We, as much as our peers, have too often indulged ourselves in the technology panacea. We realised that the answer to successful software projects lies as much in its methodology, that is the people factor. A successful methodology has the hallmark of embracing and managing change. Besides, developments such as the Apple iPod and iPhone has marked the advent of “Consumerisation” of corporate solutions. Both pointed to a paradigm shift in respond to the behaviour of internal users and external customers of the financial institution who are increasingly represented by Gen Y adults. OneSolution, which consists of OneScreen, OneFramework and the rich Islamic Finance and banking domain of MiBS, is developed to address the paradigm shift.

Latest Business Solution with Technology as the Enabler
At the end of 2007, Microlink invested in a set of initiatives to explore the software development methodologies and the technologies that support their implementation. Our aim is to develop the next generation Core-Banking Solution that quickly addresses the changing business needs of Microlink's clients. Solving the business challenge of banking and Islamic Finance is our primary concern while technology is merely the enabler.

We have invested in a series of proof of concepts conducted with leading consultants from Silicon Valley who are thought leaders in software development and among the top 100 innovators in computing. Based on these findings, in mid 2008 our board has decided to make multi-million Australian Dollars investment to develop the next generation Core-Banking Solution out of Microlink Innovation Lab, Melbourne Australia, with Iteration Partners Pty Ltd (Iteration).

Iteration has deep and diverse industry experience and skill sets. Together they bring nearly 70 years of software craftsmanship. They have previously worked with and in large projects such as for Accenture, Microsoft, HP/Compaq and IBM. It is driven by the expectation that the next generation Core-Banking Solution will address the paradigm shift in the financial industry through the “correct” adoption of leading edge technologies.

OneSolution – OneScreen.OneFramework
Drive your Banking Business from OneScreen
Our research has led us to design an user experience to suit the work pattern of the user. A next generation application, OneScreen is a compelling alternative to existing bank interface technologies. Providing a unified experience for all of your staff, it will link all of your technology and customer channels. OneScreen delivers your core bank and finance technology, integrates with your existing databases and back-office, and supports your customer-facing applications, including online and mobile banking. The user experience is a people-centric view of a bank's technologies, services and customers. It is a departure from the common approach taken by existing systems to design by functionality.

OneScreen is designed to address the paradigm shift where customers expect to communicate their needs to their bank and get a response or action quickly. Customer service is expected to be consistent regardless of the choice of delivery channel, product or services. It does more. OneScreen can also support cross selling extensions to alert or inform customers of financial solutions that can potentially meet their needs.

OneScreen ShareSpace application is an innovative extension to capture the collective knowledge of your organisation. Often staff collaboration is conducted on 3rd party software. In other words, valuable information is left at 3rd party systems that is out of bound of your financial institution. OneScreen ShareSpace enable users to share and contribute information on the same enterprise level platform they use for their other banking operations. Preserving these information may give your organisation the edge needed over your competitors. It will revolutionise the way your staffs make use of banking applications on a daily basis.

The power of the OneScreen platform is contained in its configurable nature that provides a customisable solution for banks to adapt the platform to their business and technical process.


OneFramework – An Agile Framework tailored to your Business Needs
Based on research conducted by leading consultants, the top few business requirements of financial institutions are to offer new products, better customer service and to integrate with partners. In the previous sections we have discussed how OneScreen can enhance customer experience. OneScreen works with OneFramework to complete the OneSolution product suite that delivers new product innovation and ease of integration.

The building blocks of OneFramework is lightweight. It aligns to the key Agile principle of simplicity. Every effort is made to ensure the deliverables are simple so that each component is easily changed, verified and tested. This translates to flexibility to adapt to new business requirements while maintaining high software quality. We expect complex solutions to be error prone so our development environment automatically checks and rejects complexity.

Extend your enterprise by “Opening” the OneFramework Business Services layer to your banking partners to give you access to additional products and services. Your partners may integrate with you to offer your products and services through their channels.

OneFramework has strategically separated its Business Services layer with its infrastructure layer exactly for this purpose. The financial institution may integrate over its protocol of choice such as over Web Services, TCP, ISO8583 messages or CICS over SNA through the infrastructure layer with its banking partners. Systems integration maybe achieved through commercial products or using Open Source tools as long as the availability and scalability requirements are met. As a result of this design decision, OneFramework can be deployed in a Grid Computing network for high growth organisations.

Migration into OneSolution
Both the rich media OneScreen and the OneFramework Business Services are developed to allow co-existence with existing MiBS implementations. Therefore the migration process maybe gradual to allow early benefits of OneSolution to surface. In the same manner, implementation and migration on existing core-banking systems maybe gradual, either by module or by business units. It is consistent with Agile Practice to deliver business value in every release of work, rather than to expect a “success or fail” verdict after months or even years of data migration and implementation.