Interwest Savings Bank is converting from paper and microfiche archival to optical storage in an attempt to improve customer service.
The $1 billion-asset institution, based in Oak Harbor, Wash., is using the PCI/Reports Archival system from Protocorp International, Monroe, N.C.
The PC-based system uses a variety of optical storage drives and a type of magnetic disk storage that, combined, offers virtually unlimited storage capacity.
The bank worked closely with Fiserv, its data processor, to choose a system that could handle its volume of report requests. The bank needed a system that could easily deliver information to its network of 27 branches throughout the state.
"The volume requirements for a billion dollar institution are substantially difficult to meet for most of the other archival products available in the marketplace," said Kenneth Nelson, vice president of client relations at Fiserv's Seattle data center.
Mr. Nelson said the main benefit of Protocorp's system is that multiple workstations process information that has been downloaded from Fiserv's host, "eliminating the delay that often accompanies systems using single workstations."
When data files are automatically sent to the bank's file server from Fiserv's processing system, multiple workstations index the files to make them easy to retrieve, he explained. On days when the bank has a particularly heavy processing load, such as when customer statement files need to be indexed, multiple workstations can get the task done quickly, he said.
The system is available in DOS and Windows versions. and runs on Novell Netware local area networks. It can also be configured to run in any operating environment
