ITEM PROCESSING

Banking is a very dynamic, competitive service industry, and item processing is one of the major applications. The timeliness of processing documents to meet Federal Reserve deadlines and improve funds availability has always been important. Recent changes in banking regulations impose specific deadlines for providing funds availability for customers, as well as requirements for disaster recovery plans.

These issues have increased the challenge to MIS managers to look for cost effective ways of supporting their item processing needs. Many acquisitions/mergers have occurred to improve competitiveness, gain access to new markets, and increase market share.

Quick and simple to implement solutions are required to support a wider geographic area than before. This complicates the logistics, cost, and timeliness of the item processing function.

Regional/Distributed Item Processing Centers
Many of the challenges of supporting item processing operations can be avoided by distributing this function to the most effective locations. Regional item processing centers provide many benefits to financial institutions which can be enhanced by utilizing PIXNET-XL products. By supporting the item processing operation through channel extension, central site control is retained. This allows for the standardization of item processing systems, hardware, and software which maximizes control and eliminates duplicate support efforts and costs.

Improved funds availability can be achieved by locating the item processing operation closer to the source of the documents. The PIXNET-XL product family is based on an architecture which is distance insensitive, allowing the item processing operation to be located anywhere.

Cost Reduction
The PIXNET-XL family eliminates the need for a CPU and the expense of the associated facilities, support personnel, hardware and duplicate copies of software.

Contingency Planning
The communications flexibility of the PIXNET-XL product family offers the option of cost effective communications restoral techniques, either to the primary data center or to a disaster recovery center. In fact, the use of distributed item processing centers can enhance the ability to develop a cost effective, workable disaster recovery plan.

Acquisitions/Mergers and Consolidation
The integration/consolidation of previously separate data processing operations presents an operational challenge and cost reduction is usually an objective. The PIXNET-XL channel connectivity products allow item processing operations to remain at a location even after the CPU is removed. In addition PIXNET-XL nodes can also support host-to-host communications and peripherals concurrently.

Banking ... A challenging environment which is competitive, dynamic, rapidly changing, and requires responsiveness to meet the customer's needs.

MGT's family of PIXNET-XL channel extension products offers flexible, high performance, cost effective solutions to this challenge. The item processing function can be located anywhere, without the need for additional CPUs at each site. High volume item processing sites can be supported by simply installing the necessary peripherals: IBM 3890s or plug compatible sorters, printers, and CRT controllers. In addition to the item processing operation, other high volume applications such as high speed printing, microfiche, and 3420 tape can be supported to add document distribution and Automated Clearing House(ACH) tape processing to the operation, if required (see diagram which follows).

XL family allows item processing to continue after CPUs are removed from regional processing locations. 

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