Slates in Financial Services – Changing the Conversation

The interest in Apple’s iPad amongst financial services business leaders creates a significant problem and opportunity for their IT staffs. Lines of Business executives not only want to connect their iPads to the corporate network, but they want to start delivering enterprise business solutions on them as well.

This creates an immediate dilemma for IT staffs that want to say ‘yes’, but know that their Risk and Compliance team will say ‘NO!’ The simplicity and elegance of the iPad simplifies the consumption and presentation of information. But, the platform it is delivered on is not yet ready for the enterprise. What’s missing are the enterprise management capabilities for ensuring that these devices are compliant, secure and match with the development skills the IT staff has in order to build a solution to meet business needs.

What to do?

Along comes the Microsoft Slate, currently running Windows 7 that has all the management capabilities to allow the Risk and Compliance teams to say YES and an open development platform that the IT staff can easily create or buy business solutions for. Further, while the iPad is generally a companion device for consuming information it does not replace the user’s need for a laptop or desktop system to create and share information.

We are about to see new Windows slates on the market, with a wide range of screen size, weight and computing power. The IT staff can choose a Windows Slate device that can complement the desktop and provide the information creation capabilities with a docking station and a great information consumption experience while undocked.

With the Windows Slate platform IT can begin building or buying solutions that meet business needs like:

· New collaborative account opening process allowing a customer to use a slate to automate and digitize the document and signature process.

· Teller line busting to allow platform sales to assist the tellers during high traffic periods to improve customer satisfaction

· New advisory platforms to allow advisors to do research and create recommendations for their customers, and show the customer their recommendations to provide a rich collaborative Wealth, Investment and Small Business sales process.

· New mobile solutions for recommending coverage policies to customers and filling claims electronically for insurance.

The list of possibilities could go on and on. But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Windows Slate platform is its common use of User Interface technology that it shares with the Windows Phone, Windows Surface, Windows PC (ATM), Cross Browser and Platform including the Mac and Microsoft XBOX that truly changes the game. Not only can IT create solutions on the Windows Slate for the business, but these same solutions can be brought to these other devices and channels to provide a consistent user interface for customers and staff.

Imagine having the same interface on the ATM used on a Slate for Teller Line Busting or a new Account Opening process built for the Windows Surface that can then be scaled seamlessly to the Windows Slate.

So don’t fret yea overburdened IT staff, Windows Slate is here so you can say YES WE CAN.