Bank of Boston Corp. has inked a multimillion-dollar contract to install a personal computer-based branch automation system from International Business Machines Corp.
The deal to integrate IBM hardware, software, and networking gear in Bank of Boston's 300 branches is estimated to be worth about $30 million, company officials said.
The new "client-server" system will replace an older IBM branch technology, called the 4700, which the $44 billion-asset bank has used since the early 1980s. It will include PCs running IBM's OS/2 operating system and application software from Dallas-based Argo Data Resource Corp.
The deal is a big win for Big Blue, as IBM fights vigorously to defend its position as one of biggest suppliers to banks of branch hardware and software.
Other major branch systems vendors - such as Olivetti North America Inc. and Unisys Corp. - have allied themselves with IBM's archrival Microsoft Corp. and its Windows PC operating system.
Olivetti and Unisys have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past 18 months revamping their branch automation technology to work with Windows, which has rapidly gained in popularity in banks.
In addition, a handful of big banks, including Wells Fargo Corp., are installing new branch systems based on the Unix operating system.
Michael Lezenski, Bank of Boston's chief information officer, said last year the bank's first decision was to select Argo Data's client/server software for its platform and teller functions.
While the Argo Data software was also available running under Windows, Bank of Boston chose OS/2 for its branch system because of its "multitasking" capabilities. Multitasking allows PC users to run multiple application programs simultaneously.
"The thing that drove us to OS/2 was the need for multitasking at the (desktop), because we really felt our business function would require it," Mr. Lezenski said.
For example, using OS/2 will allow a platform officer with a PC to display a graphic sales presentation to a customer while an account-opening program downloads the client's relationship data from the bank's mainframe, he explained.
"The key thing we were looking for was to help build a sales and service culture for the front-line people in our branches," said Kevin Roden, director of deposit systems at the bank. "The tools they have now are old and slow, and they don't lend themselves to making presentations you can share with the customer."
Bank of Boston officials said they will begin installing the networking gear for the branch system this spring, and branches will begin to go on- line with the new IBM equipment next year.
As part of the deal, IBM also will be installing in the bank's data center RS/6000 midrange computers to provide data backup for the branch PCs, said Dan Pearlman, client manager at IBM.
The new system also will incorporate some of the latest advances in client/server technology, such as the ability to automatically update data bases and software residing on many different computers.
