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Patrick Lannigan - Winter 2004
Bank
Software - Strategic
Information Technologies
I began working for Strategic Information
Technology in August of 2003. It was my wife that first saw the ad for a
"Unix Administrator" in our local paper (little did I know that
Unix Administrator was a code word for customer relations, database
expert, disaster recovery consultant, etc). I recognized the company name
(SIT for short) and knew Steve
Leeming, the chief technology officer, for
over 15 years. I didn't know his brother, Rob Leeming (the CEO), as well -
but admired what they had done together. It wasn't an easy decision to go
back into a pure technical role. Yet, I was craving the sense
and sensibility of what the Leeming brothers had to offer. I was tired (for now) of the subjective business development and marketing
roles and craved a work environment where my achievements would be obvious. I
got what I asked for. I'm working more hours now that I have in a long
time, and am very happy for it.
I'm also "involved" again with
Unix, the mistress I had an affair with many years ago. (I think that
affair cost me my first marriage). Oh, she may not be pretty, and
sometimes she goes by the name of Linux, but you should see her perform. She's graceful and cruel at the same time (there is no recycle bin
in command line Unix). Ah, but it's good to be with her again. I've since
dusted off my Unix license plates (for Ontario) and the Bell Systems
Technical Journals from 1978 and 1984. Thank you Mr. Kernighan and Mr.
Ritchie. Thank you Mr. Torvalds. Thank you Joe Alsop, Chad Carpenter, Chip
Ziering, Clyde Kessel, Gus Bjorklund and Mary Szekley (all from Progress
Software), for making an industrial strength product.
Strategic Information Technology
works with many partners including: Datawave,
Cu-Connect, Equifax
Canada, and Trans Union Canada.
We've recently enhanced our software to work with Equifax and Trans Union
through a secure socket layer (SSL) and an XML interface, to deliver a dramatic
productivity improvement to our customers. Our
customers are making great strides in keeping up with the two driving
forces in our industry: low interest rates and the outstanding technical efficiencies
available today (through companies
like Strategic Information Technologies).
We do have competitors. They include
the likes of CGI and Prologic (now called Fincentric). Neither of those
two players, however, deliver what we can deliver. As such, life is good
for us and our customers.
WARNING:
Shameless Plugs for Canadian Bank Software Ahead
The software from Strategic
Information Systems is highly modular, meaning that a customer could just
buy our Retail Delivery
system (for use the administration of checking / chequing accounts,
savings accounts, or other deposit accounts, in multiple currencies), or
they could just buy our
Investments Module, which would address the requirements (tax and otherwise) for
stocks, bonds, mutual fund portfolios, self-directed and non self-directed RRSP's, RRIF's, LIF's, LRIF's and RESP's.
They could also buy our Gateway Module product, which interfaces all the banking system to email, fax,
XML, TCP/IP, MQ Series, Sonic XQ, Tibco, Interactive Voice Response (IVR),
or the Web. In other words, it's easy for our customers to buy only the
products they need today, while still being open to future enhancements. The challenge, then, lies with us. We
have to have an ultra-strict software discipline to ensure our software
interfaces to the various modules, seamlessly, with no dependencies
between the systems. Thankfully, we've achieved the no dependency goal,
but it sure makes it hard, on a day to day basis, to maintain that
discipline! Yet, we're better for it. We've interfaced to new technologies
much quicker than our competition has, because of it.
I don't want to be brazenly
promotional, but for those Canadian banks looking for banking software you
should also look at our Term
Deposits Module (for GIC, CD, and other term-type products). Term
Deposits also accommodates indexed term products. And, of course, to
bring-it-all-together we include our Accounting System with every product. It contains the General Ledger, Accounts Receivable,
Accounts Payable, etc., which can be tracked by : company, cost center,
product type, general ledger account, journal creation date or journal
entry transaction date.
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