as Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes*, we take the time to re-evaluate," said Quinn. "But as an efficiency driven organization, thus far we have made the decision to stay with Novell GroupWise for greater security and lower cost of ownership."
Results
"In the past, each ATM was an island and we had to dispatch technicians every time we wanted to make any change to a screen. Remote management with ZENworks gives us the flexibility to react to market changes without spending a small fortune on service calls."
Wendy Quinn
Vice President of Network Computing Services
M&T Bank
With Novell ZENworks, M&T Bank automated the management of its Windows ATM environment, saving millions of dollars in manual maintenance costs. ZENworks has also improved overall ATM security with the ability to deliver patches and updates from a central location.
With centralized desktop management, particularly with remote control, the bank has reduced PC problem travel expenses and dispatches by 20 percent. The combination of Novell ZENworks with Novell Identity Manager also increases desktop security by providing identity-based access to resources.
"Novell ZENworks give us great insight into our network," said Quinn. "As a bank, we are highly regulated and need to answer a lot of questions regarding our network. Without ZENworks, I can't imagine how we would do it."
Novell, NetWare, BorderManager, DirXML, GroupWise, iChain and ZENworks are registered trademarks, and eDirectory and exteNd are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
