or Tom Harper, it's hard to believe how quickly the last 10 years have passed. Looking back, he wonders how different things might have been had events and circumstances not been what they were in 1996.

Harper spearheaded an effort in '96 to pull ATM industry leaders together. That initiative led in 1997 to the formation of the ATM Industry Association, now a global organization.

"We started it as an ATM-buying co-op, but we wanted to make it more of an association," Harper said. "Now it's hard to believe how big it has become."

As President of the ATM Industry Association and the Publisher of ATMarketplace, Harper has kept his finger on the industry's pulse. And like so many who've watched the industry dramatically change over the last 10 years, Harper says he's excited to see what the next 10 years have in store.

During the ATMIA Conference East Feb. 20 - 23 in Orlando, Fla., ATMIA will reflect on its last decade and look to the future at the new ATM generation.

What impact will pressing regulatory requirements have on the industry? How will hardware and software advances change the roles ATMs play on the street and in the branch? And how have improvements in self-service technology changed the way consumers view and interact with ATMs?

ATMIA East at a glance

On the financial-institution (FI) track, ATMIA has pulled leaders from all corners of the industry to speak about trends affecting the ATM's future.

Brian Jackson is Microsoft Corp.'s Technology Strategist for Banking and one of the panelists lined up for Thursday's discussion, "What Is the Next Generation ATM Operating System?"

As OS/2 takes a backseat to Windows, deployers are finding ATMs easier to manage and enhance, Jackson said. And operating systems that allow advanced functionality and manageability will have an advantage.

"Manageability, productivity and overall cost of ownership: Those are the main considerations," Jackson said. "Some operating systems, for instance, make it easier to build graphics or services."

Touting Microsoft's new Vista platform, Jackson said he believes it will replace XP as the preferred operating system. "The ATM marketplace is not at the forefront of adoption, but we do have some of the larger OEMs asking about Vista," he said.

"The ATM marketplace doesn't want to be on the bleeding edge, but they do want to be on the leading edge."

On manageability, Vista is easier to monitor, and improved virtualization could provide deployers an opportunity to do more, he said.

Jackson admits it will likely be a couple of years before the industry sees substantial movement toward Vista. Skeptics, however, argue that the migration to XP was a large enough investment that deployers aren't likely to make a leap to a new operating system anytime soon.

The views of other panelists, including Lindsay Hunt from IBM Corp., Hugo Montiel from Diebold Inc. and Steve Osborne from NCR Corp., are likely to be varied and good fodder for lively dialogue, Jackson said.

Sessions and discussions of note

ATM outsourcing is a subject the industry is talking about more often these days for a number of reasons, namely cost reductions. But for Alec Morley, Vice President of TD Bank Financial Group, the advantages relate more to maintenance and service.

It's almost become an ATM adage: Let the ATM experts run the ATM network. And in TD Bank Financial Group's case (dba TD Canada Trust), outsourcing its entire network of 2,500 ATMs freed the bank to hone in on its core focus - banking customers.

TD Bank Financial Group signed a seven-year outsourcing deal with Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2003. The Group, with CAD $385.8 billion (U.S. $328 billion) in assets, just completed what Morley calls its "transformational component" - a complete overhaul of its ATM portfolio, from hardware and software to the messaging protocol.

The FI's network now comprises only Windows-based Diebold ATMs. And TD Bank Financial Group, Morley said, is the first network to make a full conversion to the IFX (Interactive Financial eXchange) messaging protocol.

"The main thing that made us want to outsource was the transference of risk. One in particular was compliancy risk," Morley said.

"We could have done it ourselves, but we thought, 'Why not get one of the big players to help us?' ... We got to the point where we thought, 'We're a bank, not an IT [information technology] shop.'"

During his Thursday presentation, "Building a Business Case for Total ATM Outsourcing," Morley will explain why the outsourcing pros outweighed the cons for TD Bank Financial Group.

But not all industry onlookers are jumping on the "total" ATM outsourcing bandwagon, a perspective S1 Corp.'s Postilion Group will emphasize during its Friday morning presentation, "When You're a David Among Goliaths, You Must Choose Your Weapons and Battles Carefully."

S1 will discuss the advantages to in-house ATM driving.

From the perspective of processor consolidations, reduced operational control, increased variable costs associated with outsourcing, as well as the risk of bland or generic service, outsourcing might not be the best option. It's led some to question the outsource-it-all approach, S1 says.

S1's Baron Unbenhagen and First American Bank's Noel Levasseur are slated to host the presentation.

From an independent sales organization perspective, some of the same pressures are weighing in, especially from a compliancy angle.

How many ISOs will cut their losses and get out? How many will invest in long-term growth? And how can ISOs weigh their options to determine the best routes for the future?

Those are questions Tremont Capital Group's Sam Ditzion is poised to answer during his Thursday presentation, "Want the Key to Realizing the Full Value of Your ATM Portfolio?"

"I think there's a lot of frustration in the industry right now, and I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what's next - what's my exit strategy?" Ditzion said. "Regulatory-compliance requirements and decreases in margins have all led to frustration in the industry, and they've led some to consider selling their portfolios."

Not everyone will opt for the exit, Ditzion said, but in order to make an educated decision, ISOs need to know where they are going. During his presentation, Ditzion will help ISOs understand how they can objectively assess their situations and come up with realistic plans for the future.

"This isn't necessarily for those interested in selling- it's for those who are thinking of selling, for the people who have decided they want to sell and need to understand how that process works, and for those who are thinking about buying some portfolios," he said. "If they're thinking of buying, what are the portfolio characteristics they should look for?"

ATMIA's board of directors also will hold its election during the conference. For more information about ATMIA East, visit www.atmia.com.

Link to original: www.atmmarketplace.com/article.php?id=8299.