Level Four Software moving to the ultimate Bridge

Level Four strategy uses the ATM industry move to Windows platforms and CEN/XFS standard, which separated hardware and software and allowed for customised software. Centralised monitoring of terminals is on the move away from offering fully tailored application software.

Some 1.5m ATMs worldwide, according to research will grow to 2m by 2011. In Western Europe,  Microsoft has put Windows platform on 64% of machines and additional ATMs coming online between now and 2011 are likely to be running Windows, and, as such, application software which runs on that platform is a must.

Level Four started life in the mid-nineties. Its first product was a visual toolset for the development of screen and transaction sequences for the first generation of ATM machines, which ran the OS2 operating system from IBM and offered green-screen user interfaces.

Over the last five years, however, the market has moved towards Windows platforms (mainly XP embedded), the CEN/XFS standard for financial services terminals and richer UIs, with tie-ins to CRM systems, advertising and the like.  |n response to this, Level Four unveiled a new portfolio in 2003 centered around an ATM simulator called BRIDGE:test. Through this simulator, application software can be tested and debugged centrally in a lab scenario before being launched into the real world.

Level Four has  now added terminal monitoring through the deal with SBS, re-branding the latter's KIXOperator product as BRIDGE:control. This product enables banks to monitor changes in the amount of cash in the machine, device faults and software issues; this latter factor in particular has clearly become a key requirement as Microsoft OS have overtaken OS2.

The next stage will be the development of application software, which will mean Level Four moves into competition with the companies whose products it currently tests for vulnerabilities, such as KAL (another Scottish firm), Canada's Phoenix Interactive, Absolute Systems from South Africa and Spanish developer Dynasty Technology Group.

This should not, in itself, represent any competitive issue to Level Four as it positions itself as an bank ally and will not cause any additional obstacles by upsetting other application developers. 

Source: http://www.cbronline.com/
Web:http://www.levelfour.com