Banks Continue to Rely on OS/2 Warp
| Article Info | |
|---|---|
| Author | IBM |
| Date | 1998 |
| OS Version | OS/2 Warp 4 |
| Companion File | N/A |
| Source | [1] |
First Virginia Banks, Inc. Rolls Out 4,500 OS/2 Warp 4 Clients
Financial services provider First Virginia Banks, Inc. have announced plans to upgrade 4,500 client systems to IBM's OS/2* Warp 4 operating system throughout 385 branch offices. First Virginia Banks, which also has 400 servers running OS/2 Warp Server, cites OS/2 Warp's unmatched reliability, connectivity, security and centralized management capabilities as the deciding factor in completing the rollout by early 1998.
First Virginia Banks' plans to upgrade to OS/2 Warp 4 support the recent Mentis Group study citing OS/2's strength among large banking institutions in the U.S. in 1996. The Mentis Group reported that in 1996 35 percent of large banking institutions selected OS/2 to be their operating system on client desktops, which is up from 25 percent in 1995. OS/2's server market share jumped to 42 percent in large banking institutions, those with deposits greater than $1 billion, up from 32 percent in 1995.
First Virginia Banks, Inc. headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, is made up of a network of 19 member banks, mortgage subsidiaries, and a full-service insurance agency. With 385 branches in Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee and $9.1 billion in assets, First Virginia Banks, Inc. is one of the most profitable retail banking companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. First Virginia Banks currently has more than 5,000 employees operating 400 servers and 4,500 client workstations -- all running OS/2 Warp.
First Virginia Banks infrastructure includes many other IBM software products that are fully integrated with OS/2 Warp including IBM's Communications Manager*, which enables password authentication and security to be managed from a centralized location, rather than at each of the 400 branches in First Virginia's network. IBM's DB2* and NetView* Distribution Manager provide centralized distribution of the banks branch automation software product as well as updates to each of the branches. In addition, at each of the branch offices, OS/2 Warp Server provides a gateway service to First Virginia's equity lending tracking system, which resides on the bank's AS/400* system.
The corporation makes full use of OS/2 Warp Server's systems management capabilities by controlling access and managing the client desktops centrally from the server. The 4,500 client desktops have access to the branch automation software and a word processor all managed from the OS/2 Warp Server. This allows for easier administration of the client desktops throughout the corporation's branch network - saving First Virginia both time and money through centralized management. In addition, it allows First Virginia's employees to focus on what makes the bank profitable - customer service.