SAN DIEGO — One of the more interesting new product offerings Harland Financial Solutions exhibited at Connections 2007 is for do-it-yourselfers.
OpenPath provides UltraData Enterprise clients with a toolkit they can use to interface and exchange data between the core system and, potentially, any third party application. The information is provided by vendors and financial institutions, which have already worked with Harland programmers writing code and creating the interface.
"It's a virtual community for our vendors and our clients, so they can share information without taking the extra step to get Harland involved," said Jan Wilgus, director of product marketing.
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Within the OpenPath system, Application-Exchange is a server-based solution that processes both financial and data transactions as if they were performed by UltraData. It processes across any TCP/IP network, including the Internet.
One of the more intriguing qualities of Application-Exchange is that credit unions can customize the interface so it duplicates the credit union's set business rules defined within UltraData.
"This way, the third party enforces the credit union's business rules, so all our clients have to worry about is the data itself," Senior Field Engineer Scott Holmes said.
Member-Exchange services aim to assist clients with solutions to interface third party browser-based applications to UltraData through the Internet banking system. The service creates a portal for members to access all products and services with one log in.
Senior Field Engineer Scott Holmes, who created the system, said the "self-service" aspect of OpenPath appeals to technology professionals.
"Our clients can put together whatever solution they want, on their own time," Holmes said. "We tech guys like open source forums, and honestly, this stemmed from clients who needed integration help and wanted the quickest and easiest solution possible.
"It's not about the technology, it's just an easy way to integrate solutions without having to spend four months together re-inventing the wheel," Holmes added.
Holmes said several third party Harland vendors
exhibiting at the conference have contributed to the site, including Providence, R.I.-based Andera, Inc.
"Andera is a great example, because their online account product must interface with UltraData, or whatever
system their clients are using," Holmes said.
Holmes said while some may challenge the wisdom of sharing proprietary information so freely, the engineer said his clients' need for interfacing technology outweighs any concerns.
"It used to be credit unions went to their core provider for everything, but now customers want to know well your system integrates with other applications," Holmes said.
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